Teaching Life Skills to Children and Teens With ADHD: A Guide for Parents and Counselors

by Vincent J. Monastra

You hoped your child's tantrums would fade once she started elementary school. You hoped she d be able to share. You hoped she d be calm and happy after wearing herself out at recess...instead, her energy bubbles out all over the classroom.

No matter how often you remind your "look at me when I m speaking," "respect others' personal space," "quit freaking out over everything!" he just doesn t seem to understand. For most kids, these are momentary glitches. For some, learning to relate to others doesn't come easily. When children have attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), even if their medication smoothes out the worst of the bumps, they still may have a lot of trouble in social situations like school.

Teaching Life Skills to Children and Teens with ADHD describes the Life Skills Program created by author Vincent J. Monastra at his ADHD clinic. It features practical strategies for helping children and teens develop essential life skills at home, school, or in a support group setting. Some of these skills engaging others in conversations; seeking out confidence-building experiences; responding appropriately to teasing; establishing friendships and social networks; trying group activities to avoid isolation; developing healthy eating, sleeping and exercise habits; solving problems and getting organized; and showing sensitivity to others emotions.
Each chapter includes exercises to help you teach, model, and guide your child in trying out these skills. Interactive checklists, quizzes, and guided journal entries are provided as tools for reflection and for engaging children and teens in ways that are interesting and fun.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Adhd

217 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2015

About the author

Vincent J. Monastra, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and director of the FPI Attention Disorders Clinic in Endicott, New York. He is internationally recognized for his research on the neurophysiological characteristics of children and teens with ADHD and his treatment studies demonstrating the significance of parenting style, school intervention, nutrition, and EEG biofeedback in their overall care.

Reviews

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books with actionable items to support the growth of older kids with ADHD that I’ve read. I really liked that it was concise, without a ton of surplus expounding that these kinds of books can often have, but at the same time, I also would have loved a few more examples for implementation of some of the ideas. I also felt like this author really knows what it’s like to live with a kid with ADHD. There are so many things connected to this diagnosis that go beyond high distractibility.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical and friendly, seems like it might be useful to the right kind of parent with the right kind of kid who has ADHD. Also seems useful for kids in general.

[Sharon Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of practical ideas and very to the point, not a lot of boring fluff. I would say this is a good book for any parent not just those with ADHD. I listened to the audio version but want to get the hard copy and read again so I can take notes and see the worksheets. (Only complaint is that the audio version sounded a bit robotic.)

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note to self.... notes in Google Drive.