My sister had a problem like that with a different medicine, though she was thirteen at the time and it may have had more to do with the age than the medicine. But I would take her off it immediately. It may or may not be the medicine, but if she thinks it is, she will probably be a little better off it from the placebo effect.

   I also question the prudence of having a five year old on meds. However, I was homeschooled and did not have to begin formal schooling until eight years old and your girl is very likely in kindergarden so perhaps it is different. Although, aren't all kids that age bouncy? I don't know how reliable a diagnosis for a child that young is. I don't think any of me or my two siblings started earlier than eight.

   I've heard of cases in which ADD was able to be dealt with without medicine, through diet changes or other means. I've also heard plenty about diagnosis-happy doctors and so forth jumping the gun (fortunately my pediatrician was not one of these). It may not even be ADD. There are plenty of other reasons for a five year-old to scratch her skin. What may be happening to your daughter is OCD symptoms brought on by the Aderall. Most of us have some inborn OCD-like tendencies, something we are mildly obsessive or compulsive about, I think, and ADD medication is known to aggravate OCD symptoms.

   It sounds like people are pressuring you to medicate your daughter. Don't let them bully you. They may have more medical education, but you are her mother. Medication should be only used if it's really necessary. I don't think a child that young should be burdered with labels like ADD, even if there are solid grounds for believing she has it.

   As to the issue of friends and loneliness, many children feel they don't have any friends or have trouble making friends. I think it's sad that she attributes her lack of friends to her having ADD. I sure hope no grown-up told the other kids she had it, because at that age it's not like they would know what it meant and it could only cause problems. I don't think it's true that children with ADD naturally don't have the attention span to form friendships, though it may be true for some. I often played alone and was content to. But I did have friends, though never as many as I wished I did.

   It also isn't true that children with ADD can't pay attention. They have a hard time controlling what they pay attention to. Some things can naturally hold them for hours and somethings can't. And they often fidget to help them pay attention to things that they know they are supposed to pay attention to but which don't draw them. I think maybe normal people and people with ADD are like horses with and without blinders. We have a harder time knowing what to focus on and controlling our concentration because we have more things crying at us to be payed attention to.

   God bless you and your little girl. I hope something of what I said is helpful.