Expert: Dr Billy Levin - 8/23/2009

Question
My 8 year old daughter is having trouble focusing at school being spaced out and not concentrating on her school work. Her teachers have brought this to my attention and it seems to me that she may have attention deficit disorder she is sluggish often and I have noticed this increasing at home as well. Her grades have been great in 1st and 2nd grade but she seems to be struggling to keep up already. Not sure if I should send her to the Dr and put her on medication however I am concerned about the side effects of the medicines. My biggest concern is that the teachers keep telling me she is so sluggish and "spacey". They can teach for an hour and then she still will not know where to begin when it comes time to do her classwork. Please help me. I feel bad and guilty that I have not taken her to get help until now but I guess I just kept over looking it.

Answer
Firstly you should not feel guilty but rather do what has to be done if it is necessary to help our child. If medication is necessary it is safe and the possible minor  side effects are of little importance.  What is important is to have to assessed by a medical expert to firstly diagnose her probem and only  then to decide with the doctor if she need medication. Your description is typical of ADD (not ADHD). Good luck!