Limassol Therapy Center

Shaping the environment for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Practical tips for parents

Practical tips for parents:

  • It is important for both parents to follow a consistent and common management path.
  • Set clear and firm boundaries and rules in the home environment.
  • The study space is important to be specific, large and abstract.
  • Only one lesson at a time is placed in the office and only the necessary items.
  • Start with lessons that require memorization.
  • Studying at home is important to be organized and with several breaks (study time is important to break with several breaks).
  • Give the child feedback often and immediately.
  • Pay attention to appropriate behavior of the child and ignore inappropriate (non-dangerous) behavior of the child.
  • Reward this functional behavior immediately.
  • The consequences are important to be expressed in a calm tone of voice, to be direct and understandable to the child.
  • Focus on the desired behavior that you want to increase, not the unwanted one.
  • Adjust your requirements to the child’s abilities.
  • Give your child simple instructions. Give younger children one instruction at a time and never in a question mark.
  • Offer a fixed schedule of sleep and diet.
  • Promote the child in extracurricular activities (swimming, stadium, ..).
  • Enhance puzzle games, lego and other mindfulness activities.
  • Assign him/her responsibilities at home (cleaning the room, making the bed, ..).
  • The child’s room is important to be organized with specific places for objects.
  • Organize your child through having a bulletin board in the room, where important papers or activity reminders are placed.
  • The choice of clothes and the preparation of the bag from the previous night are exercises of responsibility and organization for the child.
  • Orientation and direction exercises in the area where the child is active, and generalization of the exercises in unfamiliar environments are necessary to improve his visual-spatial perception.
  • Use a behavioral self-management card (school-home).
  • The child is good to learn the lessons with blueprints and divided into sections. It is good to learn to read large texts in sections, emphasizing the main points.
  • Text recording exercises are very good for enhancing visual and auditory memory and concentration.
  • Use repetition.
  • Supporting the child to use self-correction.
  • It is especially useful to use games that help with memorization and serialization.

Militsa Demetriou
Registered School / Educational Psychologist (Registration Number 423)

Recent Posts
Blog Updates