Make sure you are confident in the diagnosis - it's easy to jump to meds but there's also other strategies:

- sleep
- diet (red 40 doesn't affect most people, but people with ADHD it can)
- supplement magnesium and zinc (these have both bene studied repetitively with the same results for ADHD)
- screen time
- set routines
- breaking down things to smaller tasks (ie: don't say "clean your room" give 5 specific things)

I started taking meds 2 years ago and wished I started soon. I got tested when we were concerned for my daughter. I went through a ton of testing and didn't just find a doc that would hand out pills like candy. The risks of unmedicated ADHD with regards to depression, anxiety, suicide, drug use, are much higher and something to consider. You can't just look at the side effects of the drugs as a risk, you need to look at the side effects of doing nothing.

There's also the schooling aspect - it sucks. There's no other time in your life you're stuck in a room for 8 hours a day with zero autonomy. the system is set up to promote ADHD symptoms.

There are studies that show that early interventionw tih medications can help neural development and reduce the need for lifetime medication by creating the "right" environment for development.

You should also see an ENT - that was the first thing we did. My daughter had to get her tonsils and adenoids removed. Her sleep quality was terrible. There is a very strong correlation and improvement post op that has been studied. Her biggest thing is that her brain doesn't shut off. She takes 1mg of clonidine at bedtime as her only med now and it calms her enough to get good sleep. We can tell a huge difference in her abiilty to focus and emotional regulation based on her sleep quality. she does not take a stimulant.

If meds are making your kid a zombie, it's not right. She still has issues and struggles with strong emotions, but the angry lashing out is almost entirely gone and she has gone from 3-4 meltdowns a day to 0-1, ie: it made her a normal 5 year old. It's also improved our relationship wtih her as she isn't the "problem" child who feels like she gets harped on more than everybody else (which she did, because she caused the most problems.).

this channel is great

https://www.youtube.com/@russellbarkleyphd2023