Behavior
Therapy for ADD/ADHD in Children
 Behavioral
therapy, as the name implies, is a technique designed to modify
behavior. Behavioral therapy is beneficial for any child with
disciplinary problems, and this therapy is sometimes appropriate
for children with ADHD. For example, behavioral therapy can
be used for organizing schoolwork, doing chores, or dealing
with frustration.
The American
Academy of Pediatrics has found that, in some cases, behavioral
treatments for ADHD are particularly effective for children suffering from the condition.
One key difference with an ADHD child is that behavioral therapy
is more successful when parents try to modify only one behavior
at a time. In doing so, the chief goal of behavioral therapy
is to increase the frequency of good behavior and decrease
the frequency of undesirable behavior. To achieve this goal,
behavioral therapy uses a system of rewards and negative consequences.
First, positive
feelings are enhanced between the parent and the child. Parents
set aside a certain amount of time each day, such as 30 minutes,
to bond with the child. During the child’s “special
time," the parent focuses solely on having fun with
the child by allowing the child to choose an activity to do
together. The goal of “special time" is to make
the child more motivated in pleasing the parent and behaving
properly.
The second
step is positive reinforcement. Parents use rewards to encourage
good behavior. For example, when a child completes his or
her chores and homework, positive reinforcement might be time
on the computer or watching TV.
The third
step is negative consequences for misbehavior. The “punishment"
for bad behavior might be time-out in a quiet room (to calm
down) or withholding privileges.
Finally,
as parents use behavioral therapy with their children, it’s
important to stay calm and be consistent. ADHD children are
very sensitive to their parents’ stress. ADHD children
also do best when they know exactly what will happen in any
given situation, which means parents must remain committed
to behavioral therapy in all situations.
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