The post Start School Strong appeared first on ADHD PARENT POWER.
]]>With your support and positive advocacy they will!
You know your child best and are their biggest supporter this makes taking a positive approach to having open communication with their Teacher very important to get them started off to having a great school year!
Your child’s teacher can be a great advocate for your child and an important source of information for you! The relationship you have with them is important for your child’s success.
How can you do this??…you may be thinking! Perhaps every year you felt you tried and feel defeated or you feel they have not listened to you or your child in the past and now you think how is it going to be any different this year!??
It will be different by taking a fresh approach!
First check in with your thoughts and feelings about your child and their school. This may seem like a strange thing I am saying however how you see things will impact how you communicate with the school.
Do you see their school as a positive place where you know they will positively grow and learn? or is your view their school does not support them and you are expecting a challenging year!
Start this year off viewing it as a clean slate. Let go of all past challenges and get a new vision that they are going to have a great year because you are going to team up with their teacher and the school with the goal in mind of your child’s success!
Mindset Matters!
As early as possible connect with your child’s teacher sharing a bit about them. Positively share about your awesome kid! Information is power and the more the teacher knows about your child the easier it is for them to support and understand him/her!
for example: My son used to start wiggling in his seat and almost hide under his desk when he did not understand what the teacher was talking about! I shared with the teacher that if she sees my son doing this it is a good prompt for her to check in with him privately that he understands how to do the work.
Teachers are usually very grateful for tips and suggestions on how to help your child as long as you are sharing positively not demanding.
Another way to share information about your child with the teacher is by writing a letter outlining some of the most common challenges he/she has and ways to help him.
Remember the teacher has possibly 25 plus other kids in the class and sharing information about your child will shine a much needed and appreciated light!
wishing you all much success,
Donna Hunter
Your ADHD Friendly Family Coach
The post Start School Strong appeared first on ADHD PARENT POWER.
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Oppositional behaviour is common among kids with ADHD — the usual discipline strategies don’t always work. Instead, try these simple strategies for better behavior.
1. Most important rule is do not take ODD behavior personally.
Remain calm and friendly whenever you interact with your children. Oppositional kids have radar for hostility. If they pick up your anger, they’re going to match it.” Appear calm until you feel calm. If you feel you can’t be calm walk away for a time to reclaim your brain. Topics can always be revisited when you are in a better head-space.
2. Encouragement and Praise go a long way!
When you need your children to do something and you want their full cooperation approach them with positivity. Put your focus on what they are doing well by commenting on that always first and often. For example you have asked them to clean up a mess and they start the task. Comment positively how you appreciate that they got started on the task, encourage and praise throughout then thank them for their cooperation. This positive reinforcement will bring about good behaviour from them and they are more likely to help in the future! Encouragement and Praise are big motivators and essential to shifting oppositional behaviour. (* side note these kids are very clever they will know when you are not being genuine-make sure you mean and feel what you say)
3.Use “Positive Opposite” Technic often.
This is a very powerful tool to stop opposition behaviour in its tracks! When communicating to your children match their behaviour with a positive opposite response. For example if they are shouting then you choose to speak in a very quiet voice, if they are slamming the door you choose to close it quietly, if they are being harsh you choose being gentle. This is challenging to implement at first but when you see the results of using this technic you will want to use it often!
Collectively using these strategies will significantly improve your child’s behaviour. Parenting children with oppositional behaviours means taking a different parenting approach than the one you are familiar and may have been parented with. To achieve a calm and connected relationship with our complicated kids taking a positive parenting approach is most effective!
Comments, questions or want more information please do get in touch with me…happy to connect with you!
Your ADHD Friendly Parent Coach,
Donna
The post 3 Things to remember to help you manage oppositional behaviour appeared first on ADHD PARENT POWER.
]]>April 15 at 11:58am ·Does it make a difference to our children’s mental well-being and personal success to be honest with them about their ADHD diagnosis? What about the medications they are taking? Is it important to tell them what it is they are really taking and why?
Answer these questions to see if being honest with them really does matter to them and you:
1. Do you like having accurate information about your health or would you prefer to be in the dark wondering what is going on?
2. If you were diagnosed with a lifelong condition would you want to know everything about it and how to live with it successfully?
3. Would you be okay with going through life not understanding yourself?
4. Would you be okay with thinking and knowing you are different but don’t understand why?
5. Would you like to be kept in the dark about a health diagnosis because of stigma?
6. Would you like to be kept in the dark at all about something you have been diagnosed with for any reason?
7. If your child was diagnosed with a physical medical condition (heart, lungs, kidney etc) would you tell them about it and help them understand what it means for them?
8. Would you like the choice to decide to learn about your diagnosis be yours or someone else’s?
9. Are you making the right choice for your child/children by keeping them in the dark about a condition that THEY have been diagnosed with?
10. Do They have a right to know how their brain operates?
11. Would you like someone you trust to explain to you all about how your brain operates and help you find solutions and strategies to work with your unique learning style?
12. Do you believe people have a right to learn about medications they are taking?
13. Do you like knowing why you are taking pills and what the pills are for?
14. Would you be okay with someone lying to you about the pills you are taking?
15. Do you take any medication or vitamins not knowing what they are? Do you think the pills you are taking is candy or not know what they are or why you are taking them?
16. Do you value truth and honesty?
17. Do you want your children to value truth and honesty?
I believe it greatly impacts our children in a positive way when we give them all the facts about themselves and then we guide and teach them how to live a flourishing life with the truth!
Children that live in the dark about their diagnosis are not given the opportunity to Know about themselves and then learn throughout their childhood how to problem-solve and make ADHD-friendly choices for themselves that would in turn have a huge positive impact on their mental well-being and lifelong success!
What do you think? Is it important for your children to know the truth??
“When we help our children IDENTIFY, ACKNOWLEDGE and EMBRACE their unique way of learning they look to find solutions that EMPOWERS them to achieve SUCCESS personally, academically and socially!”
~Donna Hunter
Your Friendly Parent ADHD Coach
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