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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Tips for Parents and Teachers

Summary & Participants

Every parent wants their child to be well-behaved. But when a child has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, conventional approaches to teaching good behavior may not work. We look at parenting and teaching strategies that can make a difference.

Medically Reviewed On: July 14, 2008

Webcast Transcript

DR. PETER JENSEN: Sure. Well very frequently one of the things we do when we work with a teacher in a classroom is get them actually to develop some classroom rules that they, with great clarity, will write up on the blackboard. And so these might be the classroom rules, that might say, like, “No touching. No interrupting.” But very simple rules that become well understood.

But if the teacher doesn't follow through in a very consistent manner, and ignores when a child violates one of those rules, and doesn't have a set of consequences or fallback positions, then children basically learn that the rules, while they're up there on the board, really don't apply. At least some children will learn that. Some children will still probably follow them. But some of the children with ADHD, if they don't have a little behavioral program in place that's consistently implemented, then often they won't follow those rules. They need the consistency.

LISA CLARK: And calmness, which is not something that's easily maintained under those circumstances, but is vital to helping the ADHD child.

DR. PETER JENSEN: Absolutely. You know, these children, they're especially sensitive to when the parent or the teacher loses their temper. These children seem to just wilt frequently, or basically it gets their spine up. And they don't mind too terribly cutting their nose off to spite their face. And so a very calm approach is often one that the child can work with and respond to, and doesn't over-stimulate or provoke the child in a negative way. You really need all three of those pieces together.

DR. PATRICIA QUINN: A lot of times I find that with parents, you know, this is a genetic disorder, and sometimes the parents have ADHD as well. And they may also have difficulty remaining calm. And I find if the parent can't remain calm, it tends to escalate the situation. So a lot of times parents need to take time out from the situation before they can deal with their child's behavior. And I think that's a real important point.

DR. PETER JENSEN: I've had children say to their parents, “You need a time out.”

LISA CLARK: I guess we're all guilty of that occasionally. Let's talk about targeted behavior modification and how that works. Giving a child, say, one particular task in a time segment. Say, you have to finish your homework by such and such a time. Does that work well?

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