

Skill Deficits Because ADHD is a developmental disorder resulting from a physiological difference in the brain, skill deficits are common.We resist adding more diagnoses when we already have one or two or five, but that additional piece of the puzzle better helps us understand our kids, and that’s enormously valuable. These additional diagnoses can be important because they give us a starting point to understand our children and to be able to effectively help them. These conditions could include mood disorder, anxiety, autism, learning disabilities, executive functioning deficits, conduct disorder, and more. Co-Existing Conditions It’s estimated that 50 to 60 percent of individuals with ADHD also have one or more coexisting conditions.They may have a different way of expressing emotion, poor self-regulation skills, or poor communication skills - whatever the root cause, emotional dysregulation impacts how they function at home, in the family, at school, and in social interactions with peers. Emotional Dysregulation Children with ADHD struggle to regulate their emotions in a way that’s appropriate for the situation and/or their age.In moments of big emotions, ask your child, “How can I help you?” That can be a great conversation starter to help you figure out what’s driving the extreme behavior. Instead of trying to resolve this intensity, dig deeper to discover what’s causing it, and address that. In addition, some individuals with ADHD are hypersensitive they feel their feelings more deeply and intensely. When a child has lagging skills - emotional awareness, self-regulation, frustration tolerance - it can lead to some extreme emotions. Intensity When our kids get really stuck and inflexible, they tend to get pretty intense.When he is inflexible, your child is communicating a bigger, deeper struggle. Instead, inflexibility is a result of not having the skills to see more than one way or to manage emotions. Inflexibility Stubborn streaks in our kids with ADHD are not willful.This will help you craft ways for her to succeed. Keep this in mind as you create appropriate (and achievable) expectations for your child. We see this impact in maturity, social skills, executive functioning, emotional dysregulation, and self-regulation.

Developmental Delays Children with ADHD develop 2-3 years more slowly than their peers.Create activities and environments where your child can shine, despite his developmental delays. Craft lots of opportunities for successes, no matter how small. For parents, that means your child needs more of your help building self-confidence. Poor Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence Struggling with ADHD can damage anyone’s self-esteem.Let’s look at each of these hidden layers of ADHD. They’re part and parcel of the ADHD brain. These traits are too often mistaken for character flaws, personality defects, or moral or ethical deficits. Unanticipated facets of ADHD lie under the surface. What’s under the surface is just as (if not more) important when raising or teaching kids with ADHD. They’re important, of course, but they’re not the whole picture of ADHD. The 10 percent we easily see above the watermark are the hallmark symptoms of ADHD: inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. This is a fitting analogy for ADHD and for parenting kids with ADHD. Yet, because it was obscured, the ship stayed the course and it was disastrous. What was under the surface was very important it required a change in direction. The ship’s crew couldn’t see the iceberg in its entirety, and it proved fatal. The mass of ice below the surface destined catastrophe. Think about this: It was an iceberg that sunk the “unsinkable” Titanic. As much as 90 percent of the mass of an iceberg sits underwater - under the surface where we cannot see it. I’m not the first to make this analogy, but I don’t see it enough so I’m repeating it - and asking you to literally start by visualizing an iceberg. Let’s imagine that your child’s attention deficit disorder ( ADHD or ADD) is an iceberg. This is critical to keep in mind and to guide daily teaching and learning tactics. What caregivers and educators see poking above the surface may only be a fraction of ADHD symptoms. Attention deficit disorder is multi-faceted, far-reaching, and largely hidden.
