Learn strategies for calm, consistent parenting, improving communication, managing meltdowns, and using positive reinforcement to support children with ADHD.
Key Concepts:
- While we would love to see immediate improvement, it’s important to remember that parenting is a journey, and we need to be patient with our kids and ourselves
- Calm, consistent parenting is a key contributor to positive adjustment
- Self-regulation is a major developmental task for children (with and without ADHD) as they grow up. Self-regulation is the ability to understand and manage behavior and reactions to feelings and things happening around you.
- Self-regulation is best learned through positive parenting, including consistency, calm limit-setting, and examples. This why it is so important that as parents we take the time to work on our own self-regulation, so that we can model for them
- One of the more commonly overlooked aspects of ADHD is how it impacts communication.
- Things we can do to help minimize communication frustration and improve their listening and comprehension:
● Wait until you gain your child’s full attention
● Offer extra time in conversation,
● Pause often and break language into shorter segments
- Despite our best efforts - meltdowns happen. don’t try to have a discussion or reason with your child while they are in the middle of a meltdown.
- Try creating a cooling off space. This is not a punishment or a kind of discipline. It is just a place to go to be calm and cool down
- Talk to someone. If your child wants to talk to you, listen without interrupting. Just listen, calmly and with great interest.
- Other ideas that work for kids :
● Take a bath or a shower.
● Exercise. Go outside if possible for a run or a walk.
● Play with the family pet or cuddle a soft stuffed animal
What to Try:
- A sensory diet is a tailored plan of physical activities and accommodations designed to help get kids in a “just right” state. Having the right sensory input helps kids pay attention in school, learn new skills, and socialize with other kids.
- When addressing behavior use positive opposites. Positive opposites means describing the behavior you WANT to see instead of the one you DON’T WANT to see. Ex “Keep your hands to yourself” instead of “Stop hitting” “Use walking feet” instead of “Don’t run”
- Positive reinforcement is one of the most effective strategies to encourage our kids to repeat similar behaviors in the future. An example of positive reinforcement would be to verbally praise your child immediately when you see a positive behavior or following directions. Be immediate and specific in your praise.
- Some families like to go a step beyond verbal praise and use a reinforcement like a behavior chart to work towards a predetermined reward