I have two perspectives - first, I have a 10yo son who got diagnosed with ADHD and was often in trouble for disrupting class or not doing what he was supposed to be doing (despite being smart as hell and always getting good grades on tests), and second, my wife is a special education teacher (AISD) who usually only works with those with more pronounced issues but is knowledgeable about the allowances they give those on the disability plan. We made the decision last year (3rd grade - started at age 8 and turned 9 during the year) to start him on Ritalin or whatever the equivalent is. It helped a bit, then they increased the dosage and it's helped a lot more. I wasn't sure I wanted to go this way despite my wife, his teacher, and the counselor thinking it was a good idea. Like you, I didn't want to medicate for what I saw as normal kid behavior, especially for someone in the higher IQ range for his age and was probably bored at times. I was the same way as a kid and would probably have been recommended to be medicated if it had been popular then. We had a conference and I quite bluntly asked, "Are we doing this because it will help him, or because it will help the teacher deal with him?" I didn't want to do it if the answer was the latter, but everyone (including my wife) said it would help him focus better and I can see it has. He's 10 now and isn't taking it nearly as much (if at all) anymore and I think his 4th grade teacher has adapted to suit him and it has made a difference. We had several meetings at the beginning of the year about his behavior and upped the dosage then, but I don't think he's taking anything now and his teacher isn't contacting us all the time either. And we just found out she's going to be his 5th Grade teacher next year so that will be good. It doesn't sound like your son's "disability" is severe enough to need services from the Special Education department, but if y'all do have ARDs or anything you might ask about things that can be done to help like maybe having a TA in the classroom that can quietly help keep him focused (as well as help the teacher with other stuff). If he's really smart and might just be bored, perhaps talk to the teacher about giving him challenges (that aren't graded) that he can work on while others finish their work. My son's teacher has don't that - challenges - and he likes being able to do something the others can't do (yet).