I have a kid with ADHD. It is immediately and obviously apparent when she is or is not on medication. When she isn't, her ability to focus her thoughts and stay on task is at about the same level as it was when she was 4 (she is now almost 8)--she hasn't matured one bit in that area.
Even here at home with no distractions, if she is not medicated and I have her try to learn math facts on the computer she dissolves into tears. But she is, for the most part, fine when she is medicated.
Blackcat you have my sympathies... (and this is what I mean when I say I don't judge those who use medication). Every kid is different.
While your DD hasn't improved, my DS9 HAS (although at your DD's age he still struggled). He's now 9 yrs 3 months, and he will sit and do his homework from start to finish without any assistance. I generally try and have the TV turned off during homework time, but if DH is watching something, then DS will go into his room and do it. When I check on him, he is quietly working (and not distracted by his toys the way he used to be, lol).
His written output has dramatically improved. He can now sit, formulate his thoughts, and put them on paper (paragraphs!). He can also move from one task to the next with no assistance from me (although his teacher still has to prompt him at school - he's not a self starter, but once prompted, will sit and work). At home, if he has three items for homework, he will finish one, then move onto the second, then the third. I'm still trying to figure out who this impostor is and where my real son went, lol.
He's never been medicated (but we have gone through some struggles, let me tell you.. and it has tested my patience and persistence to the extreme).
He still has issues, let me tell you. He has trouble keeping his chair still and his feet on the floor at school (although his teacher says he is very good natured about being redirected). Do I wish he'd sit still? Of course. Do I believe he will learn to? YES. He used to chew on EVERYTHING - destroying shirts, eating pencils, etc etc, and now that has stopped... completely. He has had all these disruptive ADHD behaviours that are disappearing one by one, sans meds.
HOWEVER... not all kids progress the way that he has.
I'm on the opposite side of the fence in that I've had to justify why I haven't medicated, and I'm constantly having to recount examples of his growth and development without it.
I've just stuck to my guns, supporting what I think is a good fit for my particular child, which is all any of us can do.
