Although ADHD is thought to be hereditary, if you manage your child’s symptoms effectively, it can affect how serious the disorder is, and it can minimise the development of more serious problems over time. Early intervention is most important to achieve positive outcomes for your child. The earlier a child’s problems are addressed, the more benefits you will see, and failure in school and social circles could possibly be avoided or kept to a minimum. Other problems such as poor self-esteem and under-achieving which could possibly lead to delinquency or drug and alcohol abuse, can also be avoided or kept to a minimum. Although life will be challenging at times, as a parent you can help your child’s chances of success by creating home and school environments conducive to their well-being.

Some suggestions would be:

• Don’t fall in to the self-pity trap. ADHD is a disorder in certain areas of the brain and is commonly inherited in most cases. It is not caused by poor parenting or upheaval at home. Be aware though, that the home environment can make ADHD symptoms better or worse.
• Educate yourself about ADHD. Although there is a lot of information on the subject, not all of it is accurate or based on scientific evidence. You need to learn to distinguish the accurate information from the inaccurate. How do you do that? In general, be aware when people claim to have a cure for ADHD. There are currently no cures for ADHD. Also pay attention to where the information comes from. If you’re using the Internet, only use reputable websites such as government, non-profit, or university resources (those that end in .edu.au).

• Make sure your child gets a complete assessment done. Make sure the assessment includes medical, educational and psychological evaluations. Your child’s teacher should also be involved in the process. Also check if there are other disorders present that have similar symptoms or quite often occur with ADHD, so that they can be ruled in or out.

Helping your child succeed at school

• Become an effective case manager. Keep a record of all information about your child. This includes school report cards, notes by the teacher, any disciplinary reports, evaluations and documents from any meetings concerning your child. You could also keep information about ADHD, and a record of any treatments your child has had, along with contact information of the professionals your child has worked with.
• Form a team that understands ADHD and lead the team. Meetings at your child’s school should be attended by the principal or a representative of the principal, as well as a classroom teacher that knows your child, and a special needs teacher if there is one. If necessary, you can ask for input at these meetings from others that understand ADHD or your child’s special needs. These include your child’s doctor, the school psychologist, and the nurse or guidance counsellor from your child’s school. If you have consulted other professionals, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, or behaviour management specialist, any information you have from them should be brought to the meetings. A thorough understanding of your child’s strengths and weaknesses and how they are affected by ADHD will help those attending, and will help to develop an appropriate and effective program for your child.
• Learn all you can about ADHD and your child’s educational rights.  The more knowledge you have about your child’s rights while at school, the better to maximise his or her success. Please check with your own state’s information regarding such rights and check available services to better support your child. Please also consider speaking to your child’s teachers and making them aware that you child has ADHD and discuss how they can help. If they don’t know, they can’t help.
• Communicate regularly. Work as a team with your child’s educators and professionals. You all want to see your child succeed! If there are any major changes in the family that might affect your child, let his or her teachers know. Invite the teachers to contact you if there are any issues or concerns so they can be handled early on. Having open lines of communication between you and the school will help your child.

How to make life at home less stressful

• Join a support group. Parents will find additional information, as well as support, by attending a local ADHD support group in your local area where available.
• Seek professional help. Ask for professional help if you are feeling depressed, frustrated or exhausted. Helping yourself feel less stressed will benefit your child as well.
• Work together. It is important to have a cohesive approach from all the adults that care for your child (parents, grandparents, relatives and babysitters) so they agree on how to handle your child’s problem behaviours. Sometimes working with a professional can help you better understand how to work together to support your child.
• Learn the tools for successful behaviour management.  Behavioural techniques have been widely established as a key area of treatment for children with ADHD. Parent training will teach you strategies to change behaviours and improve your relationship with your child. Speak to us about our ‘parent training’ program.
• Find out if you have ADHD. Since ADHD is often inherited, many parents of children with ADHD discover that they have ADHD when their child is diagnosed. Parents with ADHD may need the same types of evaluation and treatment that they seek for their children in order to function at their optimum. ADHD in the parent may make the home more chaotic and affect a parent’s ability to be proactive rather than reactive.

Parent training will help you learn to:

• Provide clear directions and boundaries. Children with ADHD need to know exactly what others expect from them. They do not perform well when you don’t specify exactly what is expected of them. Working with a professional can help narrow the focus to a few specific behaviours, help you set limits and consistently follow through with consequences.
• Set up an effective discipline system. Parents should learn proactive discipline methods, not reactive, that teach and reward appropriate behaviour and respond to misbehaviour with alternatives such as time outs or loss of privileges. Communicate with the other people who care for your child and work to be as consistent with behavioural techniques across settings and caregivers as possible.
• Help your child learn from his or her mistakes. At times, negative consequences will occur from a child’s behaviour. Children with ADHD sometimes have a problem making the connection between their behaviours and these consequences. Parents can help their child with ADHD make these connections and learn from his/her mistakes.

How to boost your child’s confidence

• Set aside a daily special time for you and your child. Constant negative feedback can erode a child’s self-esteem. A special time, whether it’s an outing, playing games or just time spent with your child in positive interaction, can help fortify your child against assaults on their self-worth.
• Notice your child’s successes, no matter how small. Make an effort to notice when your child is paying attention well or doing what he/she is supposed to be doing. Tell your child exactly what they did well. This can improve your child’s self-esteem and teach them to notice gradual improvements, rather than being too self-critical.
• Tell your child that you love and support him/her unconditionally. There will be days when you may not believe this yourself. Those will be the days when it is even more important that you acknowledge the difficulties your child constantly faces and show them your love. Let your child know that you will get through both the good and bad times together.
• Assist your child with social skills. Children with ADHD may be rejected by peers because of hyperactive, impulsive or aggressive behaviour. Parent training can help you learn how to assist your child in making friends and learning to work cooperatively with others.
• Identify your child’s strengths. Many children with ADHD have strengths in certain areas such as art, athletics, computers or mechanical ability. Emphasise and build on these strengths, so that your child will have a sense of pride and accomplishment. Make sure that your child has the opportunity to be successful while pursuing these activities and that his strengths are not undermined by untreated ADHD. Also, avoid as much as possible targeting these activities as contingencies for good behaviour or withholding them, as a form of punishment, when your child misbehaves.