ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a disorder that most children are diagnosed with early on in life. It involves not being able to concentrate or focus for prolonged periods of time and/or hyperactivity. While ADHD can be frustrating for both child and parent, is a manageable disorder that comes with several options for treatment. The two main options for treating Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are medication and behavioral therapy, which involves help from everyone involved in your child’s life. While ADHD is manageable and your child can live a successful life, making sure your child’s school, teachers, and family members understand the treatment being received is important to your child’s development.

Home and School

One of the best ways a parent can help when their child is struggling with ADHD is by setting goals, maintaining a daily schedule, giving rewards for good behavior, using graphs and lists to help keep their child on track, finding different hobbies, and many other things. Often times, children with ADHD require structure and adjustment in a school environment, which includes tutoring and the use of a resource room. While most ADHD individuals can focus all throughout the day and finish tasks with their peers, however, this is not the case with everyone. Using “pull out sessions” to help students’ complete tasks, homework, and learn different management lessons is a great tool for maintaining focus. Some students with ADHD might also need extended time on homework and tests as well as special help on tests.

Coaching and Support

ADHD coaching and support is often times referred to as psychotherapy and can help individuals feel more normal and can help develop coping skills. While most people would think that psychologists, child psychiatrists, pediatricians, social workers, and nurses can help make a difference, often times their services do not play a large role in ADHD children. Instead, using different means as a family result in the best outcome for children struggling with ADHD. Trying behavior modification and family therapy may show the best results in situations such as this.