8 Secret Tips for Parents of Children with ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
For the parents of a child with ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, everyday tasks turn into battles—from getting the child out the door in the morning to getting him to bed at night. My son was diagnosed with ADHD at age 6, so I remember what it was like to have a daily tug of war with an attention disordered child all too well. Parents look for help everywhere. They may read one book after another and hear a parade of behavioral experts speak who give them parenting tips that don’t seem to work. The more books they read and experts they seek out, the worse their child’s behavior seems to get.
“ADHD is a ‘brain difference.’ Your child’s brain works differently than 95% of his peers. So ‘one size fits all’ parenting techniques won’t necessarily fit your child.”
In my practice and in my work with my own son, I discovered a number of techniques and strategies that can help parents of children with ADHD improve behavior. Here are 8 Secrets I have learned that can help parents improve their child’s behavior and school achievement:
Rewards may work like drugs for children with ADHD.
A research study conducted at Nottingham University in the UK found that immediate reward in the form of points in a video game had a similar effect on brain activity as stimulant medication. Based on EEG results, the team found… Continue reading
Guesswork in prescribing medications for ADHD moves one step toward elimination due to recent genetic research.
Up until now, the prescribing of medication for children with attention deficit hyperactivity is often tedious for the physician and the family. Children who do not respond to the first stimulant prescribed may respond to the next one tried or… Continue reading
ADHD: To Medicate or Not to Medicate?
I fully understand the concerns of parents regarding medication for ADHD. My wife and I struggled with this when my son was 5. He had a great response to stimulant medication and remained on medication until he was 14. He suffered no observable side effects. He is a 6’4” guy who completed college with honors and has been employed for 5 years in the film industry and currently is an editor for a top rated cable network show. We were at our wits end and what we called “the small vitamin” was a miracle drug. At home we also used psychosocial interventions from time to time during his formative years.
During my years as a child psychologist, I have been able to help many children with mild to moderate symptoms of ADHD do well at home and school without medication using psychological interventions. However, children with more severe symptoms benefit greatly from medication. Current guidelines now state that behavioral interventions should be tried first for mild to moderate symptoms and also should be used for more severe manifestations along with medications which may reduce the dose needed to control symptoms and may reduce the length of time required to remain on medication.
ADHD Kids Helped by Relaxation Techniques
A recent exploratory study conducted at a private school reported in Current Issues in Education stated that the use of meditation can be beneficial to 11 to 14 year old students diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. According… Continue reading
ADHD: A Treatment with No Side Effects?
I have long believed that behavioral therapy is the key to helping kids with ADHD. In fact, a new study on ADHD said that comprehensive behavioral therapy works as well as medication over the long haul. Also, earlier studies showed… Continue reading
ADHD Medication: Can Your Child Go Without?
In a commentary in The Boston Globe, pediatrician Claudia Meininger Gold wrote, “medication can’t fix a broken childhood.” She goes on to say, “with our over-reliance on psychoactive medication, we have created another Ponzi scheme where, just as Bernard Madoff’s investment fund was not really earning any money, we are fooling ourselves into thinking that we are helping these children in any significant way.”
Also, US News & World Report also provides in-depth coverage of this topic, starting first by citing the recent recommendation of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence of the UK. They recommend the trial of behavioral intervention prior to medication for the treatment of children diagnosed with ADHD.
