Hi sisters,
I am after any advice or help you may have to offer in regards to how to best parent an inattentive adhd teenage son. He is very even tempered and easy going but has so many traits that are difficult to manage eg-Cannot gauge social situations so comes across as rude, talks and talks and talks and doesn’t stop or read the room that people are getting bored or impatient with him. Cannot follow or remember to follow instructions, inconsiderate of others, very self centred, completely disorganised. None of it on purpose, it’s just him, but it is so difficult to live with and is causing some unrest and resentment in our family so I am open to any and all advice on how to manage and parent this behaviour in a fair way to him and to the rest of our family.
Particularly interested in personal experiences of parents dealing with the same. Thank you!
3 Replies
Hey, he sounds so much like my son, who is only just turning 12. But my son has an autism diagnosis, maybe your son should be assessed again? He sounds exactly the same! Very difficult behaviour when he wants something too, and fixates/nags yells etc till he gets it. Call the ASD clinic in Melb, ask for a Telehealth with Richard. He is amazing!!! He only deals with parents and strategies of how to parent these kids. On their website there’s a “dvd” to watch, it’s online though not a dvd. $22, sooo good!
Does he understand adhd? how the brain works? what he has to be aware of? my kiddo is 16, with only a fairly recent diagnosis and they have chosen to try medication. It's been a god send. He only takes it school days but has really matured his view and we can have conversations around how to behave around people to be more included, and if he is distracted we call squirrel to get his attention back. as for instructions, just give him less or write a list
The traits you have listed sound like Autism. I have three teenage Autistic/ADHD children and it is hard to differentiate sometimes but difficulty reading social situations and black and white thinking, difficulty seeing things from others points of view can come across as being self centred. Limited interests can come across as being self centred too but it's very much an Autistic trait. It can present in many different ways. My kids all were diagnosed during high school after being diagnosed with innatentive ADHD in primary school