My son (just turned 9) is on Methylphenidate for about a year now and it has been very helpful. We had seen that he had struggled with being able to attend to his reading and homework. About a year ago he came to me and said he was having a hard time focusing at school. I honestly dismissed it at first thinking someone at school told him that but he was persistent. We pursued his complaint and he was diagnosed ADHD (very common in ASD).

He only gets a small dose and only on school days. The only side effect we saw was he would get emotional when the medication wore off. It would last for about an hour but went away after about a week. We don’t see any side effects anymore. He eats great on it. Once he started on the medication he rapidly caught up with his class (gen ed) in his school work.

Once he gets a little more mature we will start private counseling service to help him learn how to overcome his struggles in focusing and then ween him off the medication.

You know your child best. Trust your gut. If you try the medication and it doesn’t work then you can stop, and/or try something else. There is no harm in stopping this medication once they are on it.

Then don't. there is surely a biomedical or dietary supplement approach that would help if you seek out those types of professionals., or experiment on your own. Just as no two children with autism are alike, the same is for many other labels. I'd be especially concerned with the doctor's recommendation when it negatively impacts school only and not at home.

My 12yo son was on that (brand name Ritalin) when he was 8. He was having anxiety and tantrums in class and when we had him initially diagnosed they said he had PDD. We got a second opinion and it was determined that he had ADHD. Ritalin worked for a while, but he had side effects of lack of appetite and weight loss. He also said it made him feel "weird" and asked to be taken off it. The doctor suggested Strattera (atomoxetine) but the administration of it required strict adherence to a dosage schedule and he couldn't swallow pills whole. Adderall was another suggestion but is an all-out amphetamine so that was NOT an option for us. So he prescribed Focalin (dexmethylphenidate) instead, which is "milder" than Ritalin but with different side effects (such as anxiety.) Now my son is 12 and his grades are excellent and his teachers rave about him. He is still asking not to take meds though so we're weaning him off all meds. I also feel that the other kids in his grade level as a whole (being middle schoolers entering into puberty) are "moodier" as a whole so he's probably viewed by the teachers as not being as much of a problem!

BTW: if he were 14 we and his doctor would have to honor his wishes to be taken off meds. Since he is 12 we still make the call. Parenting these days can be very complicated - even for kids who are mostly NT.

Personally, I think in the case of children with higher cognitive abilities and social awareness but poor habits and organizational skills from being easily distractible medications are a band aid and could potentially cause more problems in the future. These types of ADHD medications are stimulants so there is potential for abuse - though most do not seem to be addictive if doses are kept low. If your son is "moody" after it wears off I'd keep the potential for a psychological dependency for it down the road in mind.

I wouldn’t give it to him. It’s like applying a patch to a tire with a hole in it, eventually it won’t last. It also comes with a crud load of bad side effects too.
There are ways for educators to work with children with ADHD, you just have to make them do their job. Therapy also exist to help students/adults with ADHD, it’s cognitive behavior therapy.

We recently started on methylphenidate here. His behavior was driving us all nuts. He is ten years old. He is much easier to be around now. My older kids are enjoying their younger brother more which is helping relationship and bonding. There is less aggression too and less screaming.