| |
Basic InformationMore InformationTestsLatest NewsQuestions and AnswersVideosHow to Select the Best School Accommodations for Your Child with ADHDHow to Manage ADHD and AnxietyWhat You Need to Know about Students with ADHD and AnxietyADHD and Eating Tourette Syndrome and ADHD Homework, Organization, and Time Management Strategies to Help Kids with ADHDNutrition in Support of ADHD TreatmentBehavioral Therapy: What it is and finding a therapist Project-Based Learning and ADHD Conditions May Mimic ADHDDepartment of Education Guidance Broadens Understanding of 504 Rights for Kids with ADHD Part I Treating ADHD in the African American CommunityHow to Build Self-Motivation in Teens with ADHDGoal Setting and Keeping for the ADHD BrainNeurofeedback Treatment for ADHDADHD in Preschoolers: What to Look For and How to HelpFYI on ADHD Evaluations Teaching Grit, Perseverance and Frustration Tolerance to Students with ADHD Does my Child Have ADHD? How to Start Eating Well When You Have ADHD 5 Solutions for Common ADHD Social StrugglesIs My High School Student Ready for College? (And Is My College Student Ready to Go Back?) Understanding and Applying the Science of Time ManagementADHD Medication and College Students: Prevent Misuse, Abuse, and DiversionImprove Homework Time with Strategies That Work For ADHD Student Voices: What Really Matters to Young Adults With Learning and Attention Issues 5 Ways Nutrition can Impact ADHD Symptoms 3 Tips for Adjusting to a New Diagnosis of ADHDCreating the Best Learning Environment for Students with ADHD ADHD & Executive FunctioningDepartment of Education Guidance Broadens Understanding of 504 Rights for Kids with ADHD Part II Ask The Expert: Neurofeedback Treatment for ADHDADHD and Suicide Risk FactorsThe Choice is in the Details: Medication Options for ADHDUnderstanding and Supporting Young Adults with ADHDHelping Your Young Adult Become IndependentCreating Structure and Routines for Children with ADHDWhen You and Your Child Have ADHD - Communication Skills to Resolve ConflictGuidance for Uncertain Times: Navigating Relationship ChallengesGuidance for Uncertain Times: Mindful Parenting Couples with ADHD: Creating Caring Connection amid the ChaosDisclosure and Workplace Accommodations for Individuals With ADHDA Summer At CampSelf-Advocacy Tips For Teens With ADHDADHD and Curbing Impulsive Spending to Help Your RelationshipADHD: Signs, Symptoms, ResearchADHD & Risk of Adult Drug UseHealth and Life Expectancy in ADHDFocus on ADHDPediatrics: ADHD and Food Allergies ADHD TreatmentADHD: It's a Family AffairDoes Your Child Have ADHD?ADHD in ChildrenLiving with ADHDRise in ADHD Cases in ChildrenWhy is Dating Difficult When You Have ADHDVideo Games, Screens, and ADHD A Potent MixAsk the Expert Helping Children with ADHD LD Conquer Chronic StressAsk the Expert: Mindfulness, Stress, & EmotionAttention Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderAsk the Expert Educator Edition: ADHD & Executive FunctioningAsk the Expert - Academic Evaluations - What Parents Need to Know ADHD and Sibling RelationshipsMedication Treatment for ADHD Using Time Out Treating Childhood ADHD ADHD-friendly Summer Family FUNdamentals Preparing Older Teens for the Road Ahead Tips for Teachers: Tailoring homework to make a difference Your Active Preschooler: Could it be ADHD? Tips for Teachers: Creating a positive dialogue with parents of students with ADHD Helping Parents & Kids Understand the Social & Emotional Aspects of ADHDSocial and Emotional Concerns of Children with ADHD: Strategies to Help Holiday Gifts for Children with ADHDBehavior Management and Combined Treatment for Children with ADHD Setting Realistic School Expectations for Students with ADHD On Their Own: Helping College Students with ADHD Children's Communication Challenges: Is it Attention, Language or Both? Out-of-School: Parenting During the Summer ADHD in the Workplace: Finding Success Emotions and Motivation in ADHDThe Role of Medication in Managing Children's ADHD Symptoms Top Tips for Combating Stigma and Addressing Myths about ADHD Facts and Myths about ADHD What To Do If Your Child Has ADHD? How Common is ADHD? Children, Meds, and Heart Safety: A Tale of ADHD and Public Health ADHD & Your Child’s Transition to CollegeYour Teen with ADHD: Challenges and Strategies for SuccessAsk the Expert - No more homework battles A Frontline to ADHDUnderstanding Girls with ADHD What is ADHD? What To Do When Your Child With ADHD is BulliedStop the Chaos! Tips for Creating a Peaceful Household When Mom has ADHDIs It ADHD?Ask the Expert - What else can I do? Complementary approaches to ADHD treatment All in a row: Getting your kids with ADHD organized Your Student With ADHD Was Admitted to College, Now what? Evidence-based treatment for ADHD in young children Home life when Mom or Dad has ADHD: Succeeding with your family How does technology affect ADHD? Diagnosing ADHD Helping Your Child Successfully Handle Change Recognizing challenging behaviors in young children: Could it be ADHD? Classroom Managment Supports for ADHD Behaviors in Preschool Settings Getting through to your teenager with ADHD What Everyone Should Know about ADHD Make Learning Exciting: Apps for Executive Functioning Teenagers, ADHD, and Substance Abuse Past Procrastination -- Get Your Kids Organized, Focused and MotivatedAsk the Expert: Late, Lost, and Unprepared: How to Help Your Child with Executive Functioning LinksBook Reviews |
| |
Social Skills Training and CoachingMargaret V. Austin, Ph.D., edited by C. E. Zupanick, Psy.D.Social skills training for children with ADHD
As children mature, they gradually become aware of how their behavior impacts others. However, children with ADHD have been described as "bulls in a china shop." They move through the day quickly, often without giving much thought to the feelings or needs of others. This lack of awareness, coupled hyperactive, aggressive, and impulsive behaviors, creates social problems. This unfortunate combination clearly has the potential to cause problems in all relationships (both peers and adults). Although children with ADHD do care about other people, they are simply unaware of others' needs and/or cannot anticipate them. Likewise, it is difficult for them to consider things from someone else's perspective.
Social skills training classes are designed to improve peer relationships. In a classroom setting, students learn interpersonal interaction skills, such as how to initiate a conversation; how to observe and understand social cues; or, how to appreciate non-literal humor. These skills facilitate success in both the classroom and at home.
These classes differ from individual or group therapy in that the focus is primarily on interpersonal interactions; not emotions or personal change. Social skills training is typically taught in groups. Groups provide real-time opportunities to practice new skills with the other children in the skills class.
Coaching
A relative newcomer to ADHD treatment is coaching. Coaching is aimed at helping people set and achieve realistic goals. This begins by evaluating individual challenges and gifts. Distinct from individual therapy, coaching is a supportive, non-therapeutic, approach. The coaching approach emphasizes spending more time each day operating from areas of strength, and less time struggling with difficulty. This approach shifts everyone's focus from correcting weaknesses to one of highlighting strengths. It may seem insignificant but this shift in perspective provides much needed balance. One's own behavior can be normalized- "I have both strengths and weakness just like all people do." This small change can have a big impact as it lessens the sense of being different from others.
This is not to say that coaching ignores or minimizes problems. Instead strengths are called into service to reduce or eliminate areas of relative weakness. Coaching is designed to teach some very specific and concrete skills that remediate challenging areas. This might include learning skills needed to sustain focus, note-taking skills, or memorization aids.
Coaching is usually well-received by participants because of its lighthearted, matter-of-fact approach. However, coaching is primarily used with older children and adults because it requires a certain level of cognitive maturity. Younger children simply lack the ability to consciously and directly intervene on their own behalf. Recently, a less cognitively demanding version was developed for use with younger children. It has shown some success (Maynard, n.d.).
Although many ADHD coaches are very good, the training and experience of each can vary greatly. It is important to carefully inquire into the qualifications of anyone you might consider hiring.
|