The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) recognizes ADHD as one of the most common childhood mental disorders. Due to the commonality of this disorder, there are many options for treatment available to ease the child struggling with symptoms as well as offer comfort to parents. Parents living with a child diagnosed with ADHD often face challenges with discipline, understanding the child and finding a sense of balance in the home. The Journal of Pediatric Psychology indicates in the article "Parent acceptability and feasibility of ADHD interventions" that parents often struggle with finding and using interventions for this disorder. There are home intervention options however, and these may offer structure not only for the child but also for the parents in managing the difficult symptoms of ADHD.
Rules and Directives
Rules and directives prove easy to create for maintaining routine and structure at home. The online source PsychCentral suggests developing simple rules such as no hitting or cursing, to managing the problematic behaviors of ADHD. Rules create a structure for children to live by and also teach responsibility for actions. On the same token, directives can succinctly teach engagement of household responsibilities. The Mayo Clinic recommends using simple and specific words in directives but also giving one direction at a time to prevent confusing the child. A good directive gets the child's attention, commands and names consequences of not following through.
Charts and Rewards
According to the Mayo Clinic, children with ADHD have difficulty adjusting to change and transitions. The uses of charts helps a child see day-to-day progress as well as maintain daily responsibilities. A simple chart might outline days of the week and tasks they should accomplish. At the end of the week, parents can reward the child for the tasks they've accomplished. Rewarding positive behavior proves important for building the child's self-esteem as well as reinforcing good behavior. The National Resource Center on ADHD further recommends using these interventions to help children overcome impairments influenced by the disorder in addition to gaining skills to use throughout life.
Discipline
Discipline for negative behavior is important for any child. Using "time out" as a method of discipline provides the child with a consequence for her actions. The Mayo Clinic recommends a brief timeout to help the child regain control when engaging in out of control behaviors. Familyeducation.com suggests a warning first then if the behavior continues, and then removing the child from the room to a time-out designated space. Parents using this method must keep in mind that consistent use of time-out is important in teaching the appropriate message for correcting negative behavior.
