Happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s with adhd and dad’s with adhd children!
A VERY BIG THANK YOU to my father, who helped me grow up and become a self-sufficient man even though neither of us even knew adhd existed, let alone that I had it. Dad, you did a fantastic job!
In honor of Father’s Day, I’d like to share these amazing photos I found, and provide you with a couple insightful links that share a message ANYONE can grow a little from.
Parenting an ADHD Child: A Father’s Perspective, has some important words that I REALLY think are important (emphasis added):
If your child has ADHD, then there are three things that can happen. He can let it break him and it will be his downfall. He can live with it and try to compensate for the trouble it causes him. Or he can incorporate it into his future and use it to catapult him to a level that he would never have been able to achieve if he did not have ADHD.
Schwab Learning has a terrific FREE ebook, “Fathers of Kids with ADHD”.
Here Are 10 Top Tips for Dad’s Involvement:
1. Maintain a healthy and loving relationship with your wife or partner. It’s the most important thing you can do to support your child with LD or AD/HD. Adult and family relationships become stressed when a child is identified with a learning disability. Your child will do better if the adults present a united approach.
2. Create an environment in your home that promotes open communication about your child’s LD or AD/HD. Your child is the main player in understanding the learning issues and must be an active participant in the development of a management plan.
3. Get information about your child’s LD or AD/HD. Learn the appropriate words to describe how your child processes information. Never use demeaning remarks to describe her learning difficulties.
4. Attend your child’s school conferences and/or special education IEP (Individualized Education Program) meetings. Fathers’ participation at meetings can change the dynamics of the discussion significantly and influence the outcome for the positive.
5. Be positive and supportive when solving problems. Acknowledge your child’s difficulty, but model resilient behavior. It’s possible to learn to manage issues as diffi cult as reading, writing, or math.
6. Emphasize the things she can do, rather than what she can’t. Every child needs to feel like an expert in something. Help your child identify her talents and support her interests.
7. Emphasize quality of interactions with your child, rather than the amount of time spent together. Work schedules can be quite hectic, and there can be a lot of pressure to “just spend time together.” You don’t necessarily need to spend long periods of time together to create wonderful memories that last a long time.
8. Follow through on promises made to your child with LD or AD/HD. Having LD can feel like riding a roller coaster. The fewer the unexpected upsets or disappointments, the better.
9. Model patience and understanding by showing your child that you can remain focused even during times of distress. Ignore negative behaviors and reinforce positive strides. Parenting a child with LD or AD/HD may be very taxing on one’s patience.
10. Don’t be afraid to seek support from other parents or professionals. There are no hero awards for the dad who “goes it alone” and refuses to seek advice from others. Your child will recognize your distress and may feel like she’s let you down.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY! 
