Clarify Expectations to Improve ADD Behavior
Prediction Helps Children With Attention Issues
Aug 30, 2009
Time to explain the expectations at home and in the classroom can reduce the frustration and improve the child’s overall behavior. Parent, caregivers, and teachers can help alleviate the child's frustrations by following a few basic steps.
Consider the ADD Child’s Schedule
First, parents should make a list of the places the child goes. Each will likely have different expectations. For example, the child will have one set of rules for home, and another set for school. Yet another set of expectations will be applied to soccer practice, dance class, and other extracurricular activities.
After a list has been made, it is important to talk to the child with ADHD about the expectations. It is best to focus on one setting (perhaps school) and to make sure that the child understands the expectations and the consequences. Some kids with learning disabilities can understand the reasoning behind “no talking in class.” Others may be able to voice the rationale (not disturbing other, being able to follow directions), but they may be unable to control the impulse to talk.
Remind the ADHD of Expectations
Remind the child with Attention Deficit of the desired behaviors (rules) just before he is in the situation. Some kids benefit from having a visual reminder on their desk or on a folder. The child with ADHD will need more frequent reminders than other children. This is because of impulsivity and, in some cases, difficulty with long-term memory.
Reward Desired Behaviors
Everyone loves to be rewarded for things done well. Remembering and following rules can be tricky for a child with special needs. This is especially the case as the school year begins and there seems to be more and more rules to follow.
Consider how the child will be rewarded for appropriate behavior. The rewards should be frequent at first. In the case of the new school year, perhaps the child will be rewarded at the end of each school day. Later, the rewards may be extended to include an entire week.
Sometimes parents and kids are braced for the school year. It may seem that the student with ADHD will have a great deal of difficulty readjusting to behavioral expectations. Sometimes, there is an opposite, additional twist. If the child is in a very structured educational program, he may thrive on the consistent expectations and rewards. He may actually do better than in the unstructured times of summer.
Children and teens with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder need to understand expectations even more than others do. When they are confronted with situations where they must make a behavior choice, it is important that they can readily remember the guidelines as well as the rewards. Communication can reduce the number of behavioral incidents and frustration on the part of the child, parent, and teachers.
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