My son was officially diagnosed when he was 8 years old and currently turning 16 in August. I've been dealing with his ADHD from the beginning before he was diagnosed. Yes, he takes Adderall XR and it's been such a life savor for every body involved with his life including him. My grandmother being from Cherokee decent gave me some advise and we still use it to this day and YES it helps. Now my best friends grandson who is 4 has ADHD (not yet diagnosed but he's spitting image of my son at that age) using this and works. SO it's worth a try..

* Wake them up early in the morning include fruits in their breakfast - don't let them sleep past 9am preferably not past 8.

* Allow TV watching early in the day not past lunch - most of the time their brain will kick into over drive from the TV and have time to start dumping the information from the rest of the day activies.

* Eat healthy lunch filled with veggies - fruits have natural sugars that tend to pump up the body and will effect the hyper side of them.

* Pack the mid-day with active activities so their brain will start relaxing from the TV.

* Have early dinner around 5 - 6 pm is best. Be concience about the starches in certain foods, this is a trigger for the hyper side. Cut out all Kool-aids from their intake.

* Give warm bath/shower so their body will start relaxing (Just like moms enjoy taking warm baths to relieve stress)

* Depending on the age - have them read or you read to them a couple paragraphs of a book. That's usually all they can handle is a couple paragraphs or if the chapter is short that works. Choose a book that is of interest to them and without drama like activity, but some thing of a calming nature.

* Use air freshners or scents (lavender, camomile, baby powder, vanilla - any of these) in the room(s) they are in for the last several hours of their day.

* If they have drinks after dinner time then make it apple cider, green tea, camomile, water - this helps relax the blood flow.

* Early bed time - have them start an hour before planned bedtime - it takes them time to understand and be prepared, even if they just brush their teeth, say prayers (if they do this), give hugs, sit in bed even till lights out.

* Play soft music (my son likes listening to water running and puts him right off to sleep) and allow a night light. My son says that when it's completely dark his mind starts up again but with a little light he can see around the room and it helps settle him.

* I also will sit next to him when his mind is really going and lightly rub my finger tips across his forehead till he falls asleep. I've been doing it since he was a baby and even though he's a teen he still enjoys it when he can't sleep.

I hope this helps even just one person, adult or child. I have people always asking me for help and I'm always willing to give advise which normally does help on this subject. Being a parent with a child that has ADHD can be very stressful because you really want to help them and yourself. Good luck.

What do doctors check to see if you have ADHD in Adults?

My son who is 8 has adhd he also has the same problem that most people have your mind is just running and running so what we so with him to help him sleep is sit with him for several minutes and we have installed a light dimmer on his switch so its not so bright and put the fan on and  before we know it he is out like a light  . Godd luck I know first hand this can be very frustrating.