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[quote=Anonymous]Medications are very helpful, especially in middle school (we give DC the choice of taking it or not, and he takes it because he says he could not survive middle school without it) but have many drawbacks. It kills the appetite, (we combat this with loading up on breakfast and dinner and making sure lunch is easy to eat-turkey jerky and protein bars are often lunch) It often makes sleep difficult and sometimes there is a crash when their dopamine levels drop suddenly when the meds wear off, and causes extreme emotions, like rage and frustration and sorrow. We had this with a medication our kid still takes, and we tweaked it by making sure he has protein when coming off the meds and having him take a little Ritalin right around the time the other med is leaving his system so his "landing" is a bit easier, and giving him tenex/guanfasine at night, which is a blood pressure medication whose off label use isfor add. Meds can cause tics to surface, and sometimes they don't go away after you switch meds (for our kid it was vyvanse and a jaw/ear popping tic)

Additionally, depending on what time he does his homework, you may need a non-stimulant med to help are the regular stim adhd med has worn off.

Get him doing a sport or something active to raise his dopamine and get him focused above and beyond the use of meds.

Get him organized and make him easy to stay that way. We have a "homework folder" that is attached to his planner (where all the HW gets written in) and that helps immensely-sometimes, if there is a lot to do or hand in in multiple subjects, we will put each subject in a Manila folder and write on the outside what needs to be done or discussed with the teacher that day with boxes to check or Initial when it's done.

The most helpful 504 accommodations we have are 
extra time for tests and quizzes, 
Non-distracting props for tests (earplugs, Carroll)
help with bubbling (which he uses on longer tests) 
spaces between questions on tests, 
notes provided (guided notes, outline, or emailed)
an extra day for homework without penalizing,
Prompting from teachers to turn in assignments

Every kid and every school will need different accommodations, and they will change from year to year, school to school and sometimes class to class. And while meds aren't a magic pill, my kid would hate school and not be learning much nor like school much without them.
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