The Parent's Crucial Role
As a parent, you know your child best and spend more time with him or her than most others do. That is why the things you do to manage your child's ADHD can prove to be among the most significant. A medical professional may guide your child's treatment plan, but it is you who will regularly include management strategies into your child's daily home life. Not all tactics work for every child, but there are many different ones you can experiment with to see which help your child's behavior the most.
Behavioral Management
The purpose of behavioral management (also called behavioral interventions or behavioral modification) is to decrease the child's inappropriate behaviors and increase desirable ones over time. Generally, it is based on delivering rewards for positive actions and mild penalties (or "consequences") for negative actions to affirm and reaffirm the desired behavior. A reward system is one of the most widely used behavior management strategies.
Six steps to designing an effective reward system
Step 1:
Decide which of your child's positive behaviors you would like to promote.
With your child's input, you and your child's teacher determine three to five behaviors to promote, such as raising his or her hand in class or doing a small household task.
Step 2:
Determine the rewards for positive behavior.
Ideally, they should reflect the child's interests. For example, if your child enjoys movies, give him or her a poker chip for each good behavior. After the child earns a few poker chips, he or she can go to see or rent a movie.
Step 3:
Determine the consequences for negative behavior.
For example, the child may have to return one of his or her earned chips. Or, the child's television privileges may be removed for a period of time. The penalty you choose should match the severity of the behavior—major consequences should not be delivered for minor violations.
Step 4:
Set clear and consistent rules and post them.
Use these rules to make clear to your child what behavior is required to earn a reward, and that there will be a consequence if that behavior is not carried out.
Step 5:
Reward good behaviors quickly and frequently.
Pay close attention to your child so that good behavior can be rewarded as frequently as possible.
Step 6:
Follow through with consequences.
When your child breaks the established rules, calmly warn him or her once. If the behavior continues, deliver the promised consequence immediately.
Other Ways to Help at Home
Give "time-outs"
Designate a quiet area in the home that is isolated from other family members. When your child behaves inappropriately, send him or her to the time-out area for a short period of time. A general time guideline is 1-2 minutes for every year of age.
Keep a consistent routine
Because children with ADHD have difficulty with changes, plan their meals, medications, and bed for the same time each day. If a special occasion is coming up, mark the activity on a calendar and review it with him or her several times before the event.
Spend some special time with your child
Set aside a little time each day to spend with your child without interruptions from other family members. Whether you go on an outing or stay home and just talk, this positive attention will show the child that he or she is appreciated.
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