13. ADHD Parenting: 15 Important Things to Remember

1. ADHD is a neurologic condition. It is not a behavior problem or the result of poor parenting. 

2. The symptoms of ADHD are thought to be caused by difficulties with dopamine metabolism. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of comfort and satisfaction. ADHDers seem to have low dopamine, caused by either lower production of dopamine or increased metabolism.

3. Punishment does not work well with ADHD children, because it tends to lower dopamine even more and likely worsens the symptoms.

4. ADHD is a neurological difference, not a traditional disability. An ADHD child is normally of at least average intelligence and frequently above average intelligence. 

5. ADHD children are capable of normal to above average performance in any area they like. However, they have difficulties understanding and complying with doing tasks just because somebody says they should.

6 if a task is interesting to an ADHD child, their performance will typically be above average. But if it is not interesting to them they will not do well just because somebody says they should.

7. ADHDers will frequently have episodes of hyperfocus involving tasks that they like. They will tend to work until the job is done regardless of how much time it takes. Sometimes this will require a parent or a friend to get them to quit a task if they are hyper-focused.

8. Children with ADHD also have hyper-curiosity. They tend to gather information constantly and frequently without much organization.

9. ADHD children will sometimes have what is called Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. This is basically a tendency to overreact to criticism or negative comments. It is likely to trigger temper tantrums in younger children.

10. Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria is likely a result of the incredible amount of criticism that most ADHD children receive. It is estimated that ADHD children will have received 12,000 more comments by age 12 then a Neurotypical child.

11. ADHD children have difficulties with executive functioning, principally organization and planning.

12. ADHD children will also have difficulties with working memory. This is the type of memory that involves only retaining information for a short period of time or until you get the job done. An example would be when you tell your child to go upstairs to his room and do three things. Don't be surprised if he's done only one of them and is now playing video games - and is totally surprised that you're upset.

13. ADHDers have difficulties with the sense of time passage. Their time sense tends to be limited to “now” and “not now.” They have a poor sense of the passage of time and a poor sense of how long a task will take.

14. ADHDers will tend to interrupt others in conversation and blurt out answers in the classroom.

15. The most important lessons you can teach are in the area of resilience. Being able to make mistakes and learn from them is vital to an ADHD child.

This is just a short list of the many things that an ADHD parent has to keep in mind. There will likely be more to follow in upcoming newsletters.

Let me know if there are any specific topics you would like me to cover.

Thanks for reading and let's make the world safe for ADHD!

Visit my website at terrygingrasphd.com to learn more about Dr. G and my ADHD coaching services. 

 Book a discovery call to see if coaching is something you want to do.  https://calendly.com/terrygingrasphd/discovery-call

DrG