Many families prefer to start helping a child with ADHD symptoms through behavioural treatment at home. Children with ADHD often respond well to this approach. It can be useful for reinforcing other at-home interventions such as consuming a balanced diet, maintaining proper sleep hygiene and limiting screen time.
What is involved in behavioural treatment for ADHD?
Behavioural treatment for ADHD involves a number of interventions directed at the child, the parents/caregivers and teachers. It centres on:
- organization
- structure
- consistency
- clear communication
Because ADHD affects all areas of a child's life, it is important to set up a consistent environment in which the child receives similar supports from family members, caregivers and teachers.
The goal of behavioural treatment is to help parents/caregivers and teachers better manage the behaviour of a child with ADHD. It helps a child become responsible for their own behaviour and support them in the process. Many of the strategies used in behavioural treatment for ADHD can be used with all children.
What types of behavioural treatments can I use with my child?
The main types of behavioural treatment strategies, or methods, help "set your child up for success". The strategies centre on:
- setting up a supportive environment
- using routines, schedules and rules
- giving positive, specific feedback about the things your child does well
Creating a supportive physical environment
To create a supportive physical environment for your child:
- set aside a quiet place to study after school
- create an area where your child can prepare everything they need for the next day at school, such as snacks, sports equipment, homework and permission slips
- keep visual reminders of things your child needs to do, including checklists, to-do lists, a notebook for homework assignments and a calendar; pictures depicting each task within a routine can be helpful
- store toys, art supplies and school supplies in the same places for ease of access
- label or colour-code belongings and storage containers
- limit screen time, especially at night
Using rules, routines and prompts
To help your child remember what they need to do:
- set positive expectations for your child, and praise them when they meet them
- use reminders and prompts to encourage your child rather than a list of "don'ts"
- set reasonable, consistent rules and make sure your child understands them
- create routines for the morning time, homework, dinner time, bedtime, chores and other regular events
Encouraging your child
To help support your child:
- stay positive and upbeat
- be generous with encouragement and praise when your child does something right, even if not everything has been done perfectly, such as "I'm so proud of you for remembering to put all your homework in your bag! Remember to take your lunch too — it's in the fridge."
- give specific feedback about good behaviour as soon as possible
- model appropriate behaviour, for example showing your child that you are listening by being quiet, looking at them and not being distracted
- involve your child in solving problems and finding ways to remember what they are supposed to do
How to communicate clearly with a child with ADHD
To help your child understand what you expect of them:
- get your child's attention before asking a question or giving an instruction by getting face to face at eye level
- make sure your body language is positive
- use a calm and positive tone of voice
- give clear, direct instructions in short sentences and plain language
- repeat an instruction in exactly the same words if you need to—do not add more language for your child to process
- break instructions into chunks so your child does not need to process too much information at once
- pause between chunks to make sure your child is still paying attention and has time to process what you said
- use "when… then…" statements, for example, "When you finish your math homework, then you can have a snack."
- give meaningful encouragement and frequent, specific feedback, for example "Thank you for hanging up your coat."
- give reminders and prompts for the behaviour you want to see, and praise when your child follows instructions
- encourage your child to ask for help when they need it
When and how often you give your child feedback are very important. Children with ADHD often need more immediate feedback than children without ADHD.
How to help your child make friends and handle other social situations
You can help a child with ADHD by:
- playing games with them that require them to follow rules, concentrate and co-operate with others
- talking about difficult situations your child encounters with other children and using role play if needed to encourage them to better understand others
- noticing when they handle a situation well and pointing out what they did and why it worked
- talking about and imagining the consequences of actions or behaviour, such as "What do you think might happen if you did that?" or "What might the other person feel like if you said that?"
- helping them understand the importance of personal space and boundaries, for example not interrupting when someone else is talking and not speaking too loudly
Often, children with ADHD might already know not to interrupt when someone is talking but may not be able to apply their knowledge in the moment because they are impulsive or cannot read the situation. Practice and prompting are important for building these skills and reinforcing more appropriate behaviour.
How to boost your child's confidence
While managing your child's behaviour, keep in mind that there are important aspects of life beyond your child's ADHD. Positive, prompt feedback for appropriate behaviour remains important, but children with ADHD also need opportunities to do something they enjoy and are good at. Help your child explore their interests and develop skills and a sense of mastery.
How to support yourself
Parenting a child with ADHD can be very challenging. Try to find ways to take a break, for instance by asking family and friends for support and reaching out to local counselling services if desired to help manage stress.
Where can I go for other help to address my child's symptoms?
You can apply many of the strategies in this section on your own, but you may also need or want extra help. This may include parent behaviour training to help you better understand your child and learn how to help your child practise positive behaviours. Your child may also benefit from tutoring to help them build their academic and organizational skills. Your child's health-care provider can help you find suitable services in your area for you and your child.
Further information
For more information on ADHD, please see the following pages:
ADHD: Communicating with your child's school
ADHD: Treatment with medications
Resources
The following websites offer support if a child has ADHD.