The pediatrician and I both said that the first line of treatment should be diet and then neurofeedback or other alternative routes before meds. I know others may disagree here with me, but if I had followed the advice of the former pediatrician (who is a colleague of the present one and in the same practice!) I would have put my son on meds, possibly done more damage than good, and never got to the root of the problem to begin with. The current pediatrician agreed with me.
I'm not saying that meds are not sometimes necessary or warranted with an ADHD diagnosis. I'm just saying that I'd get a second or third opinion before pursuing meds and/or exploring alternative treatments first before the meds.
That's my 2 cents.
My two cents also. I ABHOR the meds-first approach, particularly with a condition such as this that is so subject to mis-diagnosis. If there was a definitively medical test for it (such as there is for diabetes), then it would be different.
My DS9 has never been medicated, and yes he struggles sometimes, but he has also dramatically improved and outgrown many issues (he was diagnosed at age 7 with "severe" combined type).
Just to be clear - I'm not anti-meds - sometimes kids really need them. I'm just tired of the "a pill for every ill" approach in our system that makes you wonder if the doctors are more concerned about their fee than the patient's long term well being.
My apologies if I've offended anyone... that wasn't my intention.