!

PARENTING!THE!CHILD!WITH!ATTENTION!
CHALLENGES!
Compiled!by!Ivor!Weiner,!Ph.D.!
!
POTENTIAL!STRENGTHS!OF!CHILDREN!WITH!ATTENTION!CHALLENGES!
Good!at!math!!
Good!readers!
Very!artistic!
Good!memories!
Kind!to!others!and!to!pets!
Good!gross!motor!skills!!
Good!with!computers,!electronics,!and!taking!things!apart!
Great!at!“hands!on”!projects!
Lots!of!energy!for!endurance!activities!
Deep!thinkers!
Seek!out!meaning,!relevance!and!understanding!in!relationships!
!
ATTENTION!CHALLENGES!
Inability!to!follow!directions!
Problems!with!the!ability!to!think!and!plan!!
Poor!organization!
Inability!to!control!impulses!
!

! !
PROVIDING!PRACTICE,!STRUCTURE!AND!CONSISTENCY!
!
Provide!Structure!
Establish!routines!for!meals,!
homework,!activities,!free!time,!and!
bedtime.!
Getting!ready!for!school!or!for!
weekend!activities.!
Organize!backpack!and!keep!objects!
needed!in!the!same!place.!
Assist!child!with!time!management.!
Provide!a!quiet!place.!
Simplify!child’s!afterschool!activities.!
Keep!an!organized!and!neat!home.!
!
!
!
! !
How?!
Develop!a!schedule!and!post!it!on!the!
fridge!and!a!bulletin!board!in!your!child’s!
room.!
Have!your!child!lay!out!her!clothes!she!
will!need!for!the!next!day!before!going!to!
bed.!
Help!your!child!organize!their!backpack!
every!night!and!make!sure!he!has!all!
supplies!kept!in!the!same!place.!!You!can!
make!a!checklist!for!him!to!use.!Organize!
his!room!using!labeled!bins.!
Be!sure!to!post!a!clock!/!timer!in!your!
child’s!room!and!wherever!homework!
takes!place.!!Allow!enough!time!for!what!
your!child!needs!to!accomplish.!Use!the!
time!for!transitional!periods,!i.e.,!when!
transitioning!from!one!activity!to!another!
–!five!minute!warning!when!transition!
will!take!place.!
http://www.reallygoodstuff.com/audibleR
timeRtimer/p/158138/?gclid=CPqR
8eG367wCFUaBfgodgLIATA!!
Find!a!quiet!place!in!your!home!where!
your!child!can!retreat!when!they!feel!
overwhelmed.!
Providing!your!child!with!a!good!balance!
of!activities!and!down!time!is!important.!!
Be!careful!not!to!overschedule!your!child.!
Model!this!behavior!by!keeping!an!
organized!home.!!
BEHAVIOR!
1. Establish!fair!and!consistent!rules.!!
2. Discuss!the!rules!with!your!child!and!get!buyRin!from!him!or!her.!
3. Focus!on!the!positive!not!the!negative!behavior!–!praise!whenever!you!see!
your!child!engaging!in!prosocial!behavior.!
!
Kids!with!Attentional!Challenges:!Using!Rewards!and!Consequences!
Rewards! Consequences!
Reward!your!child!with! Always!approach!correcting!misbehavior!by!teaching!
privileges,!praise,!or! your!child!replacement!behavior!(behavior!to!do!in!
activities,!rather!than!with! place!of!the!inappropriate!behavior)!and!think!about!
food!or!toys.!Catch!him! discipline!more!as!teaching!than!punishing.!
being!good.! !
If!you!decide!to!provide!consequences,!they!should!be!
spelled!out!in!advance!and!occur!immediately!after!
your!child!has!misbehaved.!!Be!sure!you!are!not!
punishing!your!child!for!behavior!which!is!a!direct!
result!of!his!or!her!challenges.!Always!try!to!find!
natural!consequences!that!are!relevant!to!your!child’s!
life.!!
Find!rewards!that!interest! Have!your!child!fill!out!a!form!where!he!or!she!has!to!
your!child.! process!what!just!happened!and!how!they!can!engage!
more!appropriately!next!time.!See!
http://ncsec.k12.sd.us/Social%20Skills%20Autopsy.pdf!
Rick!Lavoie!(2005)!
Make!a!chart!with!points! Avoid!situations!and!environments!that!trigger!
or!stars!awarded!for!good! inappropriate!behavior.!Over!time,!work!with!your!
behavior,!so!your!child!has! child!to!build!up!a!tolerance!for!situations!and!
a!visual!reminder!of!her! environments!that!trigger!inappropriate!behavior.!
successes.!
!
!
!
PHYSICAL!ACTIVITY!
!
Provide!Physical!Activity!
Find!organized!sports!for!
your!child!to!join.!
Constant!motion!sports!
Individual!classes!
!
SLEEP!
!
How?!
If!your!child’s!school!does!not!provide!organized!sports,!
check!out!the!local!YMCA!or!neighborhood!sports!
teams.!
Basketball,!soccer,!and!football!provide!constant!
motion!for!the!players.!Baseball,!softball,!and!hockey!
have!a!lot!of!down!time!are!not!the!best!sports!for!kids!
with!lots!of!energy.!
Yoga!and!martial!arts!training!are!great!ways!for!kids!
with!attentional!challenges!to!learn!coping!strategies!
(breathing,!mindfulness)!and!discipline.!

Provide!healthy!sleep!for! How?!
your!child!
Sleep!routine! Establish!a!consistent!bedtime!every!night.!!!
Television!! Decrease!television!time!and!increase!physical!activity!
during!the!day.!
Electronics!and!watching! Turn!off!television!and!electronics!a!couple!of!hours!
television! before!bedtime.!!
Create!a!quiet!time!an!hour! Engage!in!quieter!activities!such!a!coloring,!reading,!or!
before!bedtime! playing!quietly.!
Caffeine! Eliminate!all!caffeine!from!your!child’s!diet.!If!they!do!
have!caffeine,!make!sure!it!is!early!in!the!day.!
Using!“white!noise”! White!noise!or!a!sound!machine!can!help!in!providing!
your!child!with!a!calm!space!to!fall!asleep.!!For!white!
noise!machines,!see!
http://www.sharperimage.com/si/view/product/Sound
RSootherRWhiteRNoiseR
Machine/201102?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=
CPC&utm_campaign=NonBranded&Keyword=adwords
_grouping%3DBedroom%20and%20adwords_label%3D
Google&cm_mmc=CPCR_RGoogleR_RNonBrandedR_R
PLA&network=g&matchtype=&device=c&pc=FSGOOGL
E&gclid=CMTMjL3B67wCFZRsfgodnhUABQ!
HOMEWORK!
!
Homework! How?!
Long!activities!or!tasks! Provide!frequent!breaks.!When!you!see!signs!of!
“diminished!alertness”!(yawns,!stretching,!
fidgetiness,!staring!away!from!task),!have!your!child!
take!a!break.!(Levine,!2003)!
Highlighting! Use!highlighters!to!highlight!key!words,!concepts,!
and!main!ideas.!!
Praise! Praise!your!child!each!time!she!completes!part!of!a!
task!(one!problem!out!of!10)!and!when!the!task!is!
completed.!
http://www.gesd40.org/mainsite/parent/pghtm/10
1ways.htm!
Directions! Break!directions!into!smaller!components.!Ask!your!
child!to!repeat!back!instructions!to!check!for!
understanding.!
Organization! Use!graphic!organizers!to!help!your!child!understand!
the!homework.!For!more!on!graphic!organizers,!see!
http://edhelper.com/teachers/graphic_organizers.h
tm!
!
Scheduling!homework! Make!it!the!same!time!every!day!and!try!to!schedule!
more!difficult!homework!tasks!at!times!when!
attention!is!most!available.!!
Time!management! Use!a!timer!to!assist!your!child!in!managing!
homework!tasks!and!for!transitioning!between!
homework!assignments.!
Binders!and!color!coding! Make!sure!homework!(different!subjects)!is!
! organized!in!binders!with!optional!color!coding.!
! Be!sure!to!coordinate!this!with!your!child’s!
! teacher(s).!
! !
! Use!Apps!to!assist!with!homework!organization.!See!
! Epic!Win!http://www.rexbox.co.uk/epicwin/!
! Overcommitted!http://overcommitted.com/tictoc/!
! !
! 30/30!https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/30R
! 30/id505863977?mt=8!
! My!Class!Schedule!
Binders!and!color!coding! https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.r
continued! akuun.MyClassSchedule.free!
iProcrastinate!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iprocrastinate/id4
12733762?mt=8!
!
Quiet!and!consistent!space! Do!homework!in!the!same!place!every!day!and!make!
for!homework! sure!the!location!is!quite!and!distraction!free!
LongRterm!projects! For!more!lengthy!homework!assignments,!talk!to!
your!child’s!teacher!about!different!ways!your!child!
can!demonstrate!competency.!Always!try!to!
leverage!her!strength!to!demonstrate!mastery.!!For!
example,!if!your!child!loves!to!make!movies!then!ask!
the!teacher!if!she!can!make!a!movie!about!the!book!
instead!of!a!traditional!book!report.!
!
!
! !
SOCIAL!INTERACTION!
!
Social! How?!
Interaction!!
Role!play! Role!play!with!your!child!different!social!skills.!Trade!roles!and!
make!it!fun.!Do!it!the!“wrong”!and!“right”!ways.!Use!humor!and!
laugh!with!your!child.!
Play! Organize!play!dates!and!reward!your!child!when!she!engages!in!
appropriate!play!behavior.!
Conversation! Talk!to!your!child!about!his!strengths!R!always!focus!on!his!
positive!attributes.!Discuss!his!challenges!in!a!gentle!and!kind!
way.!Allow!him!to!try!figure!out!ways!to!overcome!the!challenges!
before!making!any!suggestions.!!
SelfR SelfRmonitoring!by!your!child!can!increase!her!selfRcontrol!and!
monitoring!! their!own!emotional!regulation.!For!more!information!see!
http://www.interventioncentral.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/pdfs
_blog/self_management_self_monitoring.pdf!
Positive!role! Talk!to!your!child!about!role!models!who!are!successful!in!life!
models! despite!their!attentional!challenges:!
! • Justin!Timberlake,!actor!and!singer!
! • Jamie!Oliver,!chef!
! • Karina!Smirnoff,!!Dancing!with!the!Stars!
! • Will!Smith,!actor!and!singer!
• Michael!Phelps,!Olympic!swimmer!
• Jim!Carrey,!actor!and!comedian!
• Ty!Pennington,!Extreme!Makeover!host!
• Sir!Richard!Branson,!billionaire!
• Terry!Bradshaw,!NFL!player!and!commentator!
• James!Carville,!political!consultant!
• Paul!Orfalea,!founder!of!Kinko’s!
• Michelle!Rodriguez,!actor,!Lost!
• David!Neeleman,!founder!of!JetBlue!Airways!
• Bruce!Jenner,!Olympic!athlete!
Coping! Find!simple!guided!imagery!exercises!to!teach!to!your!child.!See!
strategies! Guided!Imagery!resource!below.!
!
! !
RESOURCES!
General!Reading!on!Attention!
http://www.amazon.com/DrivenRDistractionRRevisedRRecognizingR
Attention/dp/0307743152/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1393480110&sr=8R
19&keywords=attention!
!
Websites!
http://www.additudemag.com/chadd!
http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/disabilitiesRspecialR
needs/understandingRattentionRproblems!
http://www.parentsleague.org/publications/selected_articles/helping_children_l
earn_to_pay_attention/index.aspx!
!
Homework!Help!!
http://www.amazon.com/HomeworkRParentsRHelpingRWithoutR
Freaking/dp/098399000X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1393480250&sr=8R
5&keywords=homework!
!
Attention!Games!
http://www.amazon.com/AttentionRGamesREasyRLearnR
Focus/dp/0471736546/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393607536&sr=1R
11&keywords=attention!!!
!
Guided!Imagery!!
http://www.amazon.com/GuidedRImageryRHealingRChildrenR
Teens/dp/1582700419/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1393480341&sr=8R
7&keywords=guided+imagery!!
!
Mindfulness!Training!
http://marc.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=16!
!