We have tried non-invasive therapies for our 6 year old son regarding his ADHD. Fish oil, tea and exercise do not help him pay attention in school or at home. He is already repeating kindergarten in a 12:1:1 class and I’m not so sure he is progressing at the speed we expected. His teachers say how hard he tries to learn and retain information, but he keeps getting distracted in class. One on one is better, but he still needs redirection to stay on task. At home, its almost impossible to finish any project he starts and needs constant reinforcement to complete a game, TV show, chores, eating, etc. I’m willing to entertain the idea of drugs to he can get through a day at school and focus. What ADHD medication is the best? One person says, “Ritalin” and another will say, “No, he needs to be on Adderall.” Who am I to believe? I’m afraid to try and afraid not to try.

He’s already in special classes and is struggling academically. I don’t know if I can give this "more time" when he is not able to pay attention to his lessons and move onto 1st grade.

I don’t know what to suggest since this is a very personal decision you have to make. Children w/ ADHD can have tremendous potential given the ability to cope with this condition. Try talking to school personnel such as the special education teacher. These teachers have lots of experience and training on how to teach students with all sorts of issues. Also, if there are colleges or universities in your area, you may want to seek out the advice of a special ed. professor (who will have knowledge of effective instructional/ behavioral strategies and techniques). I would do this before I put him on meds. I’ve seen kids I wished were on something and I’ve seen others that experienced such bad side effects (I mean BAD- like non-stop ticking and extreme restlessness) that I wished the parents would take them off and try something else. Be careful about who you take your son to if deciding on the medication route (most general doctors will just give you whatever you want or mention because it’s so common for kids to on some type of medication nowadays). Good luck.