5 Tips On Helping a Child with ADHD

Ineh Olisah

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, commonly referred to as ADHD, presents as a host of behavioural symptoms that include short attention span, restlessness, hyperactivity, incessant fidgeting, impulsiveness or getting distracted easily. Find out more about the symptoms here.

A child with ADHD requires constant stimulation in order to feel happy and calm. Most of the time they need that stimulation to come from others. You as a parent or carer will need to make sure your child’s time is properly structured.

1. Games! Games!! Games!!!

Your child cannot run around with friends all day, so make sure that you have adequate supplies in the house to do other activities. Paint and brushes, board games, card games and simple concentration games. These cater to your child’s voracious curiosity and help curb the frustration he might be feeling when he has nothing to do.

2. Kitchen Time

A cheap and easy way to help an ADHD child is by bringing her into the kitchen. Simple ingredients for pizza dough can be found on the internet. The cooking process gives your child something to do in the present, as well as a delicious pizza to look forward to in the end!

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3. Outdoor fun and Sports

The outdoors can offer a whole host of opportunities to a child with ADHA. Their reduced ability to keep still makes them constantly restless. Allow them to expend tons of energy by simply racing around on their bicycle or learning how to swim. Swimming is especially beneficial, as the need to concentrate on breathing requires them to remain calm.

4. Concentration Exercise

As concentration can be a problem for a child with ADHD, you can help by engaging her mind on something that is calming but also requires concentration. Sowing and harvesting seeds is a perfect example of such an activity. Fixing puzzles and beading are also activities that require concentration.

5. Better sleep can help your child with ADD/ADHD

Insufficient sleep can make anyone less attentive, but it can be highly detrimental for children with ADD/ADHD. Kids with ADD/ADHD need at least as much sleep as their unaffected peers, but tend not to get what they need. Their attention problems can lead to overstimulation and trouble falling asleep. A consistent, early bedtime is the most helpful strategy to combat this problem, but it may not completely solve it.