Hello, Good Afternoon J
I am ADHD and Dyslexic, I'm sorry I haven't written yet but I needed to collect my thoughts for an answer for a while. I thought I would list some of the techniques that work for me.
Bach and Australian Flower Remedies have helped me for over 20 years, there are also other type flower remedies besides these. There are several Homeopathic Remedies that help with stress, short or long term. They may at times need daily (sometimes hourly) changes, but once you get into a routine it's not difficult to figure them out. These can be put in bottles of water so they can be taken discreetly ( like at school or just out in public). You can buy kits (homeopathic, tiny pellets, for bottles or bigger pellets for under the tongue) and sets (Bach flowers, bottles of drops) to make your own bottles of remedies which in the long run saves hundreds of dollars. I've had my Bach Flower kit over 15 years, the only base remedy I will need more of at some point is Rescue Remedy.
There are many new forms of Bach's out now especially for children. Bottles of remedies usually have alcohol base (for preservation) but it's such a small percent you wouldn't notice when drops are placed in glasses or bottles of water, there are some available without alcohol base if that's a concern. Try a few out from the health store first, to see what you think. I started with Rescue Remedy, this works on emergency stress situations. They have many forms of Rescue Remedy for kids too.
Meditation is a tremendous help. There are so many types you can check into. She can even create her own meditations, it's simply writing sentences about what you like, want to try doing, or what you wish to bring into your life, then you read it out loud to yourself as you relax. Doing this at a time of rest before bed time works best to calm her mind for sleep. Working towards positive thought lets go of stressful negative thought, a must in the way society is formed now, so many forms of pressure out there, (a lot of it is social, which can be difficult for all, no matter what the age).
A fun form of daily exercise helps the body and mind regulate itself, it releases toxin build up, helping tremendously with sleep. Don't exercise in the 4 hours before bedtime as it causes an adrenaline flow, much better to exercise in the morning or during the day time to even out our adrenaline system. Exercise cuts down on those highs and lows of adrenaline energies, clearing our thought process.
I do sets of stretching, exercise, weight lifting, throughout my day, and I like to watch movies while I use the treadmill.
Diet, veggies, fruit, I eat small amounts of meat, no processed foods to avoid chemicals, nothing fried, no processed sugar. I admit, I am guilty of eating french fries once a week and I love making fruit pies. J Balancing the body naturally is important. It's also fun to grow vegetables, home grown tastes so different and much better. Organic costs a little more if you can't grow things, but so worth it. Our bodies are not made to digest chemicals that companies put in, or on our food, especially fast food, and other restaurants, YUCK! (I could talk about a year on that alone, google chicken products made in China for sale in USA and other countries) Chemicals just stay inside us, building up and eventually causing health problems, especially diet soda and diet food.
My favorite foods are salads with a combination of veggies, fruits, and nuts, with a small amount of homemade dressing. It's very easy to make a healthy dressing, it only takes a few minutes and lasts about a week in the fridge. (I find many vegetarian salads and side recipes online.)
Many ADHD medications cause more problems than they help. My Daughter in Law refused to put my Grandson on meds, (I was so glad!) it was difficult at first but he does so much better every year. At some point we have to learn to live our lives without meds (if possible, I know that varies from person to person). Please don't judge yourself for your choices or decisions in handling this situation, it can be very difficult to find the right answers for you (her), just keep going. Notice I didn't name this as a problem, if you do it remains a problem, I call it a situation, because a situations always have the potential to change.
We need to always create change in life, that's how we keep growing, and stay vibrant.
Discovering her personality traits will help, her likes, dislikes, what she does well in life, practicing these will give her a solid base of confidence to work with, and expand on. She's probably so intelligent she is far ahead of those her age, that can be so difficult for children.
Changing direction to finding our creative gifts, and creating our gifted lives, instead of listening to people, and Doctors telling us what is "wrong" with us is key. I found I'm an introvert, and I'm an artist, which is difficult in it's own right. I think and learn better alone.
School was a disaster for me (even though I tested high) except in art classes. I have a business on my own now, selling on the internet. We all have a wonderfully, happy, special place in this world, we just have to find it. Ted Talks online all have amazing advise.
A friend once gave me the advice she found, to have the head of my bed at the North wall of my room, I sleep much better that way. I have no electric appliances except a lamp on the other side of the room.
Best wishes to you and your daughter, research will reward you with many answers. Take your time, become a partner with her in these decisions. Incorporate discoveries into your lives one at a time, avoid creating additional stress by bringing in too many changes at once. It takes about two weeks for a change to take effect.
I keep a journal and make lists so I can refer back to them. I find it easier to remember things when I list them, menus for the week, house chores for the week, business decisions, on and on. It's a tremendous help, saves so much time, and focuses my creative energy flowing where I wish it to go.
I agree with many of the others suggestions made here, what a great, thoughtful group!
Bev
