Life with a child with ADHD can be a roller coaster of behaviors and emotions. Tracy Johnson, a certified ADHD coach, offered Greater Berks foster parents tips on working successfully with children with ADHD. Her most important advice: Remember that ADHD has to do with the chemistry of the brain. This is not a choice; it is the way their brain works.

Establishing routines

• Establish routines in as many areas as possible, but most importantly for morning and bedtime and for homework time. She also recommends families maintains morning and bedtime routines as closely as possible on both weekdays and weekends.

• Warn your child when a routine is going to change. Change will set off their behavior as they feel out of control. Do not allow any electronics as part of the bedtime routine – no television, no video game system, etc. These are all stimulating items and will slow down the bedtime process and excite your child.

Understanding stimulants

• Know which sensitivity sets off your child: noise, smell, touch, color or a combination. If you know what over-stimulates your child, it is easier to regulate or avoid the stimulant.

• Be aware of reducing stimulants in your child environments, especially their bedroom. Make sure there are no bright colors in your child’s bedroom as this will overstimulate her.

Working together

• Maintain eye contact with your child when making a request or asking a question. If you don’t have his eyes, you don’t have his attention.

• Lower your voice when correcting a behavior in your child. Listening to a quieter voice makes your child listen more closer to hear what you have to say. On the opposite side, yelling or raising your voice may just trigger your child into over-stimulation.

• Break down instructions or request one by one: “Clear the table.” When that task is done, “Wipe off the table,” etc. If your child gets frustrated every time an additional chore is presented, start of the conversation with “We have several things to do. First, please clear the table.”

• Provide warnings when an activity is coming to an end for smoother transition times. For example, give a five-minute warning when video time is ending, another warning at one minute then turn off the video system.

• Be very specific in telling children what to do. Johnson recommends parents tell children what to do (please walk), not what not to do (don’t run). Children are creative and “don’t run” doesn’t necessarily translate into “walk” as much as “skip,” “gallop,” or “bounce.”

• Buy your child an analog (dial) watch instead of a digital watch. Actually seeing the movement of the hands helps children process the concept of time.

Changing behaviors

• Be sure to recognize positive behaviors. Children with ADHD are often looking for attention and they will do what it takes to get it, even bad behavior for negative attention. If you recognize and reward the positive behaviors, it can lessen the need for negative attention.

• Provide a reward system for positive behaviors. The trick is finding a reward that will result in the appropriate behavior. You may have to ask what he would like for a reward. Remember to keep the build up to the reward short enough to keep your child’s attention span. Long term gratification will not work here.

• React the same way every time a particular unwanted behavior occurs. With consistent reaction and consequence, the behavior will change over time.

In the home

• Make chore cards. For every chore your child is supposed to accomplish, write a step by step list of actions for that chore. Keep them altogether is a chore box so your child simply has to find the appropriate card and complete the task.
  
  
• Provide time lines for chores or activities. “It should take you 10 minutes to put away the dishes” so your child can better stay focused on the task at hand.
  
  
• Organize your child’s room by providing a home for all of his things. Store toys, etc. in clear plastic bins so she can see what is inside each bin.

In the family

• Make sure the entire family knows that they, too, can recognize positive behaviors and praise their sibling for good actions.
  
  
• Don’t let a child with ADHD become the center of the family. While he may take more time, set aside dedicated time each day or each week to spend individual time with each child in the family, allowing some time for each child to feel special.
  
  
• Recognize that it is important to have family time each day but try to find the most appropriate method for your family. For some families, this is mealtime. For others, mealtime may be to restrictive or too stimulating for a child with ADHD and another means needs to be found, such as an evening game or a walk around the neighborhood.

At school

• Stay in constant communication with your child’s teacher(s). Work with the teachers so they recognize your child’s needs. Don’t be afraid to educate a teacher or administrator about ADHD, what it means, and how it affects your child. You know your child best and what she needs most.
  
  
• Talk with previous teachers. Learn from the past so you can tell current teachers what has been tried previously and what works and what doesn’t work.
  
  
• Help a child break down a homework assignment, project or chore into individual steps to prevent it from becoming too overwhelming.
  
  
• Relate new tasks to something that interests your child. When your child needs to learn something new, try to relate it to something he is extremely interested in so it will hold his attention. You also have to be willing to adapt the plan based on his changing interests.

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