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ADHD Awareness Month: 15 Ways You Can Check in With Your Child

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For ADHD Awareness Month: 15 Ways to Check in With Your Child Andy Dean/PhotoSpin

Although it’s only been a couple months since school started for most children, there is no better time than the present to focus on your children’s progress, especially if they show symptoms of ADHD.

In fact, the classroom is an important setting to pay attention to. It can clearly show if your child is having any issues, both developmentally and psychologically.

During October’s ADHD Awareness Month, parents are encouraged to look out for symptoms of ADHD and check in with their children throughout the year.

Dr. Adelaide Robb, a psychopharmacologist and chief of psychology and behavioral health at Children’s National Health System, shares 15 helpful tidbits via a phone interview for parents who suspect their children could have ADHD.

1) Be aware that there are three categories of symptoms for ADHD. The first category is inattention. Examples include daydreaming, not listening to the teacher, and surfing the Internet or watching TV when they should be focusing on homework.

2) Impulsivity is the second category. An example is when a child shouts out an answer without raising her hand before the teacher called on her.

3) Hyperactivity is the third category. Examples include difficulty sitting still in class, getting up often to sharpen pencils or to get a drink of water, inability to sit quietly in the backseat of a car, and climbing in and out of seat belts.

4) Although it depends on the individual child, girls tend to show symptoms of inattention instead of a combination of hyperactivity and inattention, which is more common in boys.

5) “In school, because it’s fairly formal and we require kids to sit down and focus and pay attention, [ADHD] may show up more quickly, especially because teachers are looking at a bunch of different children the same age sitting in the classroom, and the child with ADHD who’s wiggling and hopping in and out of their chair and getting five drinks of water may stand out compared to peers.”

6) Outside of school, parents may notice symptoms during sports practices. For example, if a mother is taking her daughter with ADHD to soccer practice, her daughter may not be following her coach’s instructions like everyone else. Instead, she may be looking at the puppy she spotted across the street.

7) Parents may notice that their children tend to lose items easily, such as leaving a coat on the school bus or losing their cell phone somewhere on the way home.

8) During school, there are multiple ways to check in on your child with ADHD, including reviewing the mid-quarter report card which should be coming out around October.

9) Parents can also begin talking to their children’s teachers if they haven’t yet, because at this point the teacher should have a good idea about the performance level of the child, and can make a basic assessment of how they’re doing, if they’re handing in work and performing well on tests.

10) Parents can also talk to their child’s physician about any concerns they have. Physicians can help with assessments for children with ADHD, including input from teachers and parents, in order to make a proper diagnosis.

11) Treatment options include educational intervention, which could include a tutor sitting in the classroom or moving the child to a smaller classroom. There are also behavioral treatments and a variety of medications available.

12) During vacations, school holidays, family time or weekends, parents can check in on their children with ADHD by interacting in general. For example, a parent can notice if a child is listening to instructions and see if they struggle to pay attention or wander off after being told to do something.

13) Parents do play a key role in their children’s success and functioning with ADHD. While at home, parents can make sure children have a quiet place with no distractions to do their homework. A small break may be necessary after getting home from school first.

14) “If your kid has longer term projects, [you can set up] a schedule where you do first the internet research, then an outline, then a rough draft and a final draft so those bigger projects where kids with ADHD struggle so much are broken down into manageable pieces.”

15) Parents can also put all the homework that’s due the next day into one brightly colored homework folder. That makes it easier for the child to grab it out of their backpack and hand all homework at once directly to the teacher.

Sources:

Robb, Adelaide. Phone interview. October 17, 2014.
http://childrensnational.org/choose-childrens/find-a-provider/adelaide-robb

Link to video/phone interview:
https://www.hightail.com/download/UlRUc0x3aFJrYUFYRHRVag

Adhdawarenessmonth.org. ADHD Awareness Month. Web. October 22, 2014.
http://www.adhdawarenessmonth.org

Reviewed October 24, 2014
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith

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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.