My son with ADHD (I have it, too) started medication at the age of 9 at the doctor’s suggestion. By the time he was 15 he decided no more, and refused to take it. I had tried the meds, too. They were less effective than I had wished. I kept needing to increase the dosages, and then to deal with the anxiety it produced, upped the antidepressants, too. After many years of treatment, which never worked, I was weaned off of the antidepressant and the ADHD meds. I feel 100% better. Real life is real life, and there are no easy answers. Medication made things worse for both of us. So don’t fault your son, and don’t think that meds are a panacea. They are not. I’m so glad he has found ways to succeed that suit him.
Yes, I didn’t really push the meds. He tried them and didn’t like how they made him feel. He was a skinny kid who got skinnier—lost his appetite. And his mouth got dry and his hands were purple while running and his vision got weird (he was a distance runner in high school—track and cross country).
And I didn’t want to feel like Nurse Ratchet from One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest so I didn’t press the issue.
I know the meds do help many with ADHD though.