5 ADD INTERVENTIONS THAT APPLY TO ALL KIDS
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A friend of
mine has been going through the very lengthy and detailed process of testing
her son for Attention Deficit Disorder. As I listened to her explain the
symptoms, many sounded like my daughter. One expert describes this kind of
brain as choosing what is most interesting instead of what’s most important. I
can’t tell you how many times I’ve sent my daughter to turn off her light
or grab a jacket, only to find her reading a book in the hallway because she
forgot what I’d asked her to do. Her last report card read something like,
“Amazing writer but practice actually turning in the work so that you can get
credit!”
So I looked
for information regarding the disorder and found that (while I don’t think my
daughter has ADD) many of the suggestions for dealing with the difficulties
stemming from it would benefit any child, especially one with focus troubles.
Parents can apply a few basic strategies to help those tense times when daily
life becomes a battleground.
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PUT IT ALL
OUT THERE
Lay out your
expectations before your enter a situation. Plan ahead by figuring out what
might happen and try to avoid it. This includes telling your kids what will
happen if they don’t do something … or if they do. I face this every time we go
shopping for a birthday present for a friend. We head into the toy aisle and
suddenly both kids have to have everything in sight. Next time, I will explain
beforehand that they cannot ask for any toys. If they are able to manage that,
we will have more time to play at home. If they start asking for all
the aisle’s contents, next time they won’t be coming with me.
DEVELOP A ROUTINE
Predictability
is a friend to kids. Give them steps to take for daily activities and
organization. Setting aside a specific homework hour helps them expect what’s
coming and come to terms with it. Pay attention to their best times of day,
then do the most difficult tasks first.
USE CUES
Certain
things can prompt the brain to respond. You can use auditory clues like a timer
or a whistle to finish or start tasks or a certain song for an activity. Visual
cues like lists to check off or color coded words, folders, or other things
prompt them.
DELIVER INSTRUCTIONS
CLEARLY
First get
your children’s attention on you, then instruct them using a command versus a
request. This means phrasing it as “Please take out the trash” rather than “Why
don’t you take out the trash?” Keep things simple with only a few items,
specific language, and brief.
KEEP AN EYE
OUT FOR THE GOOD STUFF
It can be
easy in our fast paced world to miss when our kids are doing well but they
shouldn’t receive only negative feedback. Try to remember that they’re doing
the best they can as well.
Diagnosing a
child with a disorder can be complex and problematic, but certain realities are
universal. We can learn from the research and give any kid a boost in
their difficulties.
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