What is Behavior Therapy for ADHD?
Behavior therapy or behavior modification is a form of intervention for children with ADHD. There are multiple reasons why behavioral therapy is an important first step. It builds a great foundation that can be applied throughout a child’s life, even if medication stops working. Behavior therapy for ADHD is especially effective for younger children. Medications for ADHD can have greater effects on younger children than older children and the long-term effects of ADHD medications on young children have not been well-studied. Most important is that it gives parents the skills and strategies to help their children.
ADHD and Treatment
ADHD, or Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as “Symptoms of ADHD include inattention (not being able to keep focus), hyperactivity (excess movement that is not fitting to the setting) and impulsivity (hasty acts that occur in the moment without thought),” which “cause distress and/or problems functioning at home, at school or with friends.”1
Treatment options for ADHD vary, but typically include behavior therapy and medication. For children that are younger than 6, behavior therapy is the strongly recommended first step. Typically in younger children, symptoms can be managed solely with behavior therapy. For children older than 6, ADHD is managed with a combination of behavior therapy and medication. School intervention is also beneficial for older children, that way the tools and techniques being used daily are enforced in the school environment and accommodations can be made to improve your child’s learning.2
Behavior Therapy
Behavior therapy focuses on redirecting a child’s impulsive or negative behavior and encourages positive behavior. One of the most important components of behavior therapy is that it involves parent training done with the help of clinical psychologists. Parent training is an effective way to manage behavior in children with ADHD and is especially great for younger children because younger children may have a difficult time redirecting or changing their behavior without the help of intervention.3
Behavior therapy teaches parents how to reinforce good behavior and create structure. The best way to practice this therapy is to ask a therapist how to better understand your child’s behavior, discourage negative behaviors and encourage positive ones, and help your child be successful at home and school. Behavior therapy for ADHD can help enact different tools such as checklists, time limits, planners, and rewards charts to help enforce and reward good behavior. These tools can also be added to school interventions, which many older children also benefit from.
Parent Training
Behavior parent training “addresses specific problem behaviors by structuring time at home, establishing predictability and routines, and increasing positive attention.”4 It enacts techniques such as structuring daily routines, positive reinforcement, minimizing choices and distractions, and ignoring or minimizing oppositional or disruptive behavior.5
ADDitude provides some parent training basics to give parent’s an idea of what skills are worked on in therapy:
“1. Catching a child being good by noticing and rewarding appropriate behavior and ignoring (or, when necessary, providing appropriate punishment for) negative behavior.
2. Creating a daily routine, with rules about doing homework, bedtime, getting ready for school in the morning, and other key moments in the day.
3. Giving your child specific rather than general directions (‘Please put your clothes in your hamper,’ for example, rather than ‘clean your room’).”6
For more information about parent training, check out the article on ADDitude here.
Parent training can take place one-on-one or in group settings. The skills learned are helpful for children with ADHD but can aid in redirecting any child.
-
1. “What is ADHD?”American Psychiatric Association, July 2017, https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/adhd/what-is-adhd.
2. “Treatment of ADHD,” CDC, September 23, 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/treatment.html.
3. “Parent Training in Behavior Management for ADHD,” CDC, September 23, 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/behavior-therapy.html.
4. Sprinkle, Nicole, “Behavioral Therapy for ADHD: A Pragmatic Parent’s Guide,” ADDitude, May 7, 2021, https://www.additudemag.com/behavior-therapy-it-works/.
5. McCarthy, Laura Flynn, “Train the Parent, Help the Child,” ADDitude, January 23, 2022, https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-behavior-therapy-parent-training-classes/.
6. McCarthy, “Train the Parent.”