Methylphedinate for inattentive ADHD

[Echobelly]

It looks like we are going to go down the path of trying methylphedinate for our DS who has dx of ADHD, inattentive type. He is starting Y5 tomorrow and is bright but falling behind at school because he finds it so hard to recall things and build on the knowledge he has (everything is two steps forwards, one step back) and having difficulty socially as well. In our discussions with the psychologist it sounded like it would be an effective treatment for him. I'm interested to know if anyone has experience of a child starting use it who, like our DS, has ADHD that is not very severe but clearly holding them back. What kind of things did you notice when they started on it? How long did it take to notice a difference? I'm just keen to know what we might expect - TIA

Hi Echobelly, my son has inattentive ADHD. He was diagnosed at the end of Y6 and started taking medication in Y7.

It has been great for him. He only takes it on school days, so we rarely experience him medicated, but the change in his experience of and engagement with school has been amazing. He has gone from being average to below average (didn't pass all his SATS) to top set.
He has been given the opportunity to experience being able to concentrate, learn and that when he puts effort in change happens.
He has more friends and takes school more seriously and is able to plan for a future.

Really before it didn't matter how much he tried at school, he couldn't concentrate and it made no difference to what he produced or his outcome. With medication that has changed.

During lockdown I could see the difference myself. On days he wasn't medicated he would sit at his computer all day and maybe get one subject done. On days he chose to take medication he would blitz through 3-4 subjects.

If you have any more specific questions please let me know.

Thanks so much @LadyLuna16, just seen this - that's what I'd hoped. DS's teacher actually has a husband with ADHD so she is very understanding about it and will look out for any side effects (like loss of appetite) when we let her know he has started. If we can manage it soon, I expect we will try to catch up with his teacher after a few weeks - assuming they manage to keep school open - and ask how she has found it.

The psychologist says we will follow up him about 12 weeks in. We just have to take DS for a cardiologist assessment tomorrow as there have been some cardio issues in his father's family, but as far as we know it's not shown up in this branch. But obviously we need to check there's no underlying issues that might react badly to some of the potential meds.