To help your child or teen with impulsivity, it is first important for her to know that all humans have impulses; however, it is imperative that she knows that learning to control her impulses is a necessity in order to avoid a whole list of possible predicaments including losing friends, serving time in detention, serving time in jail, and teenage pregnancy; just to name a few.

Next, it is important that your ADHD child or teen understands why he or she has problems with impulsivity: specifically, weaknesses in the frontal lobe and parts of the limbic system of the brain often fail to help
even the smartest people with ADHD to stop and think before acting or speaking.  Knowing this helps your child
understand that you understand that she is not purposely being oppositional or defiant.  But you can’t just stop here; otherwise, you may unwittingly allow your child to turn their ADHD into an excuse or a crutch for their impulsiveness.

When I talk with kids with ADHD about their challenges, I explain to them that even  though they did not cause their impulsivity, they can take responsibility for developing skills to reduce their impulsive responses.

Self-awareness is the first step toward self-control.  Once your child understands that he did not cause his impulsivity, and that he can learn strategies to help control it, he is less likely to be hard on himself about this difficult ADHD difficulty , and more willing to start working toward a solution to improve his weak response inhibition.

Need help identifying and addressing your child/teen’s needs?  Call 817.421.8780 to learn about our assessments,  educational consultations, Parenting Success and Student Success strategies

(c) 2009- 2012, Monte W. Davenport, Ph.D.