Received CBT or any kind of therapy for attention deficit ?

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has anyone Received Cognitive Behavior Therapy or any kind of therapy for attention deficit ?

My son, 15, high IQ, terrible attencion deficit (what they call selective attention or selective learning) and impaired exec. function, doesnt want to take the ritalin anymore. He looked it up on internet and read the worst possible side effects and now thinks of it as poison, after arguing for long time that it does nothing for him. even tho his school counselor says it does center him and improves his attention.

so since he was so freaked out about it I told him ok, no more ritalin.

He sees an autism therapist twice a week.

Any optimists out there?
Anyone who has had successful therapy for attention problems ?

Thanks ! !

I wasn't diagnosed at the time but yes CBT has been beneficial for me at times.

I still remember the breathing techniques we learnt to help calm and even help get to sleep.

Also I use lists (even though I'd used lists previously, e.g. shopping lists, todo lists, work tasks, cooking, etc), but the thing with the lists I found helpful was not to do everything on one day, to break it into manageable chunks:
a) it generally turned into an overly stressful day,
b) it gave me something to fill my time with on other days,
c) by spreading like this I had more energy each time,
d) I'd processed the successful event during sleep which made the next event easier.

Sometimes I feel its beneficial NOT to go over the list before bed, even though that's what I did before (in preparation for the coming day), rather I would reflect on the successes of the day, which generally made me smile and feel relief, especially when things sort of just fell into place.

One thing I also use is, sometimes less is more, I used to get excited and explain too much, jump the gun as so to say. Nowadays I'll often smile, greet and simply state my intentions in a single statement, and more often than not the other person does everything from there if left to their own devices, lol I don't get in trouble or confuse them, I let them do it their way using their coping strategies...

My Mum, bless her, she has a habit of recounting my little successes, silly little comments like "oh remember when ... and it turned out good didn't it, you did well". Basically she reinforces the positives by retelling the steps involved... All too often we dwell on the other things, its like doing something special on birthdays, its an event worth remembering!

Oh, I hate going out, but it was recommended, so I go out when it rains or after dark (times when there are less people about) and the walk really does lift my mood and make feel better. Also I can't just go for a walk, there has to be a purpose, like going to the shops for some chocolate or ice-cream


All said n done, if something stresses me out, I may not get focussed enough to get into my programming, but I'm a night owl (my head calms after about 11pm, its quieter, no distractions, etc) and most stressful things for me are dealing with others and authorities, which are generally daytime activities.

Hmm well there are potential quite unpleasant side effects, so I can see why he might be concerned...especially if he doesn't feel it really helps him. Also does it really center him and improve his attention...or just make it look more like he's centered and paying better attention? For instance when I was a kid teachers a lot of times thought i wasn't paying attention but turns out I take in information better if I am not focusing on looking at the teacher.

How long has he been taking it? And how long has he been saying its not helping him? Also has he mentioned any side effects hes experienced or is experiencing.

That said not sure how open to the idea you are...but perhaps a cup of coffee in the morning? I have heard caffeine can have calming effects on those sorts of things and help focus and its not as intimidating as taking a hard drug every day which drugs to treat ADHD and simular conditions aren't exactly the soft sort. As for CBT I don't really see how that could help attention problems since its more about having distorted beliefs about yourself and the world and bringing those back down to earth...its about changing your thinking to change how you feel, and honestly just not sure how that would correlate with attention problems. Unless of course the person simply chooses not to pay attention out of some issue in their attitude...then CBT could be used to address something like that. But unless there is at least some amount of conscious choice or thought going into the issue I don't think so. Or like focusing if they aren't focusing because they're being a rebellious teen and they 'don't care' CBT could be of some use...but if they try to focus and simply cannot hold the focus there is no thought process causing them to not focus to address with the CBT if that makes sense.

Or if nothing else reminders and work arounds...getting in the habit of writing down important dates/events or whatever, or if he has a phone or tablet most of those have calander apps you can put stuff in...and and alarm clock which can help for things that need done at a certain time. But yeah I seem to have pretty terrible short term memory....and CBT doesn't help that really.

Carrying on from Sweatleaf... I have often remarked that I am better after my tenth cup of tea. A friend has actually brought me some Ilex Guayusa leaves to try.

My ADHD assessment is still pending but mentioned I have some comorbid traits. Never tried ritalin, not sure I want to either after knowing some people on and off it.

thanks. I read somewhere that CBT is helpful for kids for attention but not helpful in adolescence. I don't know. i have thought of coffee, but he's never tried it and would not want to.

He wont use his phone for note taking and doesnt make lists. I'm the one who made lists for him until it was overwelming living someone elses life and no interest taken by him.

Hes pretty good at remembering day to day things - it's in class where he disconnects. If he finds an assignment boring he'll just disconnect.

I think that being aware aobut his attention problem is scaring him that he wil not be able to pursue his future goals which is to study to be a programmer.

The only way I know for dealing with this problem of selective focus is to broaden one's focus through sheer force of will and force oneself to learn and do things that are not one's interest in order to be able to pursue one's interest, e.g. your son's goal of being a programmer. Maybe some kind of reward system for completing uninteresting tasks, you and his teachers can set up? But make sure he completes the task at some quality level, so he doesn't just slop through for reward.

I have ADHD, and I don't take any kind of medication for it. I tried Ritalin for about a year, and it did help me in some ways but ultimately I didn't like the way I felt when I was taking it. I felt like I was taking a drug just so I could pay more attention to things that were boring.

Someone asked me awhile back how I have gotten by so many years without medication, and I really didn't know how to answer. I guess over time, I stopped trying to force myself to do things the way other people do them, and allowed myself to do things more the way that is natural for me. I mean I will skip around to different tasks according to how I feel, rather than trying to plod through them one at a time. And I take frequent breaks to just space out or let my mind wander.

I would not bother with CBT. Maybe try something like biofeedback.

Yeah biofeedback sounds great. but where i live its not available. but i will research it to see where it is available.

the thing he's (and I of course) scared of is that what he needs for his future programming is math and even in math class he falls asleep sometimes.

The CBT is what he's doing just as general treatment for his aspergers. How to make conversation, etc. So when i told her he didnt want to continue with the ritalin she said they'd approach the attention issue in therapy. I'm sure that by itself it's not enough to change a cabling difficulty. And i had read about biofeedback.