ADHD - Ten Essential Tips For Management of Children With ADHD

Tip 1. Use More Immediate Consequences. Giveto behaviours one way at home but an entirely
children with ADHD immediate rewards for gooddifferent way in public places. The child with ADHD
behaviour.needs to know that the rules and consequences
Tip 2. Praise children as often as possibleexpected to occur at home will also apply,
whenever you catch them behaving correctly.whenever possible, away from home.
This should state exactly what the child did thatAnd, third, consistency means that each parent
was positive. For example, "I like the way youshould strive to manage behaviour in as similar a
completed those two maths problems."fashion as possible to the other parent. It should
Tip 3. Use a reward system rather than anot be the case that one parent punishes a child
punishment system. Initially tangible rewards likewith ADHD for a certain act of misconduct, while
tokens, points, or chip systems may need to bethe other overlooks the behaviour accepting it as
used. Regardless of the nature of the feedback,being OK.
the more immediately it can be provided, theTip 8. Have a System for Dealing with Problem
more effective it is.Situations. Usually some situations can present
Tip 4. Have Greater Frequency of Consequences.more problems than usual; one of these could be
Rewards need to be more frequent than forgoing shopping.a). Stop just before beginning the
other children. The important point is to actproblem situation.b). Discuss two or three rules
quickly and frequently in giving feedback tothat the child often has trouble following in that
children with ADHD.situation; then ask the child to repeat these simple
Tip 5. Use More Powerful Consequencesrules back. For instance, they can be rules like
Children with ADHD need to have larger, more"Stand close, don't touch, and don't beg."c).
powerful rewards. Consequences need to beDiscuss with the child what rewards they may be
something they love or something they hate.able to earn if they obey the rules and behave
Privileges they might love could be special snackswell.
or treats, small toys and even sometimes money.Once these steps have been followed, the parent
Consequences they might hate could be losingand child may enter the problem situation, and the
some television time or losing some monitory gain.parent immediately begins to give the child
Tip 6. Use Rewards rather than Punishments.frequent feedback and occasional rewards or
Parents must offer positive rewards beforetokens for good behaviour.
punishment when implementing aTip 9. Remain calm and emotionally uninvolved.
behaviour-change program. This rule simply meansAbove all, parents/teachers should not take
reward the positive e.g. if a child is frequently outpersonally the problem they are having with the
of the seat, reward the child when in the seat.child. They should try to remain emotionally
Tip 7. Strive for Consistency. Consistency isdetached. This is the most important but often
essential to the effective management of childrenthe most difficult to implement.
with an attention deficit. Consistency means threeTip 10. Parents/teachers need to allow
important things.themselves nurturing and relaxing time
First, parents need to be consistent over time.When parents and teachers feel relaxed they are
This means that the way they react to amore likely to be patient and successful in
behaviour they are striving to change today isimplementing the above.
how they should seek to react to it each time itIn conclusion following these 10 tips will greatly
occurs.diminish the difficulties experienced by parents and
Second, consistency also means to respond in theprofessionals in the management of Children with
same fashion regardless of place or settings.ADHD. Most importantly home and class room will
Parents of children with ADHD frequently respondbe much calmer and more peaceful.