Self-esteem in children with ADHD

ADHD, Attention Deficit Disorder and / or Hyperactivity Disorder, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that involves problems of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. In addition to these difficulties or problems, children with ADHD present or may present academic difficulties (learning difficulties) and also affect the social area of children. And it is that, this disorder also has emotional consequences in them. At Guiainfantil.com we talk about self-esteem in children with ADHD.

How are children with ADHD

Children with ADHD are usually children who act and then think, get distracted, lose things, do not always meet the rules, have very "intense" emotional responses, have self-control difficulties, etc. ... It brings negative consequences, punishments, scolding, negative comments towards them.

To this must be added the frustration that they feel about what they do, since in many cases they feel that everything is wrong, que and that no matter how hard they try, they can not do things as the elderly want (" I do not do anything right ", or" I am a bad boy "are common phrases to children with ADHD). We must always remember that many of the behaviors and difficulties that these children have, are not aware, that is, they in most cases do not act like that for pleasure, or knowing what they do.

How does ADHD affect children's self-esteem?

All these difficulties affect the self-esteem of children with ADHD who

tend to make a negative assessment of themselves , which leads them to have more disruptive behavior, more extreme, and a lack of important motivation.Imagine for a moment the day to day of a child like that. He gets up in the morning, and goes to breakfast, and the reprimands begin: "Come on, hurry up, have breakfast, go get dressed, but what are you doing playing, if I told you to dress up, we will not get to school, as we will always be late again. " Once in school and already in class, the child another day listens more, "Attend, take out the books, that's not, the math one, again without doing the homework, again without pointing at the agenda, do not get up, again clueless, I told you not to get up ... "and once again at home," Come on, hurry up, do your homework, but do not get distracted, this you could have finished already, but we've been two hours and here we continue , you have forgotten the file, I told you to collect, do not do this, do not do the other ... "In short,

a day to day that comes full of negative comments towards them. Because on many occasions, even if the child has a diagnosis, they do not always know how to act with them, and although we know that the child has ADHD, it is not always appropriate to act properly.

According to Dr. Rojas Marcos,

self-esteem is the feeling of appreciation or rejection that accompanies the global assessment we make of ourselves . It is personal in the sense that each one constructs the concept of his "I" with different ingredients, such as the assessment of the ability to relate to others, the ability to carry out certain activities, the achievements we quote, the appearance physical, material things we possess, intellectual capacity and the joy that we generally feel in everyday life.In addition, self-esteem is also

the concept that we have of our worth and is based on all the thoughts, feelings, sensations and experiences that we have been collecting about ourselves during our life. The construction and maintenance of self-esteem will depend on all these factors. How to improve the self-esteem of a child with ADHD

In view of the above, we can think that a child with ADHD will not build a positive self-concept and self-esteem.

They are children who do not trust their possibilities, they feel insecure , they are irritable and sometimes with a bad mood, unmotivated, with thoughts of failure; in short, they think that they are not able to cope with school, social or family demands.It is therefore fundamental how we act adults who relate to the child. It is very important not to lose sight of the fact that

most of the time the child does not act in a "conscious" manner, knowing that what he is doing is wrong. We have to see the positive aspects of these children, making them see them too,valuing them beyond the academic results or their behavior.

They are creative, imaginative, sensitive, spontaneous, fun children, willing to help and collaborate in multiple activities. It is important to correct them in a positive way, to help them with clear guidelines and to generate strategies of self-control and organization

, to establish daily routines that help them to organize, to value a lot when they do something well, (if they indicate the duties in the agenda for example, we will give a lot importance to that) and when they make mistakes we will help them find a solution, instead of scolding or punishing them. And, if they do not point, what can we do ?, we can tell you to call a partner and ask him, without giving him more drama,give them more time to perform certain tasks

, avoid comparing them with older or younger brothers , help them see the good in them and encourage them to participate in activities that develop and be more than an ADHD label. It is normal for us to despair many times, but we can never lose sight of the fact that they need oursupport and understanding

, that what they do not see of themselves, we must teach them to us. The intervention with these children is very important, which is based on a triple action that must be carried out jointly and in a coordinated manner between Family, school and specialist in intervention with children with ADHD (psychologist or educational psychologist).