Hi Lori,
My child does take Melatonin, but for different reasons so I can't speak to how it may/may not help your child. Just wanted to chime in to say that FOR SOME kids it can be helpful and safe-- but ours is prescribed by our child's doc, who is the one who determined she needed it and told us exactly what to get, and how much to give. We're conservative re: medication, and we're big on alternative treatments-- but we also consider supplements, even nutritionals/herbals, to be just like meds--we don't just assume they're safe b/c you can buy them otc-- we go through a doc to make sure they're safe and appropriate for us/our child. So, I'd check with your doc or specialist to see if melatonin, or perhaps another alternative treatment, could be tried before going on the medication you're concerned about.
HTH!