ADHD: Help for parents
ADHD: Help for parents with young kids
Over the last seven years, I have worked with children in various educational and wellbeing environments, supporting their learning, development and mental health. Throughout this time in both private and maintained sector schools, I have been exposed to the prevalence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) amongst young kids. It has had me continually begging the question: can medicating the amount of children we do presently, be healthy for their cognitive development and learning? The drugs used in the management of ADHD have potentially pronounced side effects, and therefore, our need for awareness and understanding of the disorder is crucial today.
This post highlights non-medicated strategies for parents, to support all aspects of their child’s learning and wellbeing, whilst also maintaining positive parent-child relationships and home-school collaboration. These strategies include homework techniques, mindfulness training, and psycho-education. I hope this post helps you a little if you need more support ideas, or know a family that might.
ADHD: what parents should be aware of
Reported increase in the diagnostic prevalence of ADHD amongst school-aged children over the last two decades demonstrates the need for greater awareness and education of the disorder to be available for parents and caregivers. Deemed a “westernised epidemic”, the growing percentage of children with the disorder in the United States is 11%, whilst the United Kingdom’s statistics show between 3-5% (2020). These statistics suggest that it is crucial for parents develop awareness of necessary support systems available to overcome obstacles faced in learning, and the knock-on effects the disorder may have on a child’s wellbeing and future outcomes.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a behavioural condition characterised by symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity, and or persistent inattention. It is chronic and pervasive, often identified in school aged children due to its interference with functioning and or development. In early childhood development, it is normal to have some elements of inattention and variable motor skills, which proves ADHD diagnosis difficult to make.
Symptoms and emotional wellbeing
The hyperactive-impulsive problem behaviours of ADHD commonly cause relationship strain between children and caregivers. Difficulty sustaining attention on academic tasks, disrupting conversations and classroom situations, and appearing to avoid tasks which require sustained mental effort can serve as stressors for both parents and teachers. Automatic negative reactions towards the child make interactions challenging. Negative interactions can damage caregiver-child relationships, causing ADHD children’s emotional wellbeing to deteriorate through feelings of unintentional wrong-doing and rejection. Not only this but family risk factors and heritability concerns can cause fathers, particularly, to withdraw and disengage from their child’s learning. Parental hostility towards the child reduces their support system, resulting in further negative interactions, damaging children’s emotional health and overall development. Obviously, it is important that caregivers and families try their best to avoid these behaviours towards an ADHD child to improve interactions, thus promoting everyone’s happiness and health.
Fortunately, research has developed training practices for parents of ADHD children to help them manage their own wellbeing and strengthen relationships. Training in practices such as mindfulness for parents and families aids reduction of parental stress and overactivity to ADHD behaviours, thus improving communication and bonding. Through mindfulness, parents become present and attentive towards their child, conscious of their own self-care, and develop more positive, considered reactions to problem behaviours. The parent-child relationship improves through transformed, transactional, more positive interactions, resulting in strengthened emotional wellbeing for the child and each individual person involved with them.
Home-school collaboration; incorrect diagnosis and medication
Lack of ADHD behavioural and symptomatic understanding by caregivers can lead to negative perceptions and stigma for children and families coping with the disorder. Suspicions of, or suspicious ADHD, is not diagnosed ADHD. Therefore, parents and teachers alike, must be aware of the importance of understanding ADHD symptoms. Home-school collaboration is key for children with ADHD; each caregiver may recognise different symptomatic behaviours. The greater knowledge parents have of the condition, leads to better understanding their child’s needs, positively impacting learning and treatment outcomes. Equally, the responsibility of teachers must not be understated; teachers impact both child learning, and perhaps, diagnosis.
Schools have strict behaviour tolerance policies thus teachers must be cautious distinguishing normal child behaviours from ADHD symptomatic behaviours; incorrect labelling. Typically, in the modern era of technology and digital distraction, teachers have come to expect children to refrain from expending physical energy and follow routine. These expectations cannot be met as easily for most children, let alone those with ADHD, whose behaviours can prove distracting and problematic to both teachers and peers in the classroom. Unrelenting disruption may lead teachers to refer children for diagnosis. This referral is often conclusive, and medication probable first-line treatment to ease and manage behaviour, promoting classroom inclusion.
Medication is the most common treatment type for ADHD, the leading prescriptions being Ritalin and Adderall. The increased consumption of Ritalin (affected largely by the culture for low problem behaviour tolerances and support of medication by educational institutes), can cause negative side effects: reduced appetite/weight loss, sleep disturbance, headaches, and mood swings (NHS, 2018). On the other hand, studies have shown that the drugs can significantly improve attention span and impulse control. Encouragingly, findings also confirm that both children and parents prefer to seek professional or clinical advice for trusted treatment options.
Studies suggest that parents and teachers alike feel less confident and have lower efficacy skills in their ability to help ADHD children’s learning. For both parties, professional assistance and training have been shown to increase child compliance and relieve caregiver stress. Evidently both teachers, and moreover parents, have a responsibility to make informed treatment choices on behalf of the child’s needs whilst considering the symptoms and severity of ADHD.
Home-school collaboration; alternative treatments, learning and wellbeing support
Shared knowledge and expertise is essential in supporting the child's learning and may be promoted by using school psychologists and Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator’s (SENCO) effectively. Research states that homework completion and homework behaviour management interventions (such as self-monitoring and mindfulness) must be implemented by parents to support school tuition. It is important that parents realise their active role in homework practices. Parent training for effective homework improves the parent-child bond and is an optimal intervention for continuous home-school consulting and parent-teacher communication. There are psychoeducation programmes on offer for parents as well; shown to help with ADHD management by informing parents’ knowledge of the disorder. Whilst these are interventions and not treatments, the benefits of understanding the disorder and correct use of management techniques will assist better learning for the child and increased school inclusion.
Moving forward, parents must acquire training and proper knowledge surrounding diagnosis, medication and at-home learning techniques, due to their responsibilities towards the child’s overall health and development. The child’s needs must remain at the forefront of health decisions, despite positive opinions of drugs for easier behaviour management and the promotion of inclusive education. Overall, it is crucial that communication and collaboration remain open between clinicians, teachers, and families of children with ADHD, in order for children with the disorder to experience positive wellbeing and inclusive education.
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