Solutions for Social Anxiety in Children and Teens with ADHD Ask The Expert
Improving Social Executive Function Skills | Parents Ask The Expert
How to Say the Right Thing at the Right Time
Often people with ADHD have a history of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Maybe we make a cringe-worthy comment we wish we could immediately take back. Other times we don’t know what to say and we just fumble along. Or we monologue and stumble into inappropriate comments. This history makes us afraid…
Read MoreBomb-Proof Your Jokes
Humor can be tricky. With ADHD, it can be even trickier. If your joke won’t land or you can’t hit the punch line, the awkward silence that follows can be deafening. Jokes change depending on the group, the situation, and the people. Humor is largely about timing, intention, and reading the room. Is your joke…
Read MoreFriendship Problems? How Parents Can Help
“Your son is getting better at turning in his homework,” said Spencer’s fourth grade teacher. “However, the other students don’t want to sit at his table. I notice that at recess he is often alone, and I worry about him socially.” Spencer’s parents reflect on this statement. Indeed, they have noticed that invitations to birthday…
Read MoreTen Ways You Can Help Your Child Succeed Socially When They Return to School
The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on everyone other than people who enjoy misery. At this point, though, even they may be getting fed up. One of the hardest hit groups are kids who have ADHD and also struggle with social interaction. In addition to the difficulty in reading faces that wearing masks causes, online…
Read MorePre-Game Your Social Strategy
Want to improve your social network? “Just showing up” is rarely a good plan, especially for adults with ADHD in social situations. Bombarded by stimulation, swamped with anticipatory anxiety, flooded with emotions, and feeling you have lost the ability to self-regulate can make socializing both draining and overwhelming for people with ADHD. For many of…
Read MoreI’m Fine, Thank You Very Much!
“My daughter is so sassy! I try to help her make friends, but she will not take my advice.” Many parents of tweens and teens with ADHD struggle as they watch their child ignore overtures of friendship, cling to friends who don’t treat them well, or ignore advice and make mistakes that ultimately leave them…
Read MoreThe Imagine Neighborhood, Where Children (and Adults) Learn About Feelings
Joyce Cooper-Kahn, PhD, interviews Scotty Iseri and Sherri Widen, PhD Imagination and pretend play have long been considered a foundation for the development of behavioral and emotional regulation—see, for example, the work of psychologists Dorothy and Jerome Singer. Both the process of imagining and the specific rehearsal of situations that are part of pretend play…
Read MoreTeach Your Child to Read the Room
WE’VE ALL SEEN SIGNS OF A CHILD who doesn’t quite know how to follow the unwritten rules of proper etiquette. The child with ADHD who barges into someone’s house and sits on the couch in a wet bathing suit. The teenager who tries to get the attention of his teacher while she is hurriedly packing…
Read MoreCamp Can Be a Place to Thrive
For many parents whose children have ADHD or are twice-exceptional, summer marks the end of a school year rife with organizational, social, and academic challenges. From homework hassles to organizational black holes and home/school communications, a high level of frustration can develop in both parents and children. Research-informed summer camps provide an opportunity for children…
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