We are currently in the middle of this journey. I never in my life would have thought DS9 had ADHD. I'm still not convinced. Our situation is complicated by a diagnosis of dyslexia and sensory processing disorder. He is currently in 4th grade. It was actually his 3rd grade teacher that hinted at the possibility of ADHD. She constantly complained that he seemed to not be paying attention and was always moving, fidgeting, etc. Sensory seeking is a part of sensory processing disorder, so I attributed most of this to the SPD diagnosis. Even his teacher eventually admitted that even though he seemed not to be paying attention, he could actually pipe up in the middle of a class discussion with very relevant and thought provoking comments.
BUT then we went for psych testing...WISC, WIAT, Conners assessment. The psych diagnosed ADHD-Inattentive and highly believed most of his issues would get better with meds. At this point we have gone through Straterra, Intuniv and Vyvance. All caused intolerable side effects (and I'm not a person that goes looking for side effects of medications). He is currently on Ritalin. We have been working on dosing over the past several weeks. We worked up to 15 mg each morning, but his teachers at school have not noticed a difference. (His teachers at school also say that, while he fidgets alot, he is doing well and they don't think he needs meds). His after school tutor for dyslexia, however, really thinks he needs meds, as she can't get him to stay still enough to get anything done in the afternoons. So I stopped giving him the Ritalin in the morning and tried giving it to him immediately after school, before his tutoring. I thought we had found the answer because his tutor said he did great the first day he was on the Ritalin. Unfortunately, none of the subsequent days has seen the same result. I increased the dose to 20 mg yesterday, still with no effect. It's very frustrating. I'm back to thinking that he doesn't have ADHD and that his ADHD-like behavior is all due to sensory processing/sensory seeking.
I'm sorry to ramble on. It was nice to vent. I guess my point is that there is no easy diagnosis and no easy solution.
