Communication Strategies

1. Recognize when your child is hearing you and actively paying attention.
2. Give them immediate positive feedback when they are being good and are communicating well.
3. Give them short, simple directions.
4. Provide communication rules that are clear and brief.

You may curtail your child's viewing time gradually, but the ultimate goal should be no more than one or two hours a day. Include TV, video game play, and computer and app use in your calculations - and enforce your rules. Using a timer can help.

Kids with the inattentive kind of ADHD have a hard time concentrating and following instructions. They often forget and lose things; they can't seem to get organized or complete assignments or chores. Most kids with ADHD have a combination of the hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive types.

At times, due to the symptoms of ADHD, it can be hard to see that these children might have co-occurring communication difficulties, but speech pathologists can help identify these difficulties and provide services to support you and your child.

In general, kids with ADHD often have trouble with "too much behavior" - too much talking, humming, noises, movement, fidgeting, wiggling, getting into things, etc. In addition, there are several characteristics of ADHD that may lead to excessive talking.

ADHD makes it hard to concentrate/ focus on boring tasks but something like the TV/ computer is constantly entertaining. People with ADHD actually have the ability to 'hyperfocus' when they are attented and interested (remain on one task and nothing else).

5. Minimize the length of screen time. “Children with ADHD appear to benefit from shorter periods of screen-based activities more frequently,” says Pavkovic. For example, 40 minutes per day, 5 days a week, instead of 2 hours per day, twice a week.

Go for a walk, play tag, or ride bikes together. Getting your child's body moving will help them to focus their energy on a fun and rewarding activity. Signing up for a youth sports group can also be a great option for many kids with ADHD.

Children With ADHD: Get Outside

• Walking (at least 20 minutes)
• Playing.
• Gardening or other yard work.
• Hiking or backpacking.
• Reading.
• Outdoor sports.
• Fishing.
• Working with animals.

A delay in speech or language is one of the earliest signs we have for kids that do go on to get a diagnosis of ADHD later in childhood. In this 2012 study, researchers found that two-thirds of the elementary-aged kids with ADHD had a speech or language delay at 18 months.

Processing language is also different for children with ADHD and they have an increased risk of developing significant language delays.

Building social skills is key to success with ADHD: Some children with ADHD might need help with social skills, such as how to engage with others, take turns, or how to better understand social situations. Speech-language pathologists can help.