
Guiding parents and teachers to navigate the challenges of ADHD
ADHD is a medical condition marked by developmental delays in children and teens, and often leads to challenges in parenting. It tends to be greatly misunderstood by medical and therapeutic providers, who may develop treatment plans that rely on medication as a sole source of treatment to the exclusion of behavior management training in parenting. Parenting interventions are effective, recommended, and have been proven to improve symptoms for children and teens. Most experts agree that ADHD is much (cont'd below)
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Leading Articles about Managing ADHD
5 Tips to Coach Your Teen To Ask for Help
When your teen needs help, do they actually ask for help? Or do they pretend to have all the answers…
CONTINUEDOutdoor Adventure Camp Experiences for Kids with ADHD
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CONTINUEDRewards Systems: Why They Work and How to Start One
The Power of Rewards Systems Whatever the goal, rewards are tremendously uplifting and motivating for anyone. If you’re trying to…
CONTINUEDIf I Had Known — Lessons from a Mom of an ADHD Adult
We all want to do the best for our children, but sometimes we just don’t know how. When her son was young, Linda Roggli didn’t know, either. But now that her son is grown, she knows how she’d handle a “do-over.” Thankfully, we can all benefit from her words of wisdom …
CONTINUEDExecutive Function Skills What Every Parent Needs to Know Executive Function Skills What Every Parent Needs to Know
Intro Text! Elaine Taylor-Klaus: Welcome back, everybody to another episode of Parenting With Impact. We are really psyched today to…
CONTINUEDBecome A Dive Bomber Parent
Are you a Helicopter parent? It’s easy to become one when your kid has ADHD. It seems that they need…
CONTINUED8 Reasons You’ll Never Know Your Child is Being Bullied
Bullying is a familiar topic in the world of complex kids, and internationally renowned parent author and educator, Barbara Coloroso,…
CONTINUEDSurprising Strategy for ADHD Management: Celebration
Have you ever noticed that what you most need to focus on tends to appear in your life repeatedly? It’s…
CONTINUEDHow to Handle the Rebound When ADHD Medication Wears OFF in Kids!
How Can I Help My Child ConcentrateMedication rebound – it’s real for kids with ADHD. So, what should a parent…
CONTINUED(continued) more than a ‘deficit of attention.’ Instead, ADHD can appear as a rather complicated collection of symptoms, manifesting somewhat differently for each individual. It may more easily be understood as a brain-based developmental delay in executive function. It can also be confused with or compounded by the many co-existing conditions that are common for people with ADHD, including anxiety, learning disabilities, depression, asthma, allergies, autism, Tourette syndrome, as well as newer (and less-well-known or researched) conditions, such as rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD).
Executive functions are responsible for how we think, feel, and act. They’re how we get ourselves to do (or not do) absolutely anything. Therefore, the symptoms that lead to an ADHD diagnosis are not just whether or not someone can pay attention, but whether they can self-regulate – whether they can decide what to pay attention to, stick with it, finish what they’re focusing on, minimize their impulses, and avoid getting distracted in the process. That’s what makes parenting so difficult.
The five areas most commonly reflected in ADHD symptoms rely heavily on executive function: attention (focus), impulsivity, organization, emotional intensity, and (sometimes) hyperactivity. Again, when kids, teens or young adults struggle with these issues, it can cause significant challenges in parenting.
Whether parents are trying to get life moving in the mornings or just help their kids and teens manage any or all of their responsibilities, ADHD is best treated by a combination of medication and ‘behavior therapy,’ otherwise known as parent management training, or behavior management training. With training, parenting can work with medication (when relevant) to teach children and teens skills in self-management, and ultimately improve outcomes for the whole family.