Without ADHD meds, our son often can't concentrate long enough to finish a sentence. He starts one, shifts to another, and repeats. Often, in the mornings before his meds kick-in, he lacks sufficient impulse control to avoid hitting his mother (also my wife -- the English language seems to lack a single word which denotes both relationships) or threatening her with physical violence. The differences in behavior are striking in their contrast. While I don't like the idea of "medicating away" a problem which could be solved via better parenting, I don't see how we can possibly be effective parents if we had to spend most of our time with him (1) protecting his little brother from his aggression, (2) protecting physical possessions, or (3) attempting to correct behaviors which himself seems to wish he did not have but can not stop due to lack of impulse control. On meds, we can do what normal parents get to do.