Psychologists usually support early intervention. That allows the kid to immediately learn how to do things in the best way for them, instead of being forced to conform to a mold that does bot match them. If you can, an evaluation and follow up with a mental health professional would be beneficial. That would also allow the school to provide reasonable accommodation.

Also consider that having a diagnosis doesn’t mean you have to share the diagnosis with everyone (or anyone).

Please get the diagnosis even if you plan to do absolutely nothing with it.

It opens doors

• Individual Education Plans

• Scholarships for additional services/materials even while attending primary school.

• Scholarships for College

I literally have a scholarship right now for my 5 yr old daughter. The scholarship covers speech therapy, occupational therapy, and I have left overs to purchase equipment like a pc for her use but I will likely put it into a 529 for her.

If she receives this scholarship for even a few years - her college will be all covered.

Tripling the early diagnosis rec as that comes along with legal protections which means you have a tool to force schools to make accomodations. Medication when school starts to get hard which is probably like 3rd grade?

Therapy is good if you can afford it.

Turn things into games or be silly to overcome demand avoidance, which is easier said than done bc it tends to pop up when everyone is tired and like, the kid just needs to take a shower or brush teeth. When you get mad/frustrated is when you have to dig deep and find your silly place.

Even with medication it’s still tough tbh, though it does help a lot.

For context my wife and I both have it as does our oldest. Baby TBD but odds aren’t good lol

In addition to the other advice here, I’ll say that whenever your kid creates a little mental trick or shortcut that helps him remember things or finish tasks, let him cook amd be encouraging, even when it might seem a little silly or convoluted. Sometimes, tricking one’s own brain can be easier and more effective than “just remembering” or “just doing it”. You might instinctively think of these tricks as cheating his way out of exercising willpower or discipline, but really they’re coping mechanisms that he’s gonna need to function independently.

about sums up my childhood and early teen years. get that kid early treatment.

Learn everything you can about ADHD. Figure out what traits be has doesn’t have.

Most importantly, discuss these things with him! Don’t let him grow up confused and having to figure all this out on his own. Don’t assume the school(s) will explain anything.

• Get them officially diagnosed: start looking for an appointment now!
• Decide about treatment based on science. In most cases, I believe, medication has the better outcome over non-medication; occupational therapy possibly too at that age, psychotherapy later. But they can tell you what works for that specific case.
• Educate yourself and show compassion. Ask yourself “could this be purely neurological?” before getting angry or forcing something.

During the holidays, I observed my son medicated and unmedicated. I noticed how unmedicated, he gets into all sorts of annoyances to himself even when just playing a board game with me. It’s overall not as good of an experience for himself: He is distracted and makes worse decisions, gets my mood down by tripping over water or toppling stacks of cards etc. There are many little things that add up to worse experiences. Might have a hard time getting into whatever is trending in his class, be it sports teams or trading cards.