Okay, here's what my experience has shown me:
Dd (13yo) has a certain amount of coping skills/resources to expend throughout the day when it comes to tasks like remembering homework, not ending up in the shower for forty-five minutes, whatever...attention stuff. She can, sufficiently motivated (and yes, I hold electronics hostage too), hold it together enough to do these things unmedicated. It comes at a cost, though-- eventually she runs out of mental energy and turns into a complete flitterhead, and a cranky one at that.
She, unfortunately, has had adverse reactions to the ADHD meds we've tried so far. We're giving it one more go and if the last one doesn't work, she's just going to have to go through life unmedicated. To that end we're working hard on coping skills and strategies to get her through the end of middle school and through high school and college. I'm hoping it works, but it's too early to tell yet. I hope so, because I don't have real high hopes for the med, and I don't want her living in my basement when she's forty.
