Can You Treat Children With ADHD With Behavioral Therapy?

Can You Treat Children With ADHD With Behavioral Therapy?

It is said that the first step towards managing children with ADHD is behavioral therapy!

If your child has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), it is quite likely that your doctor will recommend behavior therapy as part of the treatment.

Behavioral therapy is not similar to psychotherapy or play therapy as the main focus of behavioral therapy remains on actions, not emotions. This kind of therapy teaches your child to turn their negative thoughts and energy into positive thoughts and actions. Home is the best place to start behavioral therapy. Moreover, ADHD training for teachers is also available to train them with the skills that are required to handle ADHD kids.

When is behavioral therapy?

The main objective of behavioral therapy is to create certain rules while supervising the behaviour of your child and consistently follow those rules keeping in mind the positive consequences for following it and negative consequences for violating the rules.

Behavioral therapy is usually recommended when your child is diagnosed with ADHD. If your child is diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 4 or 5 (when in preschool), it is the only treatment that can be implemented. Behavioral therapy works like medication in young kids. If this therapy does not work on your child or your child shows moderate or severe symptoms, then the doctor might prescribe some other medication.

Goals Behavioral therapy

Children who are diagnosed with ADHD are mostly found to be impulsive and never sitting still and thus fail to pay attention to anything. They can also display disruptive behavior in classrooms as well as at home. Behavioral therapy helps your child to develop certain skills.

• Nourish good behaviors
• Reduce disturbing behaviors
• Teach a child to be expressive about their feelings.

The main caregivers for providing behavioral therapy to children are their parents who are raising them. Learning a few skills and approaches to treat ADHD kids at home can be useful.

Here are few strategies based on real ADHD behavior therapy techniques. Let’s get some idea!

1. Make your child understand the rules
Instructing your child to do certain things and not to do certain things is not enough. You need to write the rules and stick them around the house. For example, you can make a list of particular things that your child needs to follow to get ready for school. Make the rules clear for him/her to understand easily.

2. Give clear commands
Call out your child’s name to draw his/her attention. Then give clear instructions to do something. It’s not sufficient for a parent to just ask the child to display good behavior as they might not know what that means. Also, state the consequences for disobeying the command.

3. Don’t expect everything to be perfect
Try to keep a balance between praising your child and criticizing them. It is always important to praise your child often for doing something good at least three to five times just as you criticize them for doing something wrong. You must never expect immediate results or else you will be disappointed. Make small steps instead and work your way toward the desired goal.

4. Introduce a system for rewards and consequences
Practice rewarding your child with a jar and supply of marbles for obeying your commands. Put a marble in the jar every time your child obeys you.

5. Change your discipline techniques as your child gets older
Certain measures and techniques might not work as well with teens as they do with younger kids. If your high-school kid breaks a rule, punish them by giving a five-minute chore. It is useful to negotiate the terms and conditions with older children.

Therapy at school

Teachers in school might praise your child or make them calm providing objects that they can hold quietly and simultaneously pay attention to the lesson. The teacher may use hand signals to communicate privately with older children in a class. There are other techniques called accommodations that include:

• A separate location for conducting tests and quizzes
• Rearrange your child's desk
• Increase the time for taking tests
• Altered homework assignments
• Special education, social skills classes, or a behavioral plan

At present, there are effective ADHD training for teachers available in numerous places. Teachers, parents or caretakers just need to take the classes and receive the training that is required to treat ADHD kids at school or at home. Behavioral therapy, with or without medication, can help your child limit symptoms of impulsivity, hyperactivity, and inattentiveness. It can help your child perform well in school, but you have to work towards it consistently.