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Adhd therapy for children and adolescents
My Child Has Been Diagnosed with ADHD – Now what?
If your child or teen has been diagnosed with Attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), probably you have concerns about which treatment is right for your child.
If your child is younger than 6 years of age, parent training in behavior management is the first line of treatment recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, before trying any type of medication. This is important to understand because young children have more side effects from ADHD medications than older children and the long-term effects of ADHD medications on young children have not been well-studied yet.
If your child is 6 years of age and older, the recommendation includes medication and behavior therapy together. Other types of behavior therapy and trainings are available for adolescents.
Many parents prefer to support their children only with non-medication treatments. Medicating or not your child/teen can be a difficult decision to make. This decision should always be made with the help of a doctor.
Schools can be part of the treatment for ADHD as well, by adding behavioral classroom interventions and support.
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How can you help my child/teen manage ADHD?
My own childhood challenges with ADHD became my professional strength and guided me to develop a comprehensive treatment to work with ADHDers (combining Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, play therapy, mindfulness, and art expressive techniques).
Behavioral Therapy, also known as behavior modification or CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), has been shown to be a very successful treatment for children with ADHD.
This type of treatment helps to strengthen positive behaviors and eliminate unwanted or problem behaviors.
As a parent, you can learn effective strategies and skills to help your child/teen (including positive ways to interact and communicate with him/her, use of positive reinforcement, structure, and consistent discipline to facilitate his/her progress and success).
We will meet regularly to monitor your child's progress and I will provide you with guidance creatively. Your child is unique and we will adjust the strategies as needed.
When parents become trained in behavior therapy, they learn skills and strategies to help their child with ADHD succeed at school, at home, and in relationships.
Unfortunately, ADHD behaviors can strain the patience of the people around your child/teen and put your child on a never ending loop of frustration, problems, and unreached goals.
Often, other psychiatric or learning disorders can occur along with ADHD. It is important to recognize, diagnose, and treat them as well to cut the repeated pattern of failures.
Therapy can help your child/teen learn effective strategies to manage his/her own and unique ADHD symptoms, improve organization and communication, and develop conflict-resolution and problem-solving skills (tools that he/she could utilize for the rest of his/her life).
Gifts of ADHD
Many people with ADHD are found to have above-average levels of intelligence and many are highly creative and inventive.
They may have a different perspective and come up with ideas or solutions that most people would never think of. In fact, many of the world's best inventive thinkers had ADHD.
Although it is true that having ADHD can make concentration difficult, it can also give the ability to concentrate for several hours in a row in something that feels interesting.
We, ADHDers, have the ability to do things "quickly" and this can be an advantage for many tasks.
Therapy for ADHD can help ADHDers find their particular interests and talents. Developing their unique talents and strengths can also help them increase confidence and self-esteem.
ADHD comes with what I like to call "superpowers".
Have you discovered what interests your child/teen? What is his/her original talent or superpower?
The right help at the right time
Growing up with ADHD can leave emotional scars and lead to life difficulties such as:
- Financial problems
- Addictions
- Difficulty to sustain a job
- Legal problems, traffic tickets, and accidents
- Low self-esteem
- Depression, anxiety, and suicidality
- Poor physical health
- Difficulty to complete school
- Relational problems
If your child/teen has been diagnosed with ADHD, it is important to look for professional help. A treatment that focuses on ADHD can help improve life functioning, self-esteem, and relationships as well.
Your child is full of strengths and superpowers that can be identified to change his/her life forever. Help him/her to reach full potential now.
Help is just a phone call away.