How can I help my child with ADHD?

It is difficult for parents to assimilate that their child has been diagnosed with ADHD. After receiving the diagnosis, the reactions of disbelief, disorientation, impotence, frustration, denial, anger, fear and even guilt begin. This type of reactions are normal at first after knowing the diagnosis

It is difficult for parents to assimilate that their child has been diagnosed with ADHD. After receiving the diagnosis, the reactions of disbelief, disorientation, impotence, frustration, denial, anger, fear and even guilt begin.

This type of reactions are normal at first after knowing the diagnosis, however, it is essential that parents manage to get out of this storm of emotions and begin to assimilate what happens to adapt to the new situation.

What do I do if my child is diagnosed with hyperactivity? Once the child has been diagnosed, the professionals (doctors, psychologists or psychiatrists) who know the child begin to offer parents a multitude of information about what is ADHD, causes, symptoms, salient features, etc. In addition, apart from the information they receive from professionals, parents usually seek information on their own.

In the end, they are overloaded with information but still need guidance and advice to learn clearly and easily how they can help their child on a day-to-day basis.

In this article we offer you 5 simple recommendations so that you can put them into practice and help your child with ADHD at home:

1. Plan and introduce a daily routine in the family environment.

Children with ADHD get great benefits when there are established routines at home. It is ideal to think that the day is full of goals to achieve (dressing, eating, brushing teeth, showering, doing homework, playing, preparing your backpack, etc.). Of course, every achievement that the child gets must be rewarded. We recommend that you make a schedule (ideally, do it together with the child) with the activities you have to do during the day. In such a way that, with a single glance, you know what you have to do in each moment. Later, it will convert those activities into habits and you will not even need to look at the schedule. 2. Strengthens their self-concept and self-esteem.

What we say to children directly influences the construction of their self-concept, their self-esteem and, of course, their way of behaving. Talk to him affectionately, frequently highlight his positive qualities, criticize his behavior and let him know that it has not been adequate, but in no case do you qualify or label him for it. On the other hand, children with ADHD often find it difficult to identify their positive qualities, encourage them to make a list with all the positive qualities they can think of! If you can not think of many, you can help the whole family complete your list of positive qualities. 3. Let him relate to his peers.

Many times parents tend to overprotect their children to avoid being rejected by other children, and prevent them from attending birthdays, doing extracurricular activities, going to the park, etc. However, this is an error. Children have to have the opportunity to interact with other children. The child can learn social skills, control their impulsivity and regulate their own emotions but for this, it is necessary to interact with other children. 4. Help him resolve conflicts.

Talk and reflect with your child about the conflicts he has had during the day. Teach him to look for the background and the consequences of the conflict in which he has been involved. Ask him the following questions: what happened before? What happened? What happened next? This will help you not only focus on the conflict and broaden the perspective of the situation. Finally, you can ask another question: do you think you could have acted in a better way? This will help you to consider how you can act if in the future you are involved in a similar situation. 5. Prepare it for the future

. Encourage him to reflect on what behaviors are appropriate (respect shifts, listen to other people, ask for things please, etc.) and what behaviors are not appropriate (interrupt, mock, insult, paste, etc.). Once the child has thought a little, you can make a list of things that can be done during the day because they are "adequate" and, therefore, it is a good idea to carry them out. And then you can make another list with those things that should not be done because they are "inadequate" and, therefore, it is not a good idea to carry them out. Putting it in writing will help the child to interiorize it.