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ADHD Treatment Techniques

ADHD treatment isn't just about medication. While this is an important component of treatment, it is only one part. Learning coping skills and how to value yourself are also important treatment goals.

  1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

    • People who suffer from ADHD have problems with "executive functions" or activities which help them to organize their day and manage time effectively. Cognitive behavioral therapy teaches these adults to deal with these daily issues that keep them from succeeding.
      If you procrastinate on beginning or completing work projects, your therapist will also show you how to break larger projects into smaller tasks, which will help you see the project as more manageable. (See Ref. 1, paragraph 6)

    Parenting Skills Training

    • For parents of a child with ADHD, learning how to parent your child and help her learn to manage her condition and its behaviors is a key strategy. Your child with ADHD may not respond well to delayed gratification or discipline. She needs to be "caught being good" and receive a reward for it right away so she can connect the reward to the positive behavior. Conversely, if she is misbehaving, she needs to receive an immediate consequence so she can learn to connect her misbehavior to the consequence. She also needs to understand that, just because she has ADHD, she is not a "bad" child. Parenting skills training will help you to develop the skills you need to teach your child how to shape her behavior.

    Psychotherapy

    • People with ADHD have learned to think badly of themselves. Your child has been told that she is "bad" or that she's "stupid" because she can't always manage her behaviors or organize her time. By participating in psychotherapy, she learns to separate her disorder from who she is; she learns to like herself for the wonderful person/student/employee she is. Her therapist will also help her learn ways to change or deal with her ADHD.

    Social Skills Training

    • Children who suffer from ADHD also suffer from an inability to "read" others' body language and silent communications. They continue to do things that irritate classmates. They find it difficult to make friends. Your child's therapist will teach him how to develop appropriate behaviors that can help him to develop relationships with other children. The therapist may model behaviors he wants your son to learn. He will also give your son a chance to practice these new skills.

    Relaxation

    • You can help your child learn to relax so she is able to manage her hyperactive behavior. Biofeedback training will help her to develop an awareness of her psychological, physical or emotional stress and how these stresses her own body's responses. Your goal in helping your daughter learn this skill is so she is able to self-regulate her responses and improve her overall health.

    Cognitive Rehabilitation Exercises

    • Learning simple attentional training exercises can help improve your child's ability to pay attention to what is happening around him. These exercises can also help him develop better concentration skills. Cognitive rehabilitation exercises have also been used by victims of head injuries or strokes to regain attentional and concentration skills and have been used with some success by ADHD patients.

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