If you’re the parent of a child who has already been diagnosed with ADHD, you might already know the drill for getting your child ready to resume the structured days of the school year. If you think your child might have ADHD, screening before school starts would be a great idea– and might lead to a better year for all involved. Here’s an excerpt from an article on addressing children’s mental health needs during back-to-school planning, and there’s a link to the full text below. Remember that the Center for Effective Living is here to help people in the greater Cleveland area with ADHD and more, and that we specialize in the evaluation and treatment of ADHD, including treatment without medicine.
More and more kids are struggling with being able to stay focused in school. There are high expectations on what children are expected to achieve at school and how long they need to hold their focus and attention each day. Many kids, even kids who aren’t diagnosed with ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) can benefit from working on maintaining great focus and attention skills. To do this, you can help your child practice this skill in the upcoming weeks so that when school begins, his brain and mental abilities will be stronger in the area of focus and attention. By working on this aspect of mental health and training the brain to overcome distractability, your child will have a great start to not only his academics but also his home life, as well.
A note to remember is that the human mind naturally wanders and switches focus from one thing to the next. The important thing about distraction is being able to selectively move one’s attention back to what is necessary to pay attention to in the moment. Distraction can be an asset when it enhances creativity, fun, relationships, and other parts of life but when it negatively impacts day to day living, it is important to work on improving one’s focusing skills.