My YSS was on drugs for about 12 yrs. And often these kids will grow to adjust and not need the drugs any longer. It is almost as if they grow into their energy level.

So maybe that could be an approach. Just try them and see if they 'temporarily' help him. And maybe he doesn't have drugs on the weekend. DH is doing his son a HUGE disservice and may contribute to his early demise because he is unable to concentrate enough and makes rash decisions while driving when he is older.

Oh and next time, DH takes the kids for their check ups. LEt him deal with his son bouncing off the walls.

My DS13 is severely ADD (it was termed "inattentive disorder" because he's not particularly hyperactive, just can't/doesn't focus). I agonized about it, tried behavior modification, diet changes, and about every other non-medicinal route I could find in books and on the internet. No luck for me although there are some who say some or all of those changes helped their child.

Not only did I have to deal with the agony within myself (about "medicating" him) but I was fought tooth and nail by his grandparents (first DH's parents). However, they weren't around to see him always in trouble, unable to concentrate, unable to sit still, teased by classmates, getting on teachers' last nerves, etc.

I for one can say it's a horrible thing to have -- if they recognized these behaviors for what they were when I was young, I would have carried the same diagnosis. To this day I still deal with adult ADD. So I can tell you FIRST HAND the anguish and embarrassment a child goes thru.

No, they cannot focus "if they just put their mind to it" (that's kind of an oxymoron, don't you think?); they cannot stop fiddling with their fingers or tapping their toes; and sometimes they do not have the ability to put that filter in place between brain and mouth, or to stop shouting out, out of turn in class.

Yes, there are some people/adults who medicate children needlessly and leave them in a zombie fog. Maybe the child is in that fog because their neurochemical transmitters really don't need the assistance of medication. My child has been on Vyvanse (and a few others one at a time) since he was 7 years old and there is a world of difference in his behavior. He can concentrate in school. He now has friends and they aren't driven away by his abrupt behaviors. All who meet him say he is a joy to be around. He listens. He concentrates. He has a memory span longer than that of a gnat.

And as the above poster said, many kids outgrow this, or grow into their energy. We are hoping to trial-run taking him off of his medication for the summer, and eventually hope to take him off meds completely -- as long as he can maintain.

The reality of it is this... if your child had an infection, would you keep him off of antibiotics because they're "overused"? If your child had asthma, would you avoid nebulizers and daily steroids? Different, but same. Children who TRULY carry a diagnosis of ADD TRULY have a disorder that can be treated... some at different levels than others.

Even if your DH doesn't know you come to this site... print off this post and show it to him. And let him know that sometimes, severe ADD left untreated can lead to severe depression, which just complicates things.

I'm an adult. I have ADD, and have had it all my life. I know of which I speak.

My DH was recently diagnosed with ADHD. I know from his stories of his childhood that he has had it his whole life.

He is a completely different person on meds. He is able to focus, have serious conversations, not fly into rages over insignificant things and can actually interact appropriately with other people!

Both skids are diagnosed as ADHD. I don't believe that they are actually ADHD. SS13 has more emotional issues, the meds do just make him calm in a school setting. SS10 is lazy and unfocused. They are both on Vyvanse. These meds have altered their growing.

BS27 spent his entire school career being told he was ADHD. One school set up an appointment with their "expert", turned out that was BS's pediatrician. Dr was shocked that the school would suggest this. BS is an auditory learner, he hears it, he knows it (not a code-able LD at the time). Nice for him but not in a school setting, he got bored easily. I sat through countless conferences with teachers, councilors, principals etc all pushing the ADHD agenda. I also happen to have a teaching degree, I've been to the same workshops as these "educators" to go forth and diagnose their students. These educators hit a brick wall for me. Now, if his Dr had come to the conclusions from testing that he needed meds, he would have been on them.

I'm sorry you are going through this but there are meds that can help kids focus and be productive. Get a second opinion. You want success for your child, help them be successful.