My husband was recently diagnosed with ADD at age 42. Our older son (age 14) is on meds for ADD. My immediate concern is my 8-year-old who is just starting 3rd grade. He reads very well (read The Hobbit on his own over the summer) and performs well academically, but his teachers in grades K-2 complained about problems with him staying in his seat, calling out, not following all directions, etc.

Because of our family history I would have had him evaluated when I heard the teacher complaints anyway, but it became more urgent recently because of his extreme sensitivity and emotional outbursts (screaming, hitting) at home. It was (still is) driving us all crazy. The doctor did a screening and some tests and we decided on a medication trial. He is on Concerta 27 mg and I am not sure what I think. It doesn't seem to be helping the behavior at home very much and it's still too early to tell what's going on at school.

Anyway, his 2nd grade teacher had suggested we have him screened for the gifted program, so we did. I just got his test results back and they are saying his IQ is in the 109-116 range. (At the time he took the test he was on his starter dose of 18 mg Concerta.) Yes, yes, I know this is good. But I really feel that he is more gifted than that score shows. My daughter made it into the gifted program easily, and so did I when I was a kid, and we were both very early readers. (I feel like an ass bringing this up about myself, I know it's worth nothing now - I'm just trying to provide background.) My husband, on the other hand, was a problem student until he entered law school, after nearly failing out of college, and was never considered "gifted" - yet he scored in the 98th percentile on the LSAT. I don't want my son to be passed over in school the way my husband was. I'm not saying he's Thomas Edison, it's not like he really "invents" anything new, but he spends his time tearing toys/electronics apart and trying to put them together in different ways. This week he was very proud because he took a toy blender that had worked via a mechanical button and got it to work by hooking it up to a battery. We also planted a Venus Flytrap - at his instigation, believe me, I would never have got around to it if he hadn't bugged me (no pun intended).

Anyway, he has a wide range of interests and is constantly, constantly! asking questions, and is much more aware of the world around him than I was when I was a kid. I think he will bloom later, like my husband did, but I really would like him to get some extra stimulation in school, because I'm too busy with my other 3 kids (and frazzled by his behavior, not to mention his teenage brother and sister's - on top of all that, my husband's gone a lot) to do him justice. The school district is suggesting I send him to camps to accommodate his interests - obviously I would like to do that when I can, but lately finances haven't permitted it.

Sorry to blather on, I'm just frustrated by these developments. Anyway - my gut tells me he belongs in the "gifted" program because of his interest and motivation, no matter what the test says. Does anyone have advice?