#Adhd meltdown child how to

Understand why kids with ADHD struggleĪt its base, ADHD is a disorder of self-control and managing emotions is simply one part of that. Here are some steps parents (and even teachers!) can take: Steps to Help Kids with ADHD Manage Their Emotional Outbursts 1. If we seek to understand why they act the way that they do, it may be easier to help them prevent and manage their emotional outbursts. As a child psychologist specializing in ADHD, I think this is an important distinction to make. Parents often wonder why these episodes happen, and what can be done about them. In fact, between 50-70% of kids with ADHD have symptoms of emotional impulsivity. This is because kids with ADHD are more prone to be emotionally impulsive, which means they are more easily frustrated, impatient, excited, angry and annoyed than other kids who are the same age, sex and developmental level as them. Reflect back and restate to her what she says calmly.If you have a child with ADHD, she likely experiences strong emotional outbursts as well. While you may not agree with what is happening, however your child is feeling is her reality. Making sure to verbalize your child’s point of view is extremely important because it teaches her that her feelings are valid. Listen to and reflect your child’s views verbally. Using harsh language or judgements may only serve to send their self-esteem downward. Remember that your child is already probably not feeling great about themselves in this moment. Telling your child that they are acting like a baby or trying to embarrass them won’t help the situation. Offer a blanket or a calming object such as a pillow or stuffed animal.

Turn down the lights, have others leave the room quietly, turn down the music or tv. Remember that your child’s brain is different-it sends and receives information differently and sometimes inconsistently. Decrease stimulation if escalation continues. Think about escalation like a wave that your child is riding, you can either jump in and ride it with her as it rises, or you can stay on land and offer her a life line. Think of it this way, when your daughter begins to show signs of her diminished skill set, you can’t expect her to meet a demand. Resist the urge to ‘turn up the volume’ on the situation. However at the first sign of agitation (and you most likely know exactly what this looks like you’re your child), try ‘changing the channel.’ You can do this by making an environmental change (moving to a different room or playing some favorite music) 3. This usually works well with younger children. What does this mean? Well, is it a travesty if your daughter wears the same t-shirt that she did yesterday? Is it really worth imposing your will on her? Also, think of it this way, by being more flexible with your parenting you are modeling flexibility for your daughter. But when it comes to some of the best and most effective advice I can give to parents of kids with ADHD, let the little things go. It’s not earth shattering or anything you’ve never heard before.

#Adhd meltdown child how to

Instead, let’s discuss how to de-escalate situations by adjusting expectations and teaching calming strategies.

These tools only serve to let our children know what will happen when their skillset is exhausted.

It’s for this reason that I don’t believe in timeouts or behavior charts. In my experience, this is best done by teaching and modeling.

In my 17 years of work as a therapist and 9 years experience as a mother of a child with ADHD, I’ve learned the best discipline you can give your daughter or son with ADHD is to strengthen their problem solving skills. It’s humiliating, exhausting and often seems frightening for the child to experience. If you ever watch a child having a meltdown, you’ll notice that it’s extremely unpleasant for them. It made so much sense to me as a therapist who worked with young children. It’s because their skillset is not yet evolved enough to deal with the situation they are currently experiencing. In it, he explains, ‘kids do the best they can with the skills they have.’ In other words, when we see negative behaviors in children such as a meltdown it’s not because they are being manipulative or trying to get their way. Ross Greene’s ‘The Explosive Child,’ and I was blown away by his philosophy about child behavior. When I was a young and inexperienced therapist in the early 2000’s, I read Dr.