ADHD children often act in ways that are difficult for parents to manage because our children are more distractible, hyperactive and impulsive than their peers. ADHD means they are effectively developing a little later and this makes it harder for our children to keep pace with the skills that control attention, behaviour and emotions.
We may feel stressed and a little embarrassed by our children who do not seem to listen or follow instructions. They need many reminders to perform tasks which we perceive to be simple, appear to put in little effort with their schoolwork (pointed out repeatedly by teachers on parent night) and make careless mistakes. Their bags are never packed, items vital to sport are lost and their room is always messy and disorganized.
Visiting a friend’s house takes our anxiety to a new level because our children jump and climb when they should be sitting still, they interrupt a constantly, holler out the plot twist in movies and do things which they should know not to.
They do not take turns or share (or even notice that may have been a requirement) and then they often top it all off with an emotional outburst.
These aspects of our child’s behaviour prove hard for us to manage until we realize that it is part of living with ADHD and that traditional parenting styles are ineffective for our child struggling with ADHD. These outcomes are actually predictable (and avoidable) when viewing the situation from within an ADHD framework.
Once we learn what approaches work best for our child, we are able to support them with their challenges and assist with setting them up for success.
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