Son 6yo has diagnosed ADHD
As the title says Vanderbilt diagnosis. Do recommend medication. His mother and I have held out him being so young.
I also have ADHD and was raised by a very stubborn father that refused to get me medicated for it. I struggled in school and had my issues to overcome. I will say I can function pretty well as an adult with ADHD but there are times I consider getting medicated myself.
For the ones that had ADHD in elementary school and did get medicated what was the experience like? I eventually got prescribed Adderall senior year in high school and stopped taking it because I wanted to join the Army. There was a noticeable difference in my ability to focus and take notes.
I'm worried about my boy. This year he has had a lot of situations where he is disruptive and despite my best efforts to parent and teach him to be calm. He usually will have some kind of issue that is usually linked to is ADHD imo. When I talk to him after class he often mentions its "loud" or "everyone was talking/touching me" and I want to be a good father.
When I have to parent him on issues he seems to retain the knowledge. For example, talking back to his teacher. I pick up and she explains an issue of him talking back to his teacher. While she is explaining this he starts talking back. I tell him to be "quiet" and listen to his teacher. We walk to the car and he got upset. Thats no problem. On the drive home I explain why he needs to listen to adults and especially his teacher. That school is important. And guess what? Aside from a minor issue here or there he has made a big change! I am proud of him.
But something will happen with over stimulation or him not focusing during a test. He often get frustrated and refuses to do the work. Says he "doesn't know" despite us practicing and him showing he can write most of his spelling words unassisted.
I'm imagining me as a kid. Sitting in that darn desk and looking at a problem and wanting to do it. But something preventing me from doing so. I'm imagining him squirming and spending his energy trying to remain still as opposed to focusing on the lesson.
On one hand I want to teach my boy discipline and respect for not only adults but his classmates around him. But I don't want to keep having these talks with him if medication is a viable option to help him through his day to day.
Any advice is appreciated and a big thank you to this community for existing and a bonus thank you from a concerned ADHD father.