ADHD in Teens

Kids With ADHD and Relationships

Not all children with ADHD have trouble getting along with others. If your child does, you can take steps to help improve their social skills and relationships. The earlier your child's troubles with peers are addressed, the more successful such steps can be. It helps for you to:

• Recognize the importance of healthy peer relationships
• Involve your child in activities with their peers; choosing an activity your child is particularly good at or enjoys will help them have the confidence to focus on engaging more with peers.
• Set up social behavior goals with your child and a reward program
• Encourage social interactions if your child is withdrawn or excessively shy
• Before your child goes to an event, talk about what they should expect there and what others might expect from them
• Don’t try to do too much at once. Pick one or two habits to work on at a time.
• Don't go overboard. Your child doesn't need to be part of the most popular group at school or have lots of friends. One or two close friendships may be all they need.
• Ask your child's teachers how class is going for them. Work with them and the guidance counselor to clear up any conflicts that could get in the way of friendships.

Kids with ADHD can be targets for bullying, too. Be prepared. Talk with your child about what to do if they get teased or picked on. Make sure they know it's OK to tell you if they are bullied.

What's the Recommended Treatment for Teens With ADHD?

There are many opinions when it comes to treating ADHD in teens. Some experts believe that behavior therapy alone may work for teenagers. But according to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 80% of those who needed medication for ADHD as children still need medication in their teen years.

Usually, a combination of medication and behavior therapy is best in treating teens with ADHD. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry all recommend behavior therapy to improve behavior problems that are a part of ADHD.

Stimulant medications are commonly prescribed to treat teens with ADHD. These drugs may make teens more alert and help them do better at school. Examples of stimulant medications include dexmethylphenidate (Focalin, Focalin XR), dextroamphetamine (Adderall, Adderall XR), lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse), methylphenidate (Concerta, Quillivant XR, Ritalin), and mixed salts of a single-entity amphetamine product (Mydayis). 

Non-stimulant medications such as atomoxetine (Strattera), clonidine (Kapvay), guanfacine (Intuniv), and viloxazine (Qelbree) are also used to treat teens with ADHD. Non-stimulant medications for ADHD  have different side effects from stimulant drugs. For instance, they don't often lead to anxiety, irritability, and insomnia as the stimulant drugs may. They also are not habit-forming and have less likelihood of being abused than stimulant drugs, which may make them a more appropriate option for teens with ADHD who also have alcohol or drug misuse problems.

How Can Parents Help a Teen With ADHD?

ADHD affects all parts of a teenager's life. As a parent, your first goal should be to talk openly with your teen. Be supportive and accepting at all times. You can also enlist your child's pediatrician for help in discussing ADHD and its treatment.

By taking the following actions, you can help your teen manage ADHD:

• Provide clear, consistent expectations, directions, and limits.
• Set a daily schedule and keep distractions to a minimum.
• Support activities where your teen can have personal success (sports, hobbies, or music lessons, for example).
• Build your teen's self-esteem by affirming positive behavior.
• Reward positive behavior.
• Set consequences for bad behavior.
• Help your teen with scheduling and organization.
• Keep a structured routine for your family with the same wake-up time, mealtime, and bedtime.
• Set up a reminder system at home to help your teen stay on schedule and remember projects that are due. Be sure to include homework and playtime in the schedule. Kids may benefit from a visual representation of their schedule, such as a calendar or list. Review this with them often.
• Work with your teen's teachers to make sure your teen is on task at school.
• Stay calm when disciplining your teen.
• Set a good example. Teens don't always show it, but the adults in their lives are very influential and important to them.
• Make sure your teen gets plenty of sleep. Set firm rules for the TV, computers, phones, video games, and other devices. Make sure all of these are turned off well before bedtime.
• Organize everyday items. Your child should have a place for everything and keep everything in its place. This includes clothing, backpacks, and school supplies.
• Use homework and notebook organizers. Stress the importance of having your child write down assignments and bring home the needed books. A checklist can be helpful to make sure items like schoolbooks, lunch boxes, and jackets are brought home each day.

When Your Child Is Older

Living well with ADHD means sticking with your treatment. When they’re adults, encourage your child to meet with the person who treats their ADHD. Together, they should talk about how they can manage their meds on their own. If they go to talk therapy, they should have a plan for continuing that, too.

Discuss how they can make sure to order new medication before it runs out. If they are moving away or leaving for college, make sure they have another doctor or ADHD professional near their new home so they can get help when they need it.

Your child needs to know that it's important to take their medication as their doctor prescribed. Otherwise, their symptoms will get worse. That can make it hard to study or to do well at work. It even raises the odds they could engage in risky behavior, like alcohol abuse.

Make sure they know that they should never share medication with someone else.

You’ll also want to talk to your child about the daily responsibilities they'll face when they are on their own. For example, how will they manage meals and do laundry? Which bills can they expect to pay, and how will they pay them?

Set boundaries

Part of helping your child become an independent adult is treating them like one, regardless of their ADHD. Don't nag about what they should be doing, and respect their privacy and wishes when they don't want help. You may also want to do things that show them you’re treating them like an adult. For example, you could invite them out to dinner instead of surprising them by dropping by their apartment.

Helping your child plan is good. Make it clear to them that you’re available when they need you. For example, they may ask you to remind them their rent is due each month. But make sure your child is making the requests.

Let the pros step in

You may be used to helping your child with many aspects of their life, like managing money and dealing with tough social situations. Just because they are an adult doesn’t mean you should stop being loving and supportive. But one way to help them make the leap to adulthood is to encourage them to seek help from others. For example, a life coach who specializes in ADHD can help them develop good study skills. A therapist can help them find positive ways to communicate when dealing with conflict, too.