Hi, I am new to this site. Happy I found it because it feels like when I am going through these issues with my son that I am the only one going through it....a very lonely feeling. Son't know where to start, but I guess I will start by saying that my son, who is now 9 1/2 and a 3rd grader, was diagnosed with ADHD when he was in the first grade. He began taking Concerta and was seeing a therapist to work with some of the issues he is having. He does not socialize well with other kids and therefore has no friends. I feel really bad for him because he is a sweet,intelligent child. He has a real hard time focusing in class and brings home a ton of homework to do because he was unable to finish in class. He has been on Focalin XR 40 mg. for about 2 months after we realized that Concerta was no longer working for him. His teacher has been less than sympathetic and just doesn't understand why he can't finish his work. I have had numerous conversations with her and find she is unable to compromise and just tells me that by this time of year she expects her students to be well organized and responsible. That may be true for your typical 3rd grader, which my son is not. I have met with his eacher, the school counselor and the principal and formulated a plan to make things work better for him and his teacher is not following the rules we had put forth. So now I have decided that it is time to write a 504 Plan because obviously they are not listening to anything I am saying. My son is also having severe sleeping problems, he has many fears (storms, ghosts, bugs, the dark) basically is afraid of everything and usually only gets about 6 hours a sleep at night. His pediatrician will only allow him to take Benadryl instead of Tenex, which I think from what I read and his therapist told me, is what he needs to calm his mind so he can stop the anxiety and get some sleep. I am sure sleep deprivation is not helping him at school. It seems like the Focalin is not working at all anymore. I am going to see if I can go around the pediatrician and work directly with his therapist and psychiatrist to prescribe Tenex for him. I tis so sad to see my son so full of anxiety, unable to function in school, makes me want to cry all of the time. My husband even has to sleep with him at night or we would never get any sleep. I am also the mother of almost 4 year old triplets and my husband and I are just stressed to the max. I know I have said alot here, just feel all alone in this as I am sure my son doesWe really need to find the correct ADHA medications, because I feel the two we have tried are not working for him. We are on medicaid and it seems like it does not cover the good medications for ADHD. We do not have the finances to afford ADHD medications that arent covered by medicaid,,Does anyone know if there is a way we can get these medications paid for my son if we find a drug to try that is not covered by medicaid? Anyway, glad to be here and hoping I might learn something from parents that perhaps have been going through this for a long time and may have some ideas to share Thanks for listening