Social Skills Training
Unwanted behaviors are ignored so that they receive no reinforcement. Ignoring bad behaviors is one of the best ways to extinguish them. Many people are misled when they try to punish a child with ADHD, because it gives the child attention for his or her actions. People, especially kids with ADHD, love attention and are willing to accept negative attention if no positive attention is available. Professionals know the importance of ignoring in social skills groups.
Social skills groups are a very effective means to improve an ADHD child’s relationships and symptoms of ADHD overall. Social groups are available as after school and summer camp programs. These programs work to incorporate aspects of education and socialization into one resource. Check your area to see what programs are available.
Behavioral Therapy for the Child
The final therapy option includes only the child and a therapist. A behavioral or cognitive behavioral therapist will work with the child to understand the triggers and consequences of ADHD symptoms. They will take this information back to the parent so that adjustments can be made at home to improve the situation. Along the way, they will provide parent training to better prepare parents for the unexpected situations that may arise.
A therapist will also work to build the child’s ability to focus, pay attention and concentrate by engaging the child in a series of games and other tasks during the session. They do this by allowing the child to play with games, puzzles and art supplies during a session and study their patterns.
If a child’s inclination is to move from activity to activity quickly, the therapist will praise for longer periods of time spent on one task to extend the time. If the child starts many games without finishing or has poor adherence to the rules, the therapist will bring this to his attention and describe the drawbacks of this approach.
Over time, children with ADHD can respond well to this kind of treatment. It does take time for individual therapy to beginning shifting the behaviors of your child. Before you enter into this commitment, you must work to improve your own patience as a parent. As with any therapy, be sure to communicate your concerns and goals to the therapist. This will help the treatment be as successful as possible.
Conclusion
Negotiating the world of therapy for ADHD children can be unnerving, but don’t be too timid. Consider all of the above options and experiment with services in your community. Ask friends for recommendations of the best facilities, therapist and prescribers to receive the most trusted treatment.
If one treatment is not yielding the desired results, add a new one or combine treatments to receive the best response. When it comes to ADHD therapy, more is usually better.
