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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Our DS started medication in 6th grade.  It was a big mistake.

DS has gone thru adderall, focalin, concerta, ritalin.   Started after teacher said he was having trouble focusing and getting tests by pediatric neurologist.  It seemed like a godsend in middle school and really did help then,  but in high school it started affecting his sleep.  We did not do enough research and did not fully understand the tradeoffs.   Getting up at 5:45 for school going to school medicated, crashing after school, taking something else for homework (offered by DR when DS complained about homework), taking something else for sleep, on and on.  All prescribed by DR with parents thinking this was helping.  Child started thinking that pills were solving problems.   Affected mood, both highs and lows.   Took a whole summer of no medications to work this out and let DS starting to sleep normally again.

Don't start with medication, start with counseling, and tutors if necessary, and after that has been exhausted, and even then I would change schools first, and only then would I think about trying these ADHD medications.  There are no biological tests for ADHD, it is all subjective judgement by a DR.

[b]I would also challenge parents, are your children really that much different than when you were a child?[/b]  I had the same attention and focus issues, still do, but I learned ways to adapt, and the school/pressure wasn't so over the top.   [/quote]

My kids aren't much different than my brothers at the same age.  Which is why we're aggressively pursusing treatment for their ADHD - medical and non-medical interventions.  Unlike you, my brothers didn't develop appropriate compensating startegies.  They started to 'self-medicate' when they were teenagers.  This self-medicating contributed to the emergence of some disorders that are common with ADHD.  These behaviors and disorders mutually reinforced each other and the results were devastating.  Two of my brothers didn't live past their mid-20s and another still struggles.  My DH was diagnosed with ADHD after our oldest DC.  It was actually a relief for him because it explained why he struggled so much as an child and an adult.  He's determined our kids will not struggle as he did particularly with self-esteem and confidence.  Even moderate cases can be too much for therapy/interventions alone.  When you have a brain disorder, sometimes you need medication to restore balance.  Just because you didn't educate yourself well on pharmocological treatment doesn't mean that it's inappropriate, ineffective or should be avoided.  As with all health related matters, people need to be proactive about making informed decisions. Had you done a better job, your child would not have thought pills would solve his problems.  Even the least amount of research would have indicated a multi-modal approach is the best treatment for ADHD.

Just because there is no objective test for ADHD doesn't mean that it isn't a real neurobiological disorder with and potentially devastating if not appropriately treated.  No one seems to doubt ALS (Lou Gehrig's), PTSD, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,  diagnoses even though there's no objective test for them.  Why is there such skepticism with ADHD?  [/quote]

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