Let me guess, she craves sweets and carbs like breads all the time? If so watch her soda in take and sugars.
Also use melatonin, a natural suppliment to help her get extra sleep and depending on areas of need I can suggest some things, do you mind emailing more specific areas of frustration?
Also before you go on meds, please reserach some things often misdiagnosed as ADHD, one odd one is need for tonsils to be taken out(I swear)another is bipolar which is not as necessarily as negative as people often believe but if so needs to be taken care of before ADHD symptoms, sorry,TMI, just email me if you want to.

I had a boyfriend once who had an 11-year-old son. He had custody of his son one summer (the child normally lived with his maternal grandparents and the grandfather spoiled him rotten). Anyway, this boyfriend took his son to a psychologist because they had him on so many meds for his ADHD...meds to keep him "up" during the day and meds to "put him down" at night just so he could sleep. The doctor weaned him off all those meds and told my bf that he could try the Ritalin next time we were at an event that the child needed to be attentive. The child had so many nervous tics and twitches after taking the Ritalin it wasn't even funny. It was so hard to watch, it was almost like the kid was OCD or something. I couldn't believe this was the drug that was supposed to make him pay attention in school. Needless to say the bf threw the rest of the Ritalin away. The child needed a firm hand and discipline. Last I heard he was doing well in school without all the medication.

both a teacher and au pair! Routine, routine, routine! From the second she gets up to the second she goes to bed. Provide plenty of structured activites for home like crossword puzzles, word finds, puzzles, coloring, etc. things like that which will force her to focus on an outcome yet aren't time consuming. Kids with ADHD need to learn how to focus their attention on a task in order to achieve a goal so start little. Eliminate or limit the amount of time in front of the TV, computer, game system, etc. Enroll her in dance, not ballet though, or an organized sport. Even karate! Focus on developing a rewards/consequences system and then sticking to it. Don't allow her to use ADHD as a crutch. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't even tell her she has it. As a teacher, I hear from students that they aren't capable of doing something or they blame a poor behavior choice on their ADHD. They have free will just as the rest of us do and they need to learn to manage themselves by chunking their time and problem solving just like everyone else in the world. Proper diet, exercise, and sleep are great places to start.

Good luck! Parents make a world of difference with their children! You're concerned and proactive instead of in denial, which is the worst thing a parent can do in this case. I'm sure you'll get a good handle on her condition and work with her so she can do the best she can to succeed!

There have been several studies on vitamins and mineral supplements.

It's been researched/reported that Amino acids can help. For example, green tea, which has a particular amino acid, is marketed in Japan as a nutritional supplement for mood modulation. In studies, it increases the alpha brain-wave activity.

One study found that children who ate a protein-rich meals performed as well or better afterwards in school than children without ADHD. Foods that are high in protein include meat, fish, milk, yogurt, beans, peanut butter and eggs.

It's found that ADHD children often have lower levels of Omega 3 fatty acids levels in their blood. Diets high in omega 3 fatty acids appear to be particular effective against depression and recent studies have reported beneficial effects of high dose essential fatty acids in bipolar disorder. Fish, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils. You can also get Omega 3 pills, known as "Fish Oil".

Zinc is another good supplement. It has been found to help the area of the brain involved in learning and memory. Zinc deficiency has adverse effects on behavior including hyperactivity, concentration impairment and subjective symptoms of edginess. Interestingly, a recent study has suggested that adequate stimulant response depends upon sufficient plasma zinc levels.

I would suggest that you give her a children's broad spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement daily. Don't just grab the cheapest one, but look at the labels and compare them. Make sure you are getting a good one. Go to a health foods store, or ask a pharmacist.

StepMom

Man has the intelligence to change his life,
Sometimes, he just fails to use it...

Cruella, the orange dye in cheetos/doritos is also a sign of more gluten in the food which can also chemically make these kids go beserk.
If the child is picky take Step Moms advice on zinc not only because she is on target for reasons she gave but it increases foods kids will not try due to sensory issues(smell, texture, whatever) I also advise to give zinc at night as it slightly upsets soem childrens stomachs. I just spoke with a chemit his wek abot this , solet me trow in that there are many level of quality when dealing with suppliments thoug the FDA JUST raised the bar a tad, please makesure you research before forking out for them.
My son had ADHD and was on meds but we too decided to try natural things and behavioral management, so far so good, but no one is judging you for your choice for you child, we do not live with her and know everything, ok?

SS's "ADHD" is used as an excuse. "oh, I have ADHD so I can not help it" or as BM says "that is just how God made him." BULLSHIT!!! In our experience, it is used as an excuse so she can be lax on dicipline. SS lived with us for 2 years, med free and did very well. We had to be consistant and stay with it everyday, but it worked. As soon as he moved back to BM, she drugged him up and now it is "his decision" that he takes the meds because "he needs them." Because of our experience, I have a really hard time accepting that ADHD really exists (please don't send me hate comments because of that) but I only say this because it is so crystal clear that is an excuse for BM. I am sorry, the skids are here this weekend and I am having a really hard time. I think serious, consistant dicipline would be where I started and if that honestly does not work, other avenues would have to be explored. I really hope you can find other answers besides meds.

Let's say, your child is vision impaired, the eye doctor suggests he wears glasses. Promptly, as a parent, there is no question- you'd get them glasses.

How about a diabetic? Would you not consider giving a diabetic insulin? I seriously doubt that anyone would deny giving insulin... The answer is most always "Why Yes! It would be cruel not too!"

If your child has leukemia, would you deny chemotherapy? Unlikely.

So, the rational that I think some people have about any person who has a brain/personality disorder is really quite illogical to me. There are A LOT of people that do in fact use this as an excuse, yes. And there are a lot of various things that you can do to try- and you most certainly SHOULD try all things. Everyone is different, but I really cringe when I hear people so defensive about suggestions that a medically trained individual has suggested 'medication'. Because the bottom line is... if you had cancer, would you not seek treatment? Why is it sooooo different, or for that matter 'dangerious' to provide medication for neurological/chemically challenged individuals?

It's funny, I just wrote another lengthy post on this subject recently... hmmm. Interesting.

StepMom

Man has the intelligence to change his life,
Sometimes, he just fails to use it...

I made the decision to put my son on medication(a very low dose) because I had taken him to a psychologist who diagnosed him with ADHD, and said he was a severe case. He also scored at an extremely high level on many of the intelligence tests, but was behind in some areas at school, because he wouldn't pay attention and learn what was being taught.
But what really got me and made me want to get him help, was that his ADHD was affecting how other people were treating him. His first grade teacher had his desk facing the wall, and was mistreating him in general, and the principal was backing the teacher...
He's been on one medication during this whole year, and his current teacher loves him, and he's doing much better. I'm taking him off the meds for a week to see what happens..

We also chose to put SD on meds. Low dose as well. We were very worried about it because of all the negative feed back on ADHD and medications. But it worked very well for her.