�one test that my son was given, among many, was a computer based test of concentration, where the child is required to concentrate on something pretty boring. He is very VERY active. He has trouble listening, but can focus when things are of interest (his interest, not mine, of course). He did 'average' on this test, and this helped confirm, along with other information, that he does not have adhd (although many strangers have kindly suggested it! �

We did not get such a test, but I am kind of curious how they determined that the thing in that test was in fact �pretty boring� across the board? I can just imagine the scientific study, lol.

I have seen my DD concentrate for long periods on plenty of things I would have thought most people would find quite boring.

Thanks for the encouragement Chris, I am still digesting the dx but at least it gives me a place to start. Just for background: my DD17 never got in trouble at school for anything that would have made me wonder if she had ADHD, she simply never turned in any homework but her grades were okay and her test scores were excellent so I wrote it off as her being bored and unwilling to do what she considered pointless work. I knew she wasn�t being challenged by the school, but there were no other options available for her at the time so I sympathized and let it go as long as she was passing all the advanced classes. She has always been a bit of a handful at home, but I didn�t realize that the constant questioning of rules was just a gifted issue and the lack of organizational/planning/time management skills was something more than laziness. I only started to think there was a real problem when she couldn�t pull it together to write her college application essays in a timely manner for the school she desperately wanted to go to. Then I realized she really never did produce high quality written work on demand so I wanted to find out if she had some kind of LD that was making writing especially difficult for her. That�s how we got started down this road to discovery!

"I think the point here is that a child who isn't functioning 'well' at home might still be able to learn more at home where his behavior can be more comfortably accomidated. And while most teachers wouldn't blame or shame a kid with ADHD behaviors for what the child can't control, there are always those that do. At home, also, the parent or tutor can design a day that makes the most of a child's interests and readiness level."

I think that's probably true Grinity, but I don't think that was what this Psych was saying, I really got the uncomfortable impression that he saw the purpose of medication as being to make the student more compliant/acceptable to the school. Hopefully I was wrong there, but I got the feeling he really didn�t even read my DD�s case file beyond IQ scores.

I'm still on the fence about the decision to try the medication but my DD said it really does help her get her thoughts in order (i.e. find the right word right away and still remember why she was searching for that word in the first place).

So far, so good but after one week of sleeping solidly from 1am to 7am while on the meds, her sleeping is back to being erratic. She took a 3 mg melatonin Friday night and slept all day Saturday(!) The Dr said we could adjust the ADD med schedule and take the 2nd dose earlier so she could fall asleep earlier than 1am...she tried that yesterday and couldn't sleep at all last night. She doesn't want to take the Melatonin regularly because she is afraid of getting addicted to sleeping pills...if anyone has links to studies that show otherwise, that would be helpful.

After watching the "wayseer manifesto" video on you-tube
with my DD, I got all teary eyed and asked my DD if she thought maybe the meds would stunt her amazing "outside the boxiness" and she assured me the meds do not affect her thinking, only the efficiency of it and they greatly reduce the frustration of not being able to think efficiently.

So, I am feeling pretty good about trying the meds (for today anyway!)