Raising a Child with ADHD to a Successful & Healthy Adulthood

Radio Show

How can we raise our kids with ADHD to become mentally healthy and successful adults. We talk with Dr. Edward (Ned) Hallowell, a board-certified child and adult psychiatrist, a NY Times bestselling author, and a leading authority in the field of ADHD. He authored the groundbreaking book on ADHD, Driven to Distraction, and has written several other books on ADHD, including a newly released e-book co-authored with Lisa Schuman titled: ADHD and Adoption. He was a Harvard Medical School faculty member for 21 year, and is the Founder of The Hallowell Centers.

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What is ADHD?
Symptoms: emotionally much younger than their chronological age, impulsivity, hyperactivity, distractibility and disorganization
What causes ADHD?
The genetics of ADHD.
Are adopted and foster kids more prone to ADHD?
How to tell if our child’s behavior is ADHD or caused by the trauma they’ve experienced?
Kids with ADHD are so often misunderstood by important adults in their lives: teachers, coaches, scout leaders… It’s important that we parents are not part of that group.
We want to avoid “learned helplessness” which occurs when a child has seen himself fail over and over again. This child is at risk of eventually feeling like a failure and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Importance of early diagnosing and intervention.
Who to go to for diagnosing?
Nutrition and lifestyle that will help kids with ADHD.
To medicate or not?
Once on medication, should you consider taking your child off medication? Medication break/holiday?
Managing expectations.
Stop comparing your child and yourself to other parents and their “perfect” kids.
Self control
Sticking to an activity. Finding the balance between encouraging a child to persist and letting go is challenging.
Why can my child focus on a video game but take 3 hours to finish a 30 minute homework assignment. And what can I do about it??
What to let go and what to not. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
ADHD is not a disorder, but rather a trait. If you don’t manage it properly it can become a disorder, but if you do manage it properly, it can become a tremendous asset! That’s your goal, as a parent, to turn your child’s ADHD into an asset, as it is for the many hugely successful adults who have it.
Think of treating ADHD not as treating a disability but as unwrapping a gift. These children may pose problems, but they also come with talents and skills -gifts- just waiting to be unwrapped. They are usually creative, original, intuitive, energetic, persistent, imaginative- all qualities that can’t be bought or taught. They also typically have a wonderful sparkle about them that can light up the world, as long as it is not extinguished.
Explaining ADHD to the child.