Parents of kids with ADHD can take steps to ensure that this coming holiday season doesn’t wreak havoc with the carefully planned schedules and routines that they’ve established to help their kids cope with various ADHD symptoms. The Holiday season often means special events, parties, long or delayed mealtimes, and other activities as well as additional time spent with extended family and friends. All this can lead to over stimulation for anyone but especially kids with ADHD! Keath Low, an expert on ADHD, recommends the following tips for keeping the happy in holidays.
- Prepare Your Child. For a child with ADHD, one of the most difficult aspects of the holiday season is all the uncertainty and change brought about by different routines and unfamiliar transitions that can quickly lead to disruptive behaviors.
- Maintain Routines. Regular routines and schedules tend to fall by the wayside when the holiday season is in full swing. Be flexible, but try to maintain daily routines and rhythms as much as is possible.
- Anticipate Triggers. It is helpful to proactively anticipate, prepare and modify environments that may trigger problematic behaviors.
- Educate Relatives. Take some time to talk about the difficulties and challenges your child faces in certain situations and provide information to these relatives about the most effective ways to respond.
- Medication Planning. If your child is on medication to help manage symptoms of ADHD, be sure to discuss medication issues with your child’s doctor before the holidays. Some children benefit from adjustments to their medication schedule to fit the holiday routines.
- Get Back to Basics. Remember what the holiday season is all about! Enjoy being with the ones you love and the ones who love you!
Click here for the full text of Keath Low’s article, How to Help Your Child with ADHD Through the Holidays.
