GIVE ME FIVE : FIVE PRINCIPLES TO HELP YOUR CHILD WITH ADHD TO GET OFF TO A GOOD SCHOOL YEAR

To help reduce parental anxiety and to get your ADHD child started in the right direction, here are some considerations to keep in mind: connected, bored and unmotivated by

1. GETTING STRAIGHT ON TERMINOLOGY

Confusion still reigns with the use of the label "ADHD." Parents will say, "I don't get it. My child isn't hyperactive or impulsive. She's just is so distractible and inattentive, but the doctor called her ADHD and put her on stimulant medication."

There are essentially two types of ADHD that fall under one diagnostic umbrella. The first is ADHD (predominantly hyperactive/ impulsive subtype). The second is ADHD (predominantly inattentive subtype). The latter type used to be called "ADD" and is often casually referred to this way. Getting clear on terminology will help reduce your confusion and, hopefully, your anxiety.

2. REASONS FOR INATTENTION

Besides the basic neurological predisposition of the child, there can be many reasons for a child's inattention. Here are some of them:

• Perhaps the child/adolescent is playing video games far too late at night and not getting enough sleep.
• Along with the previous point, perhaps the child shows screen addictions and can't get off video games, YouTube or TikTok. This leads to inattentiveness and a limited capacity to sustain mental effort.
• Perhaps the work the child receives is simply too hard, resulting in inattentiveness.
• Perhaps the child has "W.B.D. (i.e., "Worksheet Burnout Disorder" — a term I made up) and the child feels dis

connected, bored and unmotivated by the excessive amount of worksheets received.

• Perhaps the child is struggling with anxiety and the worrying looks like inattention.
• Perhaps there is tension in the family and the child is preoccupied with concerns about the family.

The essential point is to try and stay away from one-factor thinking. There can be many reasons beyond simply labeling ADHD that can be contributing to a child's inattention.

While you can't state with certainty what is behind the inattention, as a parent you can make some pretty good guesses.

3. WHAT MEDICATION CAN DO

Most parents who come in to consult with me usually say something like, “I’d rather not put my child on medication. It would be a last resort.”

While I am not a physician and do not prescribe, I try and help parents understand the issues. An important question to consider depending on your child's age and individual circumstances, is, "What's the downside of not trying the medication?"

For example, a child who impulsively blurts out statements in class is getting regularly in trouble and alienating children around him. It is possible that medication can take some of the edge off the impulsivity, which then improves the classroom interactions.

For the distractible/inattentive children, stimulants typically improve focusing. You as a parent need to weigh the value of that with your pediatrician. Ask the physician "what's the upside and downside" and then weigh the considerations.

4. ESTABLISHING HOME STRUCTURE AND ROUTINES

Above all, making sure you have regular and consistent home routines is essential. While all children would benefit from these, for ADHD children these are invaluable to have in place.

Examples of such routines would be: to have a reasonably consistent dinner time (when possible) and a nighttime routine of going to bed. Many of the parents I see report having a chaotic bedtime where the child is tantrumming when having to get off the iPad. Establish the rules early in the school year and be clear about them.

When establishing structure and routines, an important point is that you don't need to be rigid, but clear and firm.

5. LIMITING SCREEN USAGE

Recognizing that video game playing, YouTube, etc., are a part of most children’s landscape, you need to think realistically. Too many ADHD children immerse themselves in such endeavors, leaving school-based activities to the absolute last minute by insisting that they are just so “boring.” Building on the previous point, set rules and limits. Screen time should be seen as an earned privilege with a beginning and an end time. 

Again, such advice is something to consider for all children, but the nature of ADHD children means that the clarity of the rules with regard to screen usage is an imperative.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

While there are many other points to consider, following these five principles will greatly help your ADHD child to get off to a good school year, while serving to reduce your anxiety as well. •

Dr. Richard Selznick is a psychologist and the director of the Cooper Learning Center, Department of Pediatrics, Cooper University Health Care. The author of The Shut-Down Learner: Helping Your Academically Discouraged Child, as well as What to Do about Dyslexia: 25 Essential Points for Parents, and three other related books, he can be contacted through email: selznick-r@cooperhealth.edu. To learn more about his books, blogs and podcasts, go to shutdownlearner.com and cooperlearning- center.org epmagazine.com | EP Magazine • September 2022 25