Ds1 has ADD, his concentration and organisational skills are very poor. He is very bright but not achieving his full potential. Dh and I have never been keen on the idea of medication but today at a school meeting, his teacher, EdPsych, Prinipal and SENCO ( or Irish equivalent) seem very keen on the idea. Any experiences?

Bump

Concerta XR is an extended release version of methlyphenidate. For our very impulsive fearless son (who has SLD ADHD and probably ASD also)it is quite helpful. He was tried on an traditional (immediate action) methylphenidate first to check if it helped ( it did but wore off too quickly and the wearing off phase was difficult for us all). The extended release works much better for ds by keeping the dose constant through the school day.
It was a difficult decision at the time ( and I still have wobbles about it) but it is helpful to ds although it took a while to reap rewards for him. It must a difficult decision if your son is doing well! It isn't right for everyone but you never know if medication will help unless you try. My approach was to read reliable books and medical journals, and balance up the pros and cons including the risks of not reaching his potential. HTH

Thanks, magso! Our trouble is ds1 is actually very well-behaved, just drifts away into a world of his own and doesn't stay on task so although he is bright, he might as well not have bothered to go to school most days! So it would only be to help him academically and I have qualms about using medication for that.

Yes I can see it is a different situation and understand your qualms- there were very real safety concerns for our son. I worried about longterm effects but could not find much hard evidence of problems other than possible slower growth due to reduced appetite. Ds grows like a bean even on medication but we have had to change meal times slightly to feed him when he is hungry. Neurochemistry is very complicated but I did come across considerable confusion in the wider press!
However it might still be useful to consider what might happen if you don't try medication as well as the potential benefits. By that I mean things like is he likely to underachieve at school and then perhaps go off school or settle for a career he is bored with. Of course medication doesn't help everyone with ad(h)d, and different medications suit different people and it may take a while to find out which is best. I have heard of parents who have been saddened by the lost time in children who have responded well but put if off for years. I guess it is fairly obvious if it doesn't help!
I hope this will bump it for others.

Our daughter did not do so well on Concerta but did very well on Equasym, which is another slow-release medication. However, it only lasts for 9 hours so we have to top up with short meds as well (she is a teenager so possibly has a longer day than your son). I totally understand your qualms about medicating - it's a hard decision that only you guys can make. We tried a range of things with our daughter, including an additive-free diet, which worked well, but was actually pretty unsustainable - mostly because it relied on an impulsive child making sensible decisions about what she ate! It was fine when we ate as a family, but if she went anywhere else or there were treats at school, the whole thing went out of the window. Anyway, the meds really help with concentration, focus and for her, impulsiveness. As Magso says, all you can do is read what you can, weigh up the pros and cons, and go with what feels right for you and your family. Good luck with your decision.