The Importance of Listening to your Child with ADHD

When you saw the title of my blog entry, you probably said to yourself, “I always listen to my child. What in the world is she talking about?” I am sure that all of you hear your child when he speaks.

I am talking about paying attention to the nuances in their conversation so that you can judge how they feel about themselves, what is going on in their lives, regarding their social life and how their academic work is going in school. That being said, the interaction between a child with ADHD and their parents is often fraught with struggle, so really paying attention to what they are saying, as I describe the essence of true listening, is not always so easy.

For example, as you drive in the car, the child talks incessantly, or is so quiet and unfocused that you simply cannot even think of anything but driving.  Additionally, as we go about our hectic lives, we rush to get home from work so that we can take our kids to activities, do personal errands, and oftentimes, go to a second job.

Realize that the end of the day is not the optimal time for talking with your child with ADHD about important topics. They are typically fatigued from working so hard to focus as well as trying to behave in an appropriate way for an eight-hour school day. It is also not an optimal time to talk to your child as he is trying to do his homework before his medication wears down.
How will you figure out when is a good time to have a meaningful conversation with your child with ADHD? You will most likely have to be an observer for awhile so that you can judge the typical cycle of your child’s behavior. Each child’s approachable moment is different.  

When is your child’s approachable moment? How will you begin the conversation with your child/teenager with ADHD?