Are you a parent of an ADHD child and wondering why your child doesn’t have friends? Maybe you noticed your child not enjoying the activities or time with their peers. One question we often get from our parents is how to help their children make friends. Here are 6 tips on helping your ADHD child: Take part in the decision. Help your child find friends with similar interest. Maybe send them to school with a famous cartoon character book bag or t-shirt. Talk to other parents. The better educated people are about ADHD, the more they can help. Talking with other parents could help them to encourage their children to make friends with yours. Join a local club or group. Check with your school to see if their is a girl scout or boy scout troop they can join. Maybe… Read More »

By James Wiley, MD, FAAP   It's back to school time, and that means it’s time to get back into a routine. One of the most important routines to focus on is bedtime and awakening time. Summer tends to shift bedtime later, and it definitely shifts awakening time later for most kids, especially teenagers. So, in order to adjust the sleep cycle, we recommend beginning to wake a little earlier each day and going to bed a little earlier each night. One of the things that you have to do in order to accomplish this is to restrict those electronics your child or teenager takes to bed with them. That sometimes meets resistance. Whether you have ADHD or not, a good night’s sleep is essential for attention — but it is especially important for ADHD patients. The ADHD brain is very… Read More »

By James Wiley, MD, FAAP It's back-to-school time, and as the father and brother of teachers, I get to hear firsthand the joys and struggles educators face in the classroom. One challenge is managing hyperactive and impulsive behavior in the 10% of students that have ADHD. Here are 5 tips that will help you keep your sanity and make your students with ADHD (and their parents) eternally grateful. 1. Let them move Research is in! Kids with ADHD perform better and learn more if they can wiggle while they work. Help them find less disruptive ways to do just that! A fidget pal — like an eraser or a small stress ball — can be helpful, but some kids will need more. Allowing students to sit on exercise balls has been helpful for some. Consider allowing students to stand at desks… Read More »

Going back to school after a long summer can be very challenging for children to cope with. Add that transition to the anxieties that accompany ADHD, and you child is really dreading going back to school and changing his or her summer routine. But as the parent, there are steps that you can take to make the transition as easy as possible for your child. You can lessen the blow of a new teacher, classroom, and schedule by easing into the process. Here’s how: Talk with your child’s teacher to see if it is possible to meet him or her a few days before school starts. Meeting the teacher before the first day of school will help your child because it will be one less new face, and an authority figure that your child can start to feel comfortable around.… Read More »

by James Wiley, MD, FAAP --@adddoc As Americans we are celebrating our nation’s history of Independence-- you know, when we told our mother country she no longer had to tell us what to do, supervise our every move, or run our financial affairs.  As parents of kids with ADHD, we look forward to the day when they can claim their own independence and make good decisions, and manage their time, relationships and finances without us. Unfortunately, there are times when ADHD, especially when untreated, can delay this independence.  It takes longer for our kids to "grow up", mature, and take care of their own business in a responsible way. They impulsively want that independence, yet spring forward without considering consequences. This usually doesn’t go that well (for them OR for us). How do we get them ready for independence? We provide… Read More »