Building on your Child's Strengths (for Parents of Children with ADHD)

It is true that children with ADHD have many challenges. There are also unique advantages to having ADHD. Your child, like all children, has strengths and weakness. As a parent, you can help your child do well by focusing on his/her strengths and building on those strengths. There are things you can do to help your child feel confident and successful. Getting your child involved in sports, clubs or other activities can build new skills. Be sure to tell your child all the things he/she does well. Praise your child's good behaviors right when they occur. Appreciate all the things that are wonderful about your child and let him or her know your forever positive feelings. The information below can help you identify and build on your child's strengths.

Common Strengths of Children with ADHD:

• Being outgoing and talkative - this can make them really enjoy and be good at socializing.
• Ability to think about many things at once - this can make them creative, great artists, inventors and multitaskers.
• Lots of energy for physical activities - this can make them great athletes or dancers (gold medal Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps has ADHD).
• Being ready for action - this can make them great helpers!
• Being spontaneous- this makes them fun companions.

How you Can Build on your Child's Strengths:

• If your child has lots of energy, encourage exercise and/or athletics. You can sign your child up for sports teams or go running with your child on Saturday morning.
• If your child has lots of extra energy, you can encourage lots of movement. Play active games like freeze tag or twister. Video game systems like the Wii or Xbox Kinect involve movement.
• If your child has lots of energy try dancing! You can sign your child up for dance class or just dance at home. Turn up the music and let your child dance in his/her socks in the kitchen.
• If your child has a creative mind, encourage arts. You can give him/her art supplies as birthday presents or sign him/her up for an art class. Your child may especially enjoy splatter painting (flinging paint on a canvas or piece of paper) because it does not require a lot of focus.
• If your child is always ready for action, you can enlist your child to be your helper around the house. You can have your child get things you need from other rooms, get out ingredients for cooking, and put things away. Be sure to give your child lots of praise for helping! Your child's teacher may also like the idea of having your child be a helper in school. Your child can erase the blackboard or take notes to the office.

Get your child involved:

• If your child is interested in athletics, sign him/her up for sports in the community or at school. Participation in team sports can help your children use their extra energy. It can also teach teamwork and cooperation. Sports teams are also a great place to form friendships.
• If your child has interests outside of sports, encourage him/her to join clubs or groups. There are clubs or groups for many different things like arts, theater, dance, writing, chess, computers, and foreign languages. Schools or religious institutions may also have scout programs (e.g. Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts). If your child is not interested in the clubs at his/her school, you and he/she may be able to create a group.
• Encourage your child to do volunteer work. There are many wonderful volunteer opportunities in the community. For example, there are Habitat for Humanity, soup kitchens, hospital volunteer programs, Salvation Army, and church activities. You can volunteer with your child. Volunteering can help build your child's self-confidence and discover the pleasure of being a helpful person and can also build your bond with your child.
• Enroll your child in summer camp. There are both day camps and summer camp programs for children. Camps often offer children a wide variety of activities including arts, crafts, music, dance, theatre, sports, and science. Children can find their talents in summer camps. Camps can also have leadership opportunities. Camps are also a great place for children to build friendships.
• Children find a sense of a positive future from working. Help you child get jobs babysitting, mowing lawns, walking dogs or bagging groceries. They will get money for their hobbies and more importantly praise for doing a good job.