Parents’ Role in ADHD Counselling

At Attached Kids, we work with many children who have ADHD. Commonly, parents seek support for their children with ADHD to help them learn to manage their emotions, daily routines, school work, and chores. These daily skills prove to be more challenging for children with ADHD because of something called “Executive Functioning”.

What is Executive Functioning?

Executive Functioning refers to the parts of the brain that help us manage daily life. They are the areas of the brain that are impacted by ADHD and create difficulties for children, teens and adults with ADHD. The Executive Functioning Skills that are commonly difficult for children with ADHD are:

Impulse Control

Self-Regulation

Flexible Thinking

Working Memory

Organization

Task Initiation 

Sustained Attention

Time Management

What Does This Mean for Counselling?

These difficulties in Executive Functioning Skills make it difficult for children with ADHD to access information and use it when they need it. For example, they might study for hours and then 'go blank' on their math test. And they might know all of their calming strategies that they practiced in counselling, but forget to use them, and react too quickly to use them when they feel mad at their brother!

How Can Counselling Help Children with ADHD?

Direct counselling with children can help them to understand their diagnosis, decrease self-blame and shame around symptoms, and build a positive sense of self. Counselling can also help children learn strategies to use when their executive functioning skills need some back up! But they may need more help to use strategies in the moment when they need them - that is where parents come in!

What is the Parent’s Role in Counselling?

For children with ADHD, parents play a big role in counselling. ADHD makes it very difficult for children to USE their strategies when they need them most. They need a calm adult to help them implement strategies. And this is why it is SO important for parents to be involved in their children’s counselling. 

Your counsellor will meet with you to help you understand ADHD, Executive Functioning Skills, and strategies to support your child. They will help you learn how to support your child to implement strategies in the moments when they are needed - because these kids can’t do it alone!

So, if you are seeking counselling for your child with ADHD, be ready to get involved! Your child and their counsellor need you to be part of the team because you are the person who is with your child during difficult moments and who can help them remember to use their strategies when they are most needed!

To learn more about ADHD, CLICK HERE to enroll in our online self-guided course all about helping children with ADHD thrive!

To learn more about counselling for ADHD, contact intake@attachedkids.ca

Written By: Meghan Pistchik MSW, RSW. Attached Kids Director, Child and Family Counsellor