Supporting Caregivers of Children with ADHD

Book excerpt: Effective parenting is essential to the success of children with ADHD. At the same time, difficult child behavior contributes to parenting stress and often evokes harsh responses from caregivers, leading to increasing problems over time. What makes this process even more challenging is that ADHD and related problems-like executive functioning deficits, emotion dysregulation, and depression-run in families. It is difficult for parents to support a child's learning and social environment if they themselves struggle with disorganization, low motivation, poor planning, and other executive functioning difficulties. Supporting Caregivers of Children with ADHD integrates behavioral, cognitive, and emotion-focused intervention components into straightforward treatment for both parents and children. Sessions included in this therapist guide incorporate group discussion, modeling, role play, and home exercises that involve practicing behavioral parenting techniques and/or cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) skills. With the use of this manual, clinicians will gain the expertise to guide parents in effectively supporting their children's behavioral and emotional regulation by creating and maintaining a calm and consistent home environment.