Does your child often seem chaotic and unorganized? Do they have difficulty paying attention for extended periods of time, or accomplishing tasks from start to finish? Maybe, you notice that your child quickly jumps around between random topics when speaking, or has trouble effectively communicating their thoughts in a way that makes sense. They may speak excessively and not be able to stop themself. Or, your child may fidget constantly and struggle to calm their mind and body by sitting still. School is often dreaded and a cause for concern, as most of these behaviors may intensify in a classroom environment. These signs, in addition to other hyper behaviors, are common symptoms of ADHD in children. Fortunately, creative play and art ADHD therapy for children can help your child to cope with the stressful and chaotic energy that they often experience. At Wisdom Within Counseling in Southeastern Connecticut, we specialize in creative, holistic ADHD therapy for children to support lifelong coping tools.
To begin, click the button below for a phone consult for child therapy for ADHD.
Support for parents of children with ADHD
As a concerned parent, a new ADHD diagnosis can be overwhelming and scary. You may worry about your child when they are at school. And, you may feel increasingly upset when you receive phone calls from your child’s teacher or principal that they are struggling to listen. Your child may also be a young age when symptoms of ADHD first appear. An official diagnosis of ADHD and recommendations of medication may be unsettling. Holistic, creative play therapies provide children with coping tools and alternatives to stimulants and ADHD medication.
Life events and ADHD therapy for children in Southeastern Connecticut
ADHD in a child can also, at times, point to additional underlying emotional concerns that a child may be experiencing. Maybe they show signs of ADHD when their newborn sibling is born in an effort to gain a parent’s attention. Or, maybe your child struggles to pay attention in school due to an undiagnosed learning disability. Loss, grief and trauma symptoms of hyperactivity and anxiety can look very similar to ADHD. If a child gets in a major car accident, loses a sibling or parent, they may appear to have ADHD symptoms due to concentration issues at school. It is easy to mistake the symptoms of ADHD for other emotional concerns that come up in childhood. For that reason, it is highly beneficial to seek holistic ADHD therapy for children that looks at your child’s whole life. At Wisdom Within Counseling, our team of therapists help to distinguish between the signs and symptoms of ADHD, and to rule out symptoms of traumatic losses.
School accommodations can be a support in addition to ADHD therapy for children
By understanding the symptoms and root causes of ADHD in your child, as parents and caregivers, you can better advocate for changes to their learning environment. Accommodations for a quiet testing environment or sensory breaks at school can be positive changes. Some parents choose a school for their child that embraces hands-on learning and one that doesn’t do standardized testing. Even switching classrooms to soft spoken teacher can make all the difference for a child with ADHD to be successful. As well, ADHD therapy for children in Southeastern Connecticut can support for your child in gaining positive ways to cope. Art, yoga, play therapies, music therapies, and holistic therapies help children with ADHD grow and flourish in a positive way, inside and outside of the home.
To begin, click the button below for a phone consult for creative, holistic child therapy for ADHD and better self-esteem.
What is ADHD?
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is characterized as a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity and/or impulsivity that interferes with one’s functioning and development. ADHD can affect individuals of all ages, genders, races and ethnicities. It is typically diagnosed at an early age. If left untreated, ADHD can persist into adulthood and can impact one in a workplace setting throughout their lifespan.
Click the button below for a phone consult for creative, holistic ADHD therapy for your child.
Inattention in children with ADHD
Common symptoms of inattention include:
- Fails to give close attention to detail
- Makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities
- Does not appear to listen when spoken to
- Does not follow through on instructions
- Trouble focusing for extended period of time
- Fails to finish tasks such as schoolwork, chores
- Has trouble organizing tasks and activities
- Avoids or is reluctant to do tasks that require mental effort
- Is easily distracted
- Appear absentminded
- Is commonly forgetful
Hyperactivity and Impulsivity in children with ADHD
Common symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity include:
- Frequently fidgets with hands, feet, picking at the body or skin, and squirming in a seat
- Cannot remain seated for extended periods and often gets up from seat
- Runs about or climbs freely in situations where it is not appropriate
- Unable to play quietly
- Talking excessively
- Repetitive talking of words and phrases
- Has trouble waiting for their turn
- Blurts out answers
- Restlessness, difficulty falling and staying asleep
- Interrupts others in conversation
How ADHD affects a child’s physical body
For a child with ADHD, their body may feel as though it is in a constant state of distress. Their heart rate may increase at times or their palms or body may feel sweaty and warm. Learning positive ways to cope with anxiety can be a benefit of Waterford, Connecticut ADHD therapy for children.
Children with ADHD may have low self-esteem due to punishments at school that result from disruptive behaviors. A child with ADHD also may feel that they do not have control of their body. A child may want to listen to the teacher and remain quiet in line, but their body needs more movement. Due to needing more movement, a child may run out of line and talk loudly, causing disruptions. Children with ADHD unfortunately tend to be labeled as “the bad child,” by teachers, lowering self-esteem even more. It can be embarrassing for a child with ADHD to feel punished in from of their peers by their teacher. Peers may start to bully your child with ADHD or cause them to feel like an outcast or outsider.
To begin, click the button below for a phone consult for creative, holistic child therapy for ADHD and better self-esteem.
Children with ADHD may feel low in self-esteem and like a social outcast
Your child may want to play with friends at school, but may not be able to engage in the game that is being played in an appropriate way. A child with ADHD may lie or cheat in order to win. Children all want a sense of social belonging. As well, a child with ADHD may think that by winning, they will be liked or accepted by their peers. A child with ADHD may throws toys, interrupt others, and play in a destructive manner. In turn, your child’s peers may not want to play with them, leading to low self-esteem and confidence issues. A child with ADHD may feel hurt, angry, socially isolated, and confused. The team of child therapists at Wisdom Within Counseling near Mystic, Connecticut specialize in helping children with ADHD gain confidence and self-esteem skills.
Click the button below to get paired with a child therapist that specializes in play therapy and ADHD therapy for children.
Not feeling in control of your body can be scary for a child. They may know that they get in trouble a lot at school, but cannot figure out why or how to stop. Self-regulation tools and positive coping skills can help a child with ADHD feel in tune with their body. Holistic, creative play therapy helps child with ADHD understand themselves and their needs better. Instead of jumping around in a quiet class, a child can vocalize when they are feeling a need for a break. ADHD therapy can help your child feel empowered and know it is safe to speak up.
A child with ADHD can learn to let parents and teachers know they need a sensory break or movement break. ADHD therapy for children near Madison, Connecticut at Wisdom Within Counseling can help a child to slow down, listen to their body, and feel more in tune with themselves. Helping your child gain physical awareness and mind body connection skills sets them up for the rest of their lives rather than relying only on a stimulant medication.
ADHD can be emotionally taxing for your child leading to a need for positive coping tools
Children with ADHD often may struggle to express their inner emotions. Because their brain and body are rapidly firing at all times, they do not truly learn how to sit with an emotion and cope with it in that moment.
Maybe, you notice that when your child comes home from school they are agitated and quick to tantrum. They may have had a stressful day at school and home is where they feel safe to express the emotions they’ve been feeling all day. Your child may become tearful or easily upset due to the overwhelming emotions they feel.
For a child with ADHD, having to sit and learn quietly for extended periods of time during the school day can leave them with pent-up energy that needs to be released. This may mean that the hours after school are highly chaotic, emotional, and the child feels dysregulated.
It is common for children with ADHD to engage in emotional outbursts as a means of coping.
These are signs your child can use the help of a specialist who can help your child identify and express all they are feeling. A child therapist can help your child understand what emotions feel like and how to let them go. Creative, holistic ADHD therapy for children gives your child emotional expression tools for their teen years and beyond.
Additionally, common emotions that children with ADHD experience include anger, irritability, frustration, anxiety, boredom, excitement, depression, and mood swings.
When a child with ADHD is emotional and experiences outbursts, this can be hard on the family as a whole. Siblings may get less attention when a child with ADHD needs emotional support. A child’s mood may directly impact parental burnout and exhaustion. Caregivers and parents as well as siblings may benefit from family therapy at Wisdom Within Counseling in East Lyme, Connecticut. Family therapy sessions can prevent a snowball effect and help parents stay positive.
To begin, click the button below for a phone consult for creative, holistic child therapy for ADHD and better self-esteem.
As a concerned parent, you may feel at your wits end and want parenting support.
On one hand, you are worried for your child’s wellbeing, and on the other hand, you do not know what to do to support them. ADHD therapy for children at Wisdom Within Counseling near Niantic, Connecticut can benefit the family by allowing the parents to also learn effective coping skills. A holistic child therapist can demonstrate positive parenting skills parents can practice at home. Your child’s therapist at Wisdom Within Counseling near East Haddam, Connecticut can teach you behaviors you can model at home. Positive modeling can help your child with ADHD process difficult emotions and overcome emotional outbursts.
Click the button below to begin working with an ADHD specialist in Southeastern Connecticut.
Factors that Contribute to ADHD in Children
Oftentimes, ADHD symptoms are exacerbated by external factors. Diet, sleep, exercise, family dynamics, trauma and other life events can impact the development of ADHD in children. Lifestyle changes can be a great first step when it comes to treating ADHD. In addition to feeling overwhelmed emotionally, children may be needing to eat less processed foods. In America, Twinkies, donuts, sugary sodas, juice from concentrate, and white breads are normalized by the food industry. However, these foods lack proper nutrients, protein, digestive fiber, and healthy fats and can lead to hyperactive behaviors.
Children with ADHD should eat a healthy diet
A child’s diet can play a large role in how they are feeling as well as the amount of energy they have. A diet high in sugar or caffeine can increase inattention and hyperactivity among children. One study conducted at the University of South Carolina found that the more sugar hyperactive children consume, the more destructive and restless they become. Therefore, in addition to holistic, creative ADHD therapy for children at Wisdom Within Counseling, nutrition changes can help. Avoid the sugary donut from the drive-thru, Pop-tart, toaster pastry, or french toast sticks for breakfast. Take the time to make whole wheat toast, steele cut oats, eggs, yogurt, and fresh fruit, which can give long-lasting fuel.
Countries like England and the UK have less childhood ADHD, partly because many popular American foods like Kraft mac and cheese are banned due to causing behavior issues and health problems. Kraft mac and cheese and hundreds of sugary cereals are simply not sold in the UK.
For a child with ADHD, it is best to consume a diet high in nutritious, whole foods such as fruits, leafy greens, complex carbohydrates, and protein. Foods such as sweet potatoes, spinach salad, salmon, quinoa, etc make for an optimal meal choice, as opposed to chicken nuggets or mac and cheese. The more you give your child sugary foods, the more addicted to them they will become. Some snack ideas for children with ADHD can be an apple with natural peanut butter, fresh raspberries, carrots and celery, oatmeal bars, nuts or trail mix, and hard boiled eggs. Teach your child with ADHD where there food comes from and visit a local chicken farm to collect your own eggs if you can.
To begin, click the button below for a phone consult for creative, holistic child therapy for ADHD and better self-esteem.
Alongside holistic, creative ADHD therapy for children near Clinton, Connecticut, sleep is key for children with ADHD
A child with ADHD may constantly appear restless and have difficulty falling and staying asleep at night. As a parent, you may worry that your child’s health is suffering as a result from the lack of rest. One way you can support your child’s sleep schedule is to implement and stick to a regular bedtime routine every night. Shut off electronics and video games one hour before bed and have an early dinner.
Don’t snack late into the evening hours. Take time to brush your teeth together and wind down. Also, create a relaxation routine your child with ADHD can look forward to nightly. Unwind by reading a book with your child or massaging their back and feet with lavender oil. Bedtime routines can significantly promote relaxation and restfulness by encouraging your child to calm their body. It takes time for your child’s mind to shift from thinking and activity to rest and sleep. Your child can learn what their body and mind needs before falling asleep from sleep routines.
Exercise and movement is important for children with ADHD to release energy
It is imperative that a child with ADHD receives ample amount of time outside or engaging in physical activity and movement each day. Ideally, a child should be spending at least three hours a day playing outside. Running around, climbing, exercising, sports, physical activity and imaginative play allow children with ADHD to release their energy and tire themself out.
If your child misbehaves in school, their teacher may take away their recess and play time as a punishment. Punishments like these can be difficult as children with ADHD look forward to movement. Exercise, play, and movement provide children with a healthy outlet to be silly. Traditional sitting in talk therapy may not work well for children with ADHD who need movement therapies. ADHD therapy for children is another place that your child can be playful and have fun, as opposed to feeling anxious and fidgety.
Family dynamics and life events impact children with ADHD
Divorce, new born siblings, blended families, a parent’s new relationship, loss of a pet or a loved one, moving, or other big life changes can significantly impact a child with ADHD. Because children often do not know how to effectively cope with a big transition, they may appear increasingly agitated at home or at school. A child with ADHD may not be able to talk about what they are feeling like adults can. So, Wisdom Within Counseling near New London, Connecticut offers art, music, and play therapies as languages beyond words. Life changes and trauma can cause an uptick in their ADHD symptoms.
To begin, click the button below for a phone consult for creative, holistic child therapy for ADHD and more self-confidence.
For example, if you just had a new baby a few months ago, you may notice your oldest is having difficulty focusing at school.
After a new sibling is born, the oldest may have challenges listening to instructions, sitting still at meal or quiet times, and is constantly fidgeting or talking. These behaviors may be their way of communicating with you that they are having trouble coping with this new life change. Child therapy for ADHD at Wisdom Within Counseling near Old Lyme, Connecticut can help.
Your child may need professional child therapy to adjust to having a new sibling, feeling jealous, and excited at the same time. Your child may love their younger sibling and be a wonderful big brother or sister to them. But, your oldest child may also feel stressed, scared, and unaware of how to now behave. Children can develop ADHD symptoms as a means of coping with a new sibling being born. In an effort to gain mom or dad’s attention, an oldest sibling may appear to have ADHD symptoms.
To begin, click the button below for a phone consult for creative, holistic child therapy for ADHD and positive coping tools.
Trauma and loss can be helpful to process in child therapy at Wisdom Within Counseling in Southeastern Connecticut
Any traumatic event can lead to the onset and progression of ADHD in a child. Losing a parent, grandparent, or sibling suddenly can be a traumatic event for a child. As well, experiencing unwanted touch, sexual abuse, or molestation can be traumatic. If a child does not have appropriate and effective coping skills after a trauma, they may disconnect or disassociate emotionally from their body. Trauma symptoms such as flight, fight, and freeze can appear as ADHD.
Working with a child specialist can help understand if your child has been correctly diagnosed with ADHD, or truly has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As well, when a child has PTSD, taking a stimulant ADHD medication can cause more agitation, trouble sleeping, and have negative side effects. After trauma and loss, a child can begin to experience symptoms such as absentmindedness, forgetfulness, distraction, tearfulness, and inattention.
How working with a child therapist can help
When looking for support for your child, it is crucial that you seek the help of a child therapist who specializes in ADHD. At Wisdom Within Counseling, in Southeastern Connecticut, our team of creative therapists specialize with children. Sometimes, children won’t talk like adults will. So, a child specialist can offer ways beyond words to help your child who is more shy express their feelings. As well, at Wisdom Within Counseling near Montville, Connecticut, our team of therapists integrate creative and emotionally expressive therapies.
Holistic, creative therapies help children with ADHD feel in tune with themselves
Additionally, mind body therapies help children with ADHD feel in control of their body. Wisdom Within Counseling utilizes a variety of approaches and interventions to help a child learn to calm their body while they are feeling agitated or anxious.
Rather than feeling like “the bad child,” in the classroom, ADHD therapy for children builds self-confidence. Having a safe place to express emotions also prevents upticks in fidgeting and emotional outbursts. Your child’s therapist at Wisdom Within Counseling can teach your child to calm and ground themselves in times of distress. After learning these positive, holistic coping tools in counseling, your child may even start teaching them to their siblings.
To begin, click the button below for a phone consult for creative, holistic child therapy for ADHD and better self-esteem.
Wisdom Within Counseling near Oakdale, Connecticut provides imaginative and creative play therapies, art therapy, sensory experiences, and music and nature therapies.
These holistic, creative therapies for children with ADHD help your child feel like the best version of themself. Your child with ADHD can develop positive coping skills to use into teen and adult years. Utilizing fidget toys, clay, finger paints, legos, or a jump rope during a counseling session can help with self-regulation and distress tolerance skills. A child with ADHD can learn how to let go of the emotions like anger, jealousy, or loss inside. As well, your child can talk about bullies at school that are hurting them.
Wisdom Within Counseling would love to support you as a concerned parent. The team of holistic, creative child therapists at Wisdom Within Counseling near Old Lyme, Connecticut help your child feel confident coping with symptoms of ADHD. We offer in-person and virtual sessions to Connecticut residents, as well as virtual sessions.
