DSM & Medication Research

Trying to find the “right” medication for ADHD and PDA symptoms can feel completely exhausting. There are so many options — stimulants, non-stimulants, anxiety medications, mood medications — and every brain responds differently. One medication helps focus but increases anxiety. Another helps emotionally but causes fatigue, irritability, weight gain, or too much weight loss. It often feels like constant trial and error, and honestly, it is so hard watching your child go through that.

What makes it even harder is just how complex the brain really is. ADHD and PDA are not simply about attention or behavior. They involve anxiety, executive functioning, emotional regulation, sensory overwhelm, nervous system responses, transitions, and so much more.

Sometimes I genuinely cannot understand how the science still is not further ahead. It is frustrating, heartbreaking, and just plain hard — for both our child and us — watching yet another medication either not work at all, or work somewhat but come with side effects that simply are not worth it.

That said, I still hold onto hope. I recently had a conversation with a pediatrician who felt there is a strong likelihood that PDA could eventually be recognized in a future version of the DSM. Could you imagine? PDA being fully recognized in North America. Less gaslighting. Less fighting to explain what our kids are experiencing. Easier access to the right supports. But most importantly, recognition could open the door to more research funding, better understanding, and hopefully more targeted medications and supports!