ADD Student

Archive for the ‘Life Skills’ Category

Much of the world is celebrating some sort of holiday this month, and with that comes social occasions with family and friends.

Behavior is often a problem with kids who have Attention Deficit Disorder and during the holidays, things can often get worse.

Their schedule has been changed, their routine disrupted, and there is less structure in place. Holiday sweets and rich foods are everywhere and there is just so much to do and see! Your child might be awaiting the holidays with excitement and anticipation – and it’s hard to wait when you have ADHD.

So much about the holidays – the excitement, the socializing, the changes all around – can really aggravate ADHD symptoms.

Naturally you want to child to make a good impression on family and friends and good behavior makes it easier on you, too. Here are a few ideas to help your child through this stressful time:

Try to keep as much structure and routine in the day as you can.

Make sure your child is getting enough sleep.

Parents often use school breaks as medication breaks too. If you’ve got a big party or event to go to with your child, you may want to consider giving them their medication then.

Balance holiday diets with good nutrition and lots of water when you can. A little protein and a bottle of water before an event can do wonders.

Give your child a chance to get outside and play whenever you can. It’s good for them in so many ways.

Take some time – maybe after things have calmed down and before they go back to school – to do something creative with them.

If you’re attending a large gathering, you might want to arrange some quiet time or a quiet space for your child to escape to when things become too overwhelming. Make sure your child understands that this is a place to help them calm down and relax a little, not a punishment for bad behavior.

Be sure to talk over company manners and what they mean before any outing. Let them know what to expect and how to behave as well.

Finally, remember that with all of the excitement and activity going on, safety needs to be a concern. Kids with ADHD are risk takers and thrill seekers who act before they think. Keep an extra eye on them when the excitement level gets high to make sure they aren’t doing anything dangerous.

People with Attention Deficit Disorder, especially children, don’t always behave in an appropriate manner when confronted with a new or unexpected situation.

As a parent, one of the ways that you can help your ADD Student is to help them anticipate and plan for these kinds of events.

Childhood is filled with new experiences and situations: attending a new school, going to a new friends home for a playdate, attending weddings, funerals, parties, going to a nice restaurant – the list is endless.

When you know that your child will soon be experiencing something new, it is helpful to talk to them beforehand. Tell them what to expect and talk about what kind of behavior is appropriate. It may seem obvious to you, but it often isn’t for someone with ADHD.

Giving your child an idea beforehand can help relieve anxiety (yours and theirs) and insure that the experience is a positive one.

Susan Epstein is a parenting coach and the brains behind the site, Parenting Powers. Susan works with parents teaching them how to parent more effectively and stop bad behavior. She helps you deal with bad behavior as simple as talking back and as serious as drug use.

Now Susan has put together an ongoing resource for parents. She has taken her highly effective $400 coaching program and turned it into a home study course. For a limited time – until midnight Saturday, Dec 5, 2009 – she is offering it for $9.95.

The program includes 7 audios and the accompanying transcripts on the following topics:

Power of Respect
Power of Calm
Power of Motivation
Power of Allowance
Power of Streamlining
Power of Harmony
Power of Sustainability

In addition, you get worksheets, tips, and techniques to help you through the program.

When you purchase the program, you get access to Susan’s exclusive parenting resource area. If you like what you see, you can continue your membership at a cost of $9.95 per month. If you choose not to, you can still keep the program which is a $400 value.

Check out Susan’s program and see if it might be useful to you. She has a blog and other free resources on her site, so be sure to check those out too.

Note: I am letting you know about this because I thought it might be of interest; I am not making any money from endorsing Susan’s course.