Creating Your Family Scafolding: Building a Support Network

It takes a village to raise any child; but for families managing ADHD, it often takes the the village, suburbs, and most of the countryside.  Kids managing ADHD need more support, guidance, empathy, and understanding than the average child, to achieve success. Parents too, need more empathy and support than most, as the limitations these families manage are largely invisible, stereotypically associated with misfit...

13 Things Kids (and Adults) Should Know About Their ADHD

1. ADHD is a medical condition, in which the body reabsorbs the chemical messenger between brain cells too quickly. 2. ADHD makes it easier to act without thinking about the consequences (that can be good or bad, depending on whether you are driving your bike, speaking in front of a group of people or playing as the team’s soccer goalie.) ADHD can make it easier to intensely focus on things that are...

Teach a Child to Fuel Their Passions: Steps to Making a Summer Contract

Summer with an ADHD child can be wrought with the symptoms of boredom: whining, teasing, and  irritability.  Turn your summer into a teaching opportunity.  Pre-script your summer with a list of boredom- breakers in the form of a summer contract between you and your child, and in so doing teach them how to make and attain goals for themselves, which will in turn build self-confidence, a positive self- image,...

May 3 is Children Mental Health Awareness Day: Tips for Recognizing Trauma, Helping Children Build Resilience

Tips for Recognizing Trauma, Helping Children Build Resilience The statistics are both surprising and disturbing—as many as two of every three children age 16 and younger have been exposed to at least one traumatic event, with consequences that can affect their development, learning, and behavior. Traumatic experiences can range from a one-time incident, such as the sudden death of a loved one or a natural...

Empowering Kids for Life-long Success: Teaching the Art of Setting Goals

It’s hard to get somewhere if you don’t know where you are going. Kids with ADHD have executive functioning deficits. In plain language, this means it is hard for them to evaluate their abilities, set goals, or execute a plan. They need to be explicitly taught the skills associated with goal setting, so they can be empowered to find a tangible path to lifelong success. What’s in a good goal? Goals should be...