Thanks HappilyMom. My younger kid may also have ADHD (we're in the process of evaluating him), but if so, it's not obviously a huge handicap, so I would be much more cautious about medication. It is a broken system in terms of the diagnosis--all we had to do was fill out an inventory, get an inventory from the teacher, and we had a prescription for Concerta. When I asked about having DD go to a psychiatrist or neurologist for a diagnosis, I was told "that's not done around here--pediatricians handle it." Luckily in her case there is such a dramatic difference in functioning between meds and no meds, it is obvious she has ADHD and that she needs to be medicated. So I always get somewhat annoyed when I feel that someone is criticizing that. Her teacher last year was "anti-med" and since DD functions so well on her meds I always got the feeling the teacher thought we were medicating her just for fun and she doesn't really have a disorder. I needed feedback from her about the meds and whether they were helping and the communication was zero. I felt like sending her in without meds just to prove my point--yes, she does have ADHD, and Yes, she needs to be medicated or the consequences will be disastrous.
