COPINGWITHADHD

Table of Contents

Introduction3What is ADHD?5What Causes ADHD?11Not My ChildDealing with Your Feelings as a Parent13To Medicate or Not to Medicate16Specific Medications18Behavior Changes20Families and ADHD27Parenting an ADHD Child31Your ADHD Child’s Self Esteem34Anger and ADHD37Adult ADHD41Teaching an ADHD Child48Finding Support58Conclusion59

INTRODUCTION

As recently as twenty years ago, the term AttentionDeficit Hyperactivity Disorder was virtually unheard of. It’snot that the malady wasn’t around; it’s just that the labelhadn’t been coined back then.In the 1980’s, ADHD kids were the problem ones inschool. They couldn’t pay attention in class, they wereconstantly disorganized, and recess was a time of joy forthem. They were always being yelled at and reprimandedand felt frustrated 95 percent of the time they spent atschool.This author was in grade school in the 1970’s. Havingbeen diagnosed as a gifted child, school came easy to me.Unfortunately, so did boredom. That lack of activitymanifested itself into a type of hyperactivity that these dayswould probably have been labeled as ADHD.But in the past decade, the amount of ADHD diagnoseshas skyrocketed. It seems like every single classroom hasat least one child on medication for ADHD. Adults are evenbeing diagnosed with Adult ADHD.ADHD has gone from an obscure medical footnote to ahousehold word in record time. Unfortunately, this disorderis largely misunderstood yet it is the most prevalent chronichealth condition among school age children.Many parents who have children diagnosed with ADHDfeel like failures as parents. They perceive their children asbeing less than perfect which can cause amazingly strongfeelings of helplessness and hopelessness. Misconceptionsand preconceptions go along with this misinformation.