Does your child have a difficult time being successful in school and at home? Perhaps he makes careless mistakes on his homework, yet you know that he really does understand the material. While at home, he takes a long time to clean his room and cannot sit still at the dinner table. At the same time, his teacher may report that he is fidgety in the classroom and cannot remain at his desk. Your child could be suffering from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).
ADHD not only affects the classroom and home environment. It can also affect your child’s social development-their ability to maintain friendships. It is reported that children with a history of ADHD are almost 10 times as likely to have difficulties with friendships (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011).
Here are some suggestions for helping your son/daughter manage his/her symptoms of ADHD:
1. Encourage your child to double check her work before she turns it in. Review the homework with your child.
2. Write down the steps involved in cleaning your child’s room and put up the list in a place where she can easily refer back to it, as needed.
3. Eliminate distractions (television, phone calls, music) at dinner time in order to help your child focus.
4. During homework time, allow your child to take breaks in timed increments. She can do a physical activity (such as running around the block or walking around in the backyard) and then return to her assignment.
5. Decrease the amount of time your child spends on video games. Research shows that playing video games increases the likelihood of ADHD among children.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (December 2011). Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. CDC. Retrieved August 18, 2012, from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/data.html/