Exercise and ADHD

There has been reliable research that shows that exercise diminishes some of the symptoms of ADHD. This exercise can comprise walking, running, or basically any type of exercise. I have one child with whom I work whose Mom took her for a walk for approximately 15 minutes before school. Her teacher reported that when she entered the classroom she immediately sat down to write in her journal, which she had not done previously. This Mom also took her child for a 15 minute walk after school and found that her child was more focused on her homework and completed it more effectively in a shorter amount of time. Any questions or comments?

Children with ADHD and their summer

The summer is typically a more relaxed time for families of children with ADHD. Even though many of these children go to camp, there is much less rushing from place to place. The summer is a great time to work on social skills, so that by the time that school starts, these children can walk in the door with more positive self-esteem and confidence. One social skill that I have been working on lately which arguably is one of the most important for children with ADHD to learn is to try not to say everything that comes into their mind.

Children with ADHD often do not have a filter that serves as a screen to prevent the child from making comments that are construed as inappropriate and oftentimes, hurtful. Let me give you an example. The child with ADHD is standing on line in a movie theater waiting to buy candy. Due to the ailing economy, the theater only has one person who is selling candy instead of two or three people. The child with ADHD says: "I can't believe that I have to wait so long to buy my candy and popcorn. What in the world is taking that lady so long?"

The lady who is selling the candy is working as fast as she can. She overhears the child make that comment to his mother and feels very badly, knowing that she is working as fast as she can.

Has this scenario or one like it happened in your family? Please let me know, so I can give you suggestions as to how to teach your child to judge whether or not a certain statement is appropriate or inappropriate to say.

What an amazing school visit!

I had to tell you all about my visit this morning to an amazing state of the art school for children with ADHD and/or learning disabilities. It is called the Gateway School in New York City. There is a lower school that comprises about 42 children, which is ungraded. There is also a middle school, which is graded and content oriented.

The rooms were bright and clean with just enough materials to be stimulating but not too many to be overwhelming. There was enough time in the day for group work as well as individual work with both push ins and pull outs for speech therapy, occupatiopnal therapy, etc.

However, the most fabulous thing that I saw was the Hooray Wall where children and teachers write positive comments about the students...just amazing.

I talk in my book about parents who are used to being called by teachers to discuss their children's inappropriate behavior, so that after awhile they do not even want to answer the phone. The point that I discuss in my book is for teachers to call parents on a regular basis to discuss positive issues, such as when a child's behavior has improved, or when a child reached out to help another child, or when a child was organized and ready before a class begins.

Therefore, the Hooray Wall follows the idea of telling children who have had behavioral or organizational issues, among others, when they have improved. I loved this school as well as their individualized, positive philosophy. Wow!!!

Where is a Good Place to Practice Interacting with a Peer?

Where is the first place that most children go to in the morning that typically has lots of other children there as well? THE BUS STOP The child walks down the street and sees other children standing around waiting for the bus.

Some children are talking and laughing while others are standing on the side by themselves. Walk up to a child who is alone and see if he looks up at you as you approach. If he does, go up to him and say something simple, such as "What's up?"

You can follow up by talking a little (you do not want to overwhelm him with a long conversation, initially) about a topic that you think he might be interested in talking about. Here is an example: "Did you see the Mets game last night? I was so happy that they ae finally hitting, especially David Wright." Now wait and see if he responds and take it from there. Maybe next time, the other child will approach you!

How Easy is it to Make friends?

Some people think that making friends comes naturally to all children. This is not always true. Children who have any type of social skill deficit have difficulty making friends. Why is that?

In order to make friends, a child has to be able to understand the body language and/or cues that their peers are exhibiting, so that he knows whether or not it is the right time to approach them. For example, when a child approaches two children who are talking, he has to know if it is a good idea to interrupt their conversation and begin to speak. This situation often occurs at lunch and at recess.

If he speaks when the two children clearly want to be only with each other, he is quickly rejected. Before speaking to the two children, for example, he has to notice if either of the children look at him and smile or just continue to look at each other. Also, do they turn their backs on the approaching child, or do they turn towards him?

I would love to hear some experiences that the children with whom you work or live have had that are relevant to this conversation.

What Can a Child Do to Stop being Bullied?

There are things that a child who is being bullied can do to try to stop from being bullied. The child must understand that any aggressive behavior that he exhibits will just fuel the bully's behavior. So, as frustrated as your child gets, he must learn to self-regulate his aggression. This is not easy, but if you teach him self-talk, he will have a method with which to use to diffuse his own anger and frustration.
On the other hand, if he behaves in an assertive way instead of behaving in an aggressive way and tells the bully to "Stop hitting me, or stop pushing me, etc.," the bully may indeed stop. Also, see if your child can have another child nearby when he walks down the hall, for example. Often, bystanders are a good deterrent to bullying.

The Steps to Prevent your Child from being Bullied

These are some, among many steps to help to prevent your child from being bullied:

1. Explain to the child who is being bullied or teased (in a sensitive way) exactly why the other child is teasing him.
2. Explain to the child that he is showing the bullies that the teasing is bothering and upsetting him.
3.Help the child to have a definite plan in order to stop the other child’s teasing.
(If the child has a plan, he will more than likely not only stick to it, but be so involved in building strategies to stop the teasing, that he will no longer appear vulnerable to the teaser.)
4.Help the child to make a list of the comments that the teaser is making.(If the child has a list such as this, he then has “ammunition” with which to diffuse those remarks, and therefore, the teasing.)
5.Practice with the child as to how to respond if the teaser “strikes again.” The teacher should coach the child and help him to decide on the method that the child will use to stop the teasing.
6. Greet the teaser by bringing at least one friend with you. Use the teaser’s name.
7. Stay out of the environment where the teaser resides.
8. Use humor.
9. As a last resort, have the teacher/parent intercede and speak to the teaser. The only safe way to do this, however, in order to avoid further repercussions with the teaser, is for the teacher/parent to actually witness the teasing.
QUESTIONS??