Tips for Parents With ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
This article is dedicated to all those parents with ADHD who are just starting their journey to finding answers, along with those old hands who may have been at it for a while. The good news is that there a number of simple self help strategies for parents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder that can help them cope. The bad news is as of yet there are no magic bullets or miracle cures.
As one of the many parents with ADHD you may be able to reflect back on your childhood and find that indeed one, or both, of your parents had the condition. In fact, statistically speaking this has at least a 50 percent probability of being the case. Perhaps you can remember dear old dad constantly forgetting things or misplacing his car keys. Or perhaps mom, who struggled with her self esteem, couldn't quite get you to where you were going on time, and who had a tendency to leave projects half finished only to start another one without warning. Maybe you share some of these same characteristics, and quite possibly your children will share in some of the fun as well.
So if you have a few minutes why don't we jump right in to a few tips for making parents with ADHD lives a little easier.
*Clean up the mess: Organization by disorganization is the motto for most parent with ADHD, and disorganization is one of the ADHD characteristics that may get worse with age. Their houses and office areas generally are filled with piles of clutter that would overwhelm even the most proficient cleaning crew. Now is the time to clean it up by enlisting the help of a friend, family member, and if it is really, really, out of control hire a really patient professional cleaning crew.
*Provide yourself with a simple daily routine: With inattention and impulsivity reigning supreme there is little chance that parents with ADHD can just wing it effectively. Just too many distractions and too little time! By providing yourself with an outline for each day, along with a little extra time to make it happen, you will be taking a giant step to alleviating many of the self imposed daily pressures of life. One additional though, make it simple because the more you complicate it the more you will be opening the door for your ADHD symptoms to creep in and muck it up.
*Write down or record your thoughts: The mind of an ADHD person is like a blender churning out zillions of fleeting thoughts in record time. Have you thought of something you should do and just a few minutes later not be able to remember what is was? Well welcome to the world of the ADHD mind. To overcome this you should keep a note pad, along with multiple pencils handy in multiple designated areas of your home, along with one in your car. One should be kept in the kitchen right alongside the calendar to keep track of daily events, another in your home office area, and still another in bathroom since many of our more unique thoughts can materialize in this area.
*Keep a positive attitude: In my opinion one of the most dangerous secondary symptoms of attention deficit disorder is low self esteem. This can unravel into a full blow case of depression if one is not careful. The first rule of defeating a negative attitude for ADHD parents is focus on what you can do rather than what you can't do. Remember being ADHD is not all bad with some of the most brilliant minds in history having the condition. You may have more energy than every else (though it may not seem like it), you may be braver the average person not afraid to take risk, and you may be more creative with great ideas constantly flowing through your mind.
Additionally, if you are constantly focusing on the negative, your children will adopt the same attitude, especially if they are struggling with the same ADHD characteristics that are causing your negativity.
What else? Some ADHD parents may feel as if they need a little bit of extra help to wrestle this mental monster to the ground and have found that help in the form of homeopathic natural remedies for ADHD. These formulas have been shown to be quite effective and void of the serious side effects so often associated with conventional prescription ADHD mediations.
As one of the many parents with ADHD you may be able to reflect back on your childhood and find that indeed one, or both, of your parents had the condition. In fact, statistically speaking this has at least a 50 percent probability of being the case. Perhaps you can remember dear old dad constantly forgetting things or misplacing his car keys. Or perhaps mom, who struggled with her self esteem, couldn't quite get you to where you were going on time, and who had a tendency to leave projects half finished only to start another one without warning. Maybe you share some of these same characteristics, and quite possibly your children will share in some of the fun as well.
So if you have a few minutes why don't we jump right in to a few tips for making parents with ADHD lives a little easier.
*Clean up the mess: Organization by disorganization is the motto for most parent with ADHD, and disorganization is one of the ADHD characteristics that may get worse with age. Their houses and office areas generally are filled with piles of clutter that would overwhelm even the most proficient cleaning crew. Now is the time to clean it up by enlisting the help of a friend, family member, and if it is really, really, out of control hire a really patient professional cleaning crew.
*Provide yourself with a simple daily routine: With inattention and impulsivity reigning supreme there is little chance that parents with ADHD can just wing it effectively. Just too many distractions and too little time! By providing yourself with an outline for each day, along with a little extra time to make it happen, you will be taking a giant step to alleviating many of the self imposed daily pressures of life. One additional though, make it simple because the more you complicate it the more you will be opening the door for your ADHD symptoms to creep in and muck it up.
*Write down or record your thoughts: The mind of an ADHD person is like a blender churning out zillions of fleeting thoughts in record time. Have you thought of something you should do and just a few minutes later not be able to remember what is was? Well welcome to the world of the ADHD mind. To overcome this you should keep a note pad, along with multiple pencils handy in multiple designated areas of your home, along with one in your car. One should be kept in the kitchen right alongside the calendar to keep track of daily events, another in your home office area, and still another in bathroom since many of our more unique thoughts can materialize in this area.
*Keep a positive attitude: In my opinion one of the most dangerous secondary symptoms of attention deficit disorder is low self esteem. This can unravel into a full blow case of depression if one is not careful. The first rule of defeating a negative attitude for ADHD parents is focus on what you can do rather than what you can't do. Remember being ADHD is not all bad with some of the most brilliant minds in history having the condition. You may have more energy than every else (though it may not seem like it), you may be braver the average person not afraid to take risk, and you may be more creative with great ideas constantly flowing through your mind.
Additionally, if you are constantly focusing on the negative, your children will adopt the same attitude, especially if they are struggling with the same ADHD characteristics that are causing your negativity.
What else? Some ADHD parents may feel as if they need a little bit of extra help to wrestle this mental monster to the ground and have found that help in the form of homeopathic natural remedies for ADHD. These formulas have been shown to be quite effective and void of the serious side effects so often associated with conventional prescription ADHD mediations.
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