How did you decide to medicate (or not) your ADHD diagnosed child? My son just finished second grade with As and Bs thanks to a great teacher and a lot of daily accommodations (reminders, extra movement breaks, fidgets etc.). We have a 504 plan documented so that the accommodations can continue next year and we are in occupational therapy to learn strategies to stay organized, control impulses etc. continued..

I wish I had been medicated sooner. I was an extremely bright kid who did show any outward signs of struggle until 7-8th grade. I wonder what I could have done and accomplished if I didn’t have to work so hard to just get on equal footing. How much more I could have done if I didn’t have to swim with weights on my ankles.

You can sit a kid with bad vision in the front row, let them borrow notes from a classmate… but they will learn best if you get them glasses.

My husband suspects adding low dose medication would help the strategies stick better. I am more inclined to wait until there’s more of an outward problem with school/grades although I understand wanting to keep my child’s confidence high if we can. Would love some perspectives from others who have been through this decision!

Would not really love perspectives from people who don’t have diagnosed kiddos :) no offense, I just know I was pretty judgy about it before experiencing myself.

Both of my boys were diagnosed in second grade. Oldest had severe distraction, it was very obvious to us - his grades started to slip and his teacher told us she had to move him to the front of his class so she could tap on his desk to bring him back. The medication worked wonders and solved other concerns we had that we did not connect to ADHD. Our younger son was extremely argumentative, couldn’t sit still - almost belligerent. Nothing we did helped. Our pediatrician recommended us testing him too. He was also diagnosed with ADHD. I struggled with this one, still thinking it was behavioral and blaming ourselves that he wasn’t behaving properly. I expressed my concern to our pediatrician when we met to go over his results. She told us that we would get him glasses if his vision test indicated he needed them. This was no different. That really helped me. She prescribed him the same medication as his brother. I told her that I was surprised by that since they are so different. She said ADHD is genetic. She often sees it in multiple siblings and often, the medication that works for one, often works for the other - even if presentation is different. She recommended we start there. It was incredible! He went from getting letters sent home by the teacher and meetings with her to being one of her favorites. (In second grade he would tell her that the assignments that were modified for fun - like using different colors to spell words - was “stupid”, bc his little brain connected that the color of the words had nothing to do with him learning how to spell the words.) They are now 21 and 17. Oldest is in school for engineering, youngest in high school. Youngest now recognizes his behavior and is quick to apologize for a “snarky” response on days he doesn’t take his meds (he chooses to often not take on weekends or the summer unless there is homework or something important going on). Everyone’s experience is different but it was the best decision for both of our boys. Good luck navigating this!

As an almost 40-year-old mom who was only recently diagnosed with ADHD after years of being treated for anxiety and depression, I honestly wish I had received the correct diagnosis and support much earlier in life.

Unless you've lived with ADHD every day, it's difficult to fully understand how exhausting and overwhelming it can be. For many of us, our minds never slow down. What looks simple to others can feel incredibly challenging, and the constant mental noise can be draining.

Medication isn't the right answer for everyone, but it shouldn't automatically be viewed negatively either. When used appropriately, it can be a valuable tool that helps someone function, focus, and thrive in ways they may have struggled to before.

There is still so much stigma surrounding ADHD medication, but I believe many children who receive the support they truly need will be grateful for it in the long run.

At the end of the day, every parent is just trying to do what's best for their child, and that support can make a world of difference.

Coincidentally my nephew (9 years old) and my BFF's son (7 years old) were both medicated within the last year, and both sets of parents wish they wouldve medicated the child earlier.

I wrestled with this question when my oldest was younger. While most of his teachers adored him, there was one very controlling teacher in 2nd grade teacher who struggled with any kids who didn’t listen right away. She struggled with her own weight issues and maybe the control/intolerance stemmed from that. She not only moved him down a reading and math level, she talked down to him in a way that made him feel he wasn’t good enough. She sent me additional timed assignments but when I asked her what good looked like or how to measure growth, she ignored me and never told me what she was trying to achieve. Meanwhile, he always scored the highest on MAP tests in his entire grade, so she didn’t like the incongruity bc in her mind ADD=dumb. But he was the sweetest kid with good intentions, just slower to transition between activities, day dreamed, and needed reminders. She complained about his daydreaming so much. Meanwhile I had no idea and was sending gift cards, bagels, and coffee to support her class, and he only told me later what was really happening. But despite her aggressive intolerance, the one good thing that came of that experience was me learning and reading up on this. I was reticent to put him on medication bc it didn’t seem that serious to me. Even the pediatrician said it’s up to us if it’s not affecting his grades. His other teachers loved him for his kindness and integrity, and he had friends. But we tried it anyway, and he’s 14 now so maybe 4-5 years on a light dose. He believes it’s helped him stay focused and turn assignments in on time. He’s kind of like the absent minded professor. He scored a 1440 on his baseline SAT at age 13 (he accidentally did this when he was supposed to take the PSATs) but won’t remember to drink water then wonders why he has a headache. He doesn’t take it on the wkends or during the summer so I’m not sure I can vouch for a positive impact vs placebo. I don’t think it’s negatively impacted his height or weight (something the pediatrician usually monitors). He’s still the kind, thoughtful, funny kid he’s always been. I think what changed my mind was another mom who told me she wished she’d put her hyperactive ADHD kid on medication sooner. But he’s also had other friends who have it and use more routine based aids. Sometimes it’s also hard to tell with boys bc they’re almost all messy and chaotic. That said, it’s worked out ok for us. No big side effects from what I can tell, and he’s only on it by choice.

There is evidence that medicating for ADHD in childhood can help the brain develop the areas that are typically underdeveloped in people with ADHD (like the dopamine center). Given the comorbidity with addiction and depression, that would be worth it to me.

Agree with your husband - my daughter (12) has anxiety and adhd and we went through a couple years of therapy and accommodations with learning tools, but once we decided to try a low dose of meds (recommended by the OT), all the tools started to click into place. It was like the noise was quieted so she could focus on the fix and making it work. It is not perfect, but we are still on a low dose (2 yrs later) and it has been a game changer for giving her a good baseline.