Your teen may struggle with homework, prioritizing tasks, or turning in assignments as school demands increase. They might also have challenges navigating peer relationships or picking up social cues. You might wonder about the cause of these challenges: learning issues, developmental changes, increased demands, or stress. ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), a neurodevelopmental difference that affects how teens process and react, could be among the factors. The following ideas offer a comprehensive approach to determining whether your child may have ADHD and helping them develop skills to thrive.
Building on Strengths
While many symptoms of ADHD make it hard for kids to cope, kids with ADHD may also be more spontaneous, creative, and curious. They may think quickly, be capable of intense focus, or hold passionate interests. It is essential to emphasize these strengths when talking with your teen. Encourage them to understand ADHD not as a label but as a tool to help them understand their brain, strengths, and areas where they may need extra help. The goal is not to “fix” them but to build on their competencies and empower them with strategies to help them manage their unique challenges through offering tools, support, and opportunities.
Key Assessment Tools
Assessments can clarify whether your teen has ADHD. Tools to evaluate your teen’s symptoms and behaviors include:
- Checklists and Rating Scales: These tools document behavior patterns over time.
- Interviews with parents, teachers, and your teen illustrate symptoms at home, in school, and socially.
- Psychological Testing can help when the diagnosis or co-existing conditions are unclear.
A good assessment will help you better understand your teen’s strengths and areas for growth and guide the next steps.
Support for You
A critical part of treatment for ADHD involves support for parents. ADHD often affects how parents and teens interact, so working with a therapist to set clear expectations, reinforce positive efforts, and manage challenging behaviors effectively can not only help your teen but also improve parent-child relationships. Through parent sessions, you may learn strategies like:
- Setting up consistent routines: Structure helps ADHD teens feel grounded.
- Using positive reinforcement: Catch them doing things right and reinforce good behavior.
- Breaking tasks into smaller steps: This helps reduce overwhelm and makes tasks feel more manageable.
These skills help create a more supportive home environment where parents and teens feel heard and respected.
Family Therapy: An Opportunity to Build Bonds
When ADHD affects family dynamics, family therapy can help everyone better understand each other. It fosters empathy, improves communication, and builds mutual support. Key aspects of family therapy when there is a child with ADHD, may include Collaborative Problem-Solving or discussions where kids are “not in trouble” that encourage kids to express their feelings and desires and to hear yours. Family therapy can also focus on improving sibling relationships or helping you and your partner to work together better. Family therapy aims not only to “manage ADHD” but to strengthen bonds.
Executive Functioning Treatment
Teens with ADHD often struggle with executive functions—skills like planning, organizing, or time management. Therapy can offer teens the following tools:
- Timers and reminders: These are to help with managing time.
- Checklists and visual aids: These help with organization.
- Breaking tasks into steps: To make overwhelming tasks feel achievable.
These strategies can help them feel more in control and capable, reducing frustration and promoting independence.
Finding Settings that Foster Success
Many teens with ADHD benefit from smaller classrooms, resource rooms, and extra help. Advocating for 504 accommodations, IEPs, or outside supports can also be beneficial. Finding activities where your child can thrive can be very helpful. For instance, many children with ADHD have challenges navigating team activities. “Individualized sports, such as swimming or martial arts, can build fitness and self-confidence.
Medication: The Options
Medication can be a tool for managing ADHD, especially when symptoms are severe. There are two primary types of medications for ADHD:
- Stimulants such as Ritalin or Adderall can improve focus, attention, and impulse control.
- Non-stimulants like Strattera or Intutiv may also be effective.
Medical professionals can help you find proper medication.
Anger Management and Social Skills Training
Teens with ADHD may have difficulty with impulse control, leading to outbursts of anger or frustration. ADHD can also make it harder for teens to recognize social cues, maintain conversations, and handle conflicts. Anger management therapy can help them manage emotions and respond effectively in difficult situations, and social skills training can help improve peer relationships.
Building Self-Esteem and Self-Acceptance
Children with ADHD may face criticism or failure. Therapy can improve self-esteem and self-acceptance by:
- Strengthening self-awareness, especially of strengths and abilities.
- Teaching self-compassion: Encouraging them to be kind to themselves despite setbacks.
- Fostering a growth mindset: Reinforcing that they can improve with effort and that mistakes are opportunities to learn.
ADHD can present many challenges for teens and their families. With accommodations and support, it can also offer opportunities to build on strengths and help your teen and family thrive.
-Posted by Jonah Green, the owner and director of Jonah Green and Associates, LLC, which provides therapy for children, teens, families, and adults in North Bethesda, Maryland, as well as for clients in Chevy Chase, Montgomery County, Washington, DC, and the surrounding areas.