Before we look at ADHD behavior problems, we need to focus on the child himself and remember that we are building on the child’s strengths rather than focusing and criticising their weaknesses all the time. Our ultimate goal will be to help them develop confidence, enthusiasm, tolerance towards others and certain ethical values which we hope to transmit to them. Having said that, let us turn to the rather mundane and practical world of ADHD behavior problems and ADHD emotional problems.
If you have an ADHD child,you are probably confronted with problems which repeat themselves, day after day. The child forgets to do homework, leaves his stuff lying around, forgets other household chores and may erupt into verbal violence when asked to do something. In addition to all this mess, they whine, talk back and sulk !
One of the Bibles of parenting over the last fifteen years or so has been a book written by Dr.Phelan called “1-2-3 Magic : Effective Discipline for Children 2-12″. He details all the ADHD behavior problems such as yelling, talking back and teasing siblings as the ‘Stop’ behaviors but says that we must concentrate on the ‘Start’ behaviors which are to get the child to behave, tidy away his toys, leave his sibling alone and start doing his homework. One of the basic principles of his book is to use a minimum of words and discussion and certainly not to start yelling ourselves. He details some useful time-out techniques which require counting and using our fingers, rather than getting embroiled in arguments. He also is very keen on offering praise to the ADHD child when it is earned, rather than criticizing too much, which is a point I mentioned at the beginning of the article.
One of the other major ADHD behaviour problems is that the ADHD child has great difficulty in managing sequences. When we get up in the morning, we follow a sequence of actions which will mean that we leave the house at a certain time to get to work without being late. For the ADHD child, he cannot understand the sequence of events so he thinks he can do everything in the morning in a fifteen minute slot. Maybe you ask your ADHD child to do something and when you find him again, he is doing something completely different and he is at a loss to explain how that happened. The sequence of events is a mystery to him. Another one of the ADHD behavior problems is that where ADHD kids can actually hyperfocus on a task such as computer games but when interrupted,they are likely to let fly into an outburst of verbal and physical aggression. There is a reason for this and this is that hyperfocusing is requires maximum concentration and that makes them irritable, tense and nervous. This is one of the ADHD emotional problems which is rarely addressed. This is another reason why having chore charts on the fridge door is a good thing so that kids know well in advance what is expected of them.
Looking at ADHD behavior problems, parents may want to consider other disciplining techniques and one of the best methods is a child behavior program. There is also the question of what kind of medication as the ADHD child will need something to help him calm a down and focus ,without having to take amphetamines. The safest and cheapest solution is to choose ADHD homeopathic remedies from one of the most reputable companies in the USA to-day.