Introducing oneself might be a
skill that you think is something only adults should have within their
repertoire. It is just as important for a child with ADHD to know how to
introduce himself to others as it is for an adult to do so. The reason that
it is so important for a child
with ADHD to do so is that if he does not introduce himself, he will feel that
he does not know anyone in that situation, and he will not! It is no wonder why
children with ADHD often feel that they are on the periphery of social
interaction.
When children with ADHD feel
isolated, they may exhibit socially inappropriate behavior. When a child with
ADHD exhibits one socially inappropriate behavior, that behavior often sets off
other socially inappropriate behaviors. Feeling isolated
and apart from a group of people
might be a reason that a child with ADHD may exhibit socially inappropriate
behavior. However, if he introduces himself, he may avoid that empty feeling of
isolation. The social skill of introducing oneself may
incur some anxiety. However, the
social isolation that results from not doing so is more painful.
The child with ADHD whom I
observed in New England had a great deal of anxiety. He especially became
anxious when he did not feel that he was familiar with the people who were interacting
in close proximity to him. When I first met him, his mom was talking to me and
had not introduced him to me as of yet. By the time she got around to
introductions, he was already running in circles around us, jumping up and down
and pulling on his mom’s dress.
A good thing for her to do before
she got into any complex discussion with me might have been to whisper to him, “Michael,
this lady is Dr. Rapoport. Tell her your name.” If he was too anxious to tell
me his name, she could have just said “Say hello to her.” Greetings are a very
important skill for children with ADHD to learn. Instead of greeting an
oncoming person, children with ADHD or similar disorders seem to look down at their
feet when they pass someone in the hall, for example.
It is very important to teach a
child with ADHD what to do after the initial nonverbal or verbal interaction,
and that is to introduce himself to the other person. Make this task as simple as
possible by teaching him to turn his body to the person, as I have said before,
and then say his first and last name. For example, have the child with ADHD
say, “Hi, my name is John Smith.” This social skill among others must be
practiced. Using puppets is a good way for children to take on the role of
another person and practice the social skill of introducing themselves.
One puppet says: “Hi, my name is
Ellen Jones.” Then, hopefully, the other puppet says, “Hi, my name is Bill
Evans.” You can have everyone in the classroom practice this skill. They can
either use real puppets or paper bag puppets. If the child with ADHD has
difficulty role playing using the puppets, then you can try finger puppets. If
he still has too much anxiety to talk through role playing with puppets, you
can ask him to draw the two people involved in the introduction.
The teacher can draw bubbles and
write words within them herself, or have the child with ADHD write the words in
the bubbles. Additionally, the teacher can place pictures within the bubbles
for young children who cannot write. The best picture to use, of course, which
is so easy with today’s digital photography, is the child’s own picture.
(Please obtain permission from the child’s parents before you use any pictures
of the child to teach him social skills!) If the child does not want to use his
own picture, you can use pictures from magazines that you can glue onto craft
sticks. Believe me, there are many ways to show a child with ADHD an image that
will affect him in a way so he can learn to introduce himself to others,
especially to other children. When they know how to introduce themselves to
other
people, they can begin to learn to initiate
conversations.
