I want to add more about the interview I had with this particular parent about ADHD. She also had a lot of experience with medications and the effects they had they her child.

They were first advised to maybe start medicine when he was in the 1st grade. They said they were very reluctant at first but started to try these medications. He had tried three different medications with varying degrees of success. At the end of 1st grade they settled on Concerta. He was on this medication for all of 2nd grade and his mother was having some doubts on this medication due to the fact that he weighed 62 pounds the entire year and she felt like he was such a zombie. The summer after 2nd grade they switched to Intuitive. This is a non stimulant and there was no option to take it sometimes. They had to build it up into his system. She said at first they thought this was a miracle drug and he was doing so much better on it. It seemed to help with his hyper activity and impulse control.

When he began the 3rd grade and being on this medication, he had a rough start. He was having trouble connecting with peers and controlling his impulses in the classroom. He was not engaged in the school activities and did not want to participate in the lessons. He had a couple of instances where he actually got in school suspension for doing things at school due to his impulse control. His mother decided she wanted the teachers to know him for who he is and not on the medication anymore. Over the winter break she took him off of the medication and his year started to look up. She is very pleased with his behavior off of medication.

He just went and was evaluated in the spring and his parents decided to focus on the psychological evaluation rather than going on the medication route again. Together his parents have gone to ADHD behavior classes and have tried to implement these new routines into their home. She said it has been difficult but they are still trying.