We all know kids who can’t sit still, who never seem to listen, who blurt out inappropriate comments or don’t follow instructions no matter how clearly you present them.
While it’s normal for kids to forget their homework, daydream during class or act without thinking, inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity are also signs of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD. ADHD makes it difficult for a person to inhibit their spontaneous responses, including everything from movement to speech to assertiveness.
Some children with ADHD may be constantly in-motion, bouncing off the walls and disrupting others around them. Other children with ADHD may sit quietly, with their attention miles away.
There are three primary characteristics of ADHD: Inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, though all three aren’t always prominent in one child.
Children with ADHD may:
- Have trouble staying focused or get easily distracted
- Appear not to be listening when spoken to
- Constantly fidget and squirm
- Talk excessively
- Act without thinking
- Interrupt often, or say the wrong thing at the wrong time
- Have a quick temper or “short fuse”
Whether or not your child’s symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity are due to ADHD, they can cause problems if left untreated. Children who can’t focus or control themselves or get into trouble at school often find it hard to make friends. These frustrations can later lead to low self-esteem as well as friction for the whole family.
Treatment can make a dramatic difference in your child’s symptoms. With the right support, your child can get on track for success in all areas of life.
If you’re interested in learning more about ADD and ADHD therapy, contact me today for a free consultation. I would be happy to share how I can help your child achieve success and grow.
Home-Based Strategies for Managing ADHD
- Set up and maintain structure at home. Implement simple routines around morning preparation, departure for school, and bedtime rituals for winding down and getting to bed.
- Be clear and concise in verbal communications. Avoid lengthy discussions or explanations of why your child needs to go to bed at designated times or comply with house rules, etc.
- If working on particular skills or behaviors, confine target behaviors to two, or no more than three behaviors to be targeted at one time. Begin with behaviors that you believe can be taught or mastered easily. Build on successes.
- Positive reinforcements (rewards) are more effective than negative reinforcements (punishments). Try to avoid negative reinforcements.
- Intermittent reinforcements (rewards) are most powerful. While you may begin with reinforcing every target behavior each time it occurs, you will move toward intermittent reinforcement of the behavior (giving rewards every 2nd or 3rd time the behavior occurs).
- Let your child help identify rewards and reinforcements, remembering that your child knows what she/he likes best.
- Avoid repeating yourself. Use the three strikes and you’re out rule, telling your child up to three times without a consequence. Obtain your child’s attention and speak clearly and concisely.
- Set realistic, attainable goals and expectations.
- Use the Swiss cheese approach to attack large projects, poking holes and chipping away in time increments and intervals until the project is completed.
- Think preventatively. Avoid shopping areas, activities, and destinations that are over-stimulating or under-stimulating for your child, as these become locations for poor impulse control, loud disorganized behavior, or temper tantrums.
- Consider the time of day when scheduling to be sure your child will be at his or her best for necessary appointments. Schedule situations and activities that require your child’s sharpest attention early in the day. Schedule difficult activities early to get them out of the way.
- Be decisive, even if you are wrong. It’s better to make a decision than to keep negotiating, haggling, or dawdling. Remember that you are the authority.
- Make decisions to avoid lost time, tantrums, etc. For example, you choose your child’s school clothes if it takes too much time for your child or if he/she becomes upset in the process.
- If your child needs help with homework, consider hiring a tutor. It’s hard to help your own child with excessive homework and it may be costly in terms of your relationship.
- Try to keep a sense of humor when matters start to go south. Remember, you don’t have to win every battle to win the war and stay on track.