Self-esteem affects the way in which we see ourselves among others and how much do we value our strengths. It is required, as it makes children proud of what they can achieve and what they actually are. Self-esteem in children:

• Makes them believe in their capabilities.
• Gives courage to accept new challenges.
• Makes them to respect themselves so that others can respect them.

Some people tend to have high self-esteem, while some have a low self-esteem.

If you have a high self-esteem, you are aware of what your strengths and weak points are and will never allow the weak points to weaken the strengths. As you know your strengths and weaknesses, you know how to achieve your goals well.

If you have a low self-esteem, you will mostly feel that others are quite deserving and are better than what you are. In addition, you are not able to perceive your own weaknesses and strengths and do not have confidence in facing challenging situations. Further, you feel embarrassed when someone praise you and deliberately accept negative comments as that is what you feel for yourself too. Such symptoms indicate that you are undergoing from the state of inferiority complex wherein you do not like yourself, nor others like you.

Self-esteem and ADHD

ADHD greatly results in low self-esteem in a child, adolescent, adult. However, apart from ADHD, there are certain biological and environmental factors that form self-esteem in your child:

• Thinking pattern of your child
• Expectations from the self
• Thinking and feeling of family, friends, and teachers about her

Children with ADHD face difficulties with teachers and peers in school and siblings and family members at home. Common people mostly fail to understand their problem and offer negative comments and punishments to them. All this makes an ADHD child feel good for nothing; think that he/she is stupid, bad, and hopeless; and leaves him/her with no confidence, but only frustration. This always results in low self-esteem that makes it strange for an ADHD child to think or act well.

Criticisms and negative judgments occur due to the following problematic behaviors of the children.

• Difficulty in making and maintaining friendships
• Acting without logical or proper thinking, which makes the child seem selfish
• Bursting on others frequently on small issues due to short-tempered
• Damaging the belongings of others
• Bullying other children in the fear of being bullied

Due to these problems, it is obvious that such a child is ignored, rejected, or bullied. In adults, this is not the case, rather low self-esteem affects the relationships at family, workplace, and other social events.

We know that the symptoms of ADHD are inattentiveness, hyperactive, and impulsivity. Children themselves cannot cope with these, but teachers dealing with such children might opt to exclude them from the classroom. This actually can play an important role in having a reduced self-esteem.

Attending events such as birthday parties and get-togethers are a part of life. However, the inviters are always worried about your children bad behavior and hesitate to give you an invitation. Therefore, after academic exclusion, your child rarely is excluded even socially due to fear of bad behavior. Such exclusions can make your child feel low and reinforces the thinking of being bad or naughty.

Treating Low Self-esteem

While diagnosing ADHD, the patient’s self-esteem is also assessed that act as a further clue in deciding the appropriate treatment. Listed below are the treatments for improving self-esteem that includes a few methods wherein the victim itself has to practice certain ways of thinking and acting.

• Medication
• Psychotherapy
• Cognitive therapy
• Behavior management strategies
• Assertiveness training courses
• Parent’s Efforts

As a part of the treatment plan, the counselors and therapists suggest some methods to perceive things in a different manner. Listed are some of these ways.

• Instill new skills.
• Improve skills that you already have in you.
• Try to give a thought on what unique you can do to bring about a positive change in yourself or in some another person.
• Learn to be concerned about others
• Learn to talk to them in a way that will make them feel worthy of themselves.

To track where the problem lies in your thinking, the counselor or therapist will ask you about the situations or events of your past wherein you thought negatively or might have lost confidence.

The base of the treatment of low self-esteem is to perceive or look at things, situations, people, and life differently, actually in a positive way. Such a technique is referred to as reframing wherein you view everything with a different vision and understand each entity in a positive manner including yourself.

If self-esteem improves, it is a good sign indicating that ADHD is improving.

Assertiveness Training Courses

Assertiveness training courses help in increasing confidence and feel positive. You can obtain information on these training courses through the following mediums:

• Internet
• GP
• Library
• Citizens advice bureau
• Education colleges in your residing region

Parents’ Efforts

As a parent, you can help to boost your child’s self-esteem in the following ways.

• Praise and RewardsHere, your goal is to bring positive thinking, vision, and look in your child. Therefore, praise your child even for little good thinking or behavior wherever possible. This encouragement can be verbally or through some materialistic things. For example, if she made something creative out of clay, tell him/her, “I am proud of you for making such a unique item”. If he/she helps you cleaning up the kitchen, tell him/her, “You really to know to take care of others” and provide a cup of ice cream of his/her favorite flavor.
• Love and TrustLet your love be unconditional for your child. Make him/her believe that you love him/her the most irrespective of what he/she actually is. Let your child know that you have full trust on him/her and that you have full confidence in him/her. For example, if your child breaks something at home, do not shout; rather explain not do that again politely and taking him/her in your lap. If your child going to participate in a sport, tell him/her that you are sure for him/her to win.
• GoalsSet goals that your child can achieve that in turn can boost confidence.
• Sports and HobbiesIf your child is interested in a sport or has a hobby such as swimming, dancing, singing, drawing, or cooking; make him/her join classes or clubs wherein he/she can develop the possessed skills. This will make your child proud of some thing that he/she can do spectacularly and will improve his/her self-esteem. Remember, a child with ADHD can stop continuing with the hobby or a liking activity. So, do not let this happen to your child. Boost it before it lits off.
• Positive ApproachMake your child to write down what she can do, can think and provide ideas, and what she likes. Stick this paper on the wall in his/her room where daily it can be viewed. Ask your child to add to this list whenever possible.

Managing Criticisms

Low self-esteem simply means that your child does not have confidence at all in what he/she does and think. Whenever he/she is successful, it is more likely that he/she feels that this is due to luck or capable people involved in it.

You will be amazed to know that criticisms are one of the ways to make your child feel as being cared and loved. To make a criticism a sweet medicine, your caring words and a polite tone are necessary. In this way, the child will learn to accept criticisms. For example, if your child is not able to complete its homework, tell him/her – “I like the way you did the part of your homework, but avoid leaving it incomplete as the teacher might punish you for this. So, tell me where your problem lies.” This is a better way to deal instead of saying – “You are hopeless – why can’t you complete your homework?”

To criticize such that is affects positively on the child, innovative ways are inevitable as it is in art. One way is to make use of ‘I’ rather than ‘You’. You also need to make your child to learn how to accept criticisms. This requires teaching him/her how to remain calm and control temper. This will aid your child not only in accepting criticism, but also on focusing on the positive things to say.

Sometimes, criticisms act as a stimulant to boost your negative thinking about yourself. For example, if the child thinks that he/she is not good at studies and someone says that to him/her, that goes without any bad response. Further, unfair criticisms, if any, will make your child realize that everybody dislikes him/her.

Face criticisms in the following ways.

• Listen carefully when somebody says negative about you.
• On facing an unfair or unjust comment, you can raise an issue against it calmly with a proper explanation as to why you feel unfair. Role-play is an ideal option to practice this.
• Admit mistakes and ask for sorry.
• Agree if applicable.

If you have low self-esteem and still go ahead to criticize others, just think on how you will feel it if you were the front person. So, to avoid criticisms for others:

• Be just
• Remain cool
• Accept the facts
• Avoid attacking on the front person’s character
• Speak politely even if you have to trace mistakes. For example say, “I worry if you do not come home on time from play”; instead of saying, “You are careless and do not want to follow discipline.”

The key condition to tackle ADHD is to build a good relationship with the parents, as they are the ones who can help the child every now and then. Even during the treatment days, communicate to them about the improvement in the child’s behavior and what is still wrong in the behavior. If you need anytime help, SENCO is there for you.

Remember, you are there not to remove the child, but its problematic behaviors. So, with this point in mind, let’s go through the problems that are caused by ADHD in the classroom and their solutions.

Special Education Needs (SEN) Code of Practice

From 1 January 2002, a revised SEN Code of Practice has been implemented, which undertakes a graduated approach. It states that SEN must be offered in the school and all teachers are SEN teachers. The goal of this code is to provide fast help to the children suffering from ADHD.

According to the code, the school has the right to demand for a statutory assessment of a child and talk to parents about the special educational provision to be given by them for their children.

Steps Prior to SEN

You can create an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for a child if you feel that he/she is finding it difficult to manage in the classroom. An IEP is necessary for SEN and must be discussed with the parents for their approval. An IEP contains the listed below information.

• The child’s goals as to what you want him/her to do or any behavior that needs to be changed
• The strategy you are going to implement to aid the child in achieving the set goals, for instance, rules and rewards
• Frequency at which the child will obtain this help and support
• Help that parents can provide at home for the child to cope up with the problem
• The day when the goals will be reviewed
• Conclusion to be filled on the date of review

Now, you might not recognize the importance of IEP and feel that this is an unnecessary step. However, IEP will be the upcoming support if there is no improvement in the child.

School Action

This is the step wherein you consult a School Special Educational Needs Coordinator to seek guidance. The SENCO will discuss with you about the different techniques to help the child and other education equipments that will support our goal. SENCO then assesses the child’s performance by physical examinations and reviews, while you end up with delivering IEP.
The need of a SENCO arises when the child is suffering from the following difficulties.

• No or slow progress below the acceptable levels
• Cannot develop skills
• Behavioral problems that do not improve by classroom behavioral management
• Communication problems
• Physical problems

School Action Plus

This comes into action when the needs of a child suffering from ADHD are not fulfilled by School Action, In School Action Plus, the SENCO contacts medical ADHD specialists such as language therapist from external health services for further examination of the child.

If even this cannot fulfill the child’s needs, the SENCO requests the LEA to provide a Statement of Special Educational Needs wherein it specifies what help the school should provide to the child in his/her education and development.

Marking the ADHD Symptoms

A teacher is mostly the primary one from among the people close to the child to spot his/hers behavioral problems. On marking an unexpected behavior for some few days, talk to the child’s parents about the problems noticed by them at home. Check whether the child is suffering from the hearing or sight problems. In addition, you can talk to the child’s playschool or nursery to check whether the child had behavioral problems before.

There can be many disorders that co-exist with ADHD and their symptoms overlap the symptoms of ADHD. So, it is difficult to distinguish between the core ADHD symptoms and other symptoms.

Caring for Medication

Legally, it is not mandatory for the teaching staff to supervise a child taking medicine. However, at your own will, you can do so. But, daily decisions regarding this will be the responsibility of the head teacher as per the DfES.

At first, if you are told by the child’s parents that he/she needs to take medicines at school, you must know about the medicines to be given, time on which medication is to be given, and who will take care in giving the medicines to him/her.

Next is to look for a way to send the child for his/her medication without opening this fact to the rest of the class. This is because this is something that a child always fears about taking medications at the school. An example to do so is to ask him/her to visit the staffroom for some work and in between to visit the school secretary or nurse for taking medicines.

Talk to parents or SENCO for your any queries or concerns. Currently, the new medicines are work until long in a day and therefore, can be given only once at home. This actually removes the above issues.

In the Classroom

A child suffering from ADHD cannot concentrate properly and has a low attention span. Therefore, he/she needs your help in learning and organizing tasks in the classroom. The catchy solutions to this problem are routine, repetition, and regularity, which can be implemented in the following ways.

• List and display clear and simple rules on the classroom wall.
• Set a daily schedule such as fixed time for stories and class work.
• Write down/List the day’s topics to be taught on the blackboard.
• Provide timetable and deadlines.
• Remind the class about what is to be done the next day and review the instructions when the day is about to get over.
• Set a place for a ADHD child where there are least chances of distraction, such as:
  • at the front of the classroom
  • besides the wall
  • close to the blackboard
  • close to you
  • away from windows
  • away from bright or colorful items
• Specify a clear system of tracking he work. For example, use a different color for various subjects or label the work done as ‘finished’ or ‘pending’.
• Inform the child with ADHD about any changes that might take place, as he/she finds it difficult to adjust with the change.

Excessively Talkative and Disruptive

At primary, chitchatting and interrupting the teacher frequently when he/she is teaching the class is the most familiar problem of an ADHD child. A major cause of sudden interruption is the medication taken by the child in the school. So, check whether the child has taken medication. Actually, a sudden interruption is the indication that the child has taken his/her medicines. However, it is believed that these two tend to fade as the child grows in age. Listed below are some tips to deal with these two problems.

• Set a limit to what each child can speak when discussing in a group. For example, use a timer to do so and ensure that the ADHD child is not allowed to speak beyond a limit.
• Instruct all the students in the class to speak just a sentence, and not more than that before you ask them to respond/answer/speak.
• Instruct all the students to lift their hands before speaking and wait until the teacher asks to speak.
• Make your students learn to always think and then speak. To do so, give 20 seconds to the class before listening to the answers/response. In this way, you can aid the ADHD child to talk less, but meaningfully.
• Set standard rules of interrupting and inform all the students about them. Remind them about the consequences of not following the rules – possibly list them on a wall where children can see. Do not pin point towards the ADHD children while speaking about these rules.
• Establish and implement a reward system, which is apparent to the child. For example, use color-coded cards wherein an ADHD child needs to get through the session devoid of the red card. On doing so, he/she is rewarded a star; or else, he/she is aware of the consequences.

Lack of Attention/Concentration

This symptom causes problems such as difficulty in listening to what is being said, working at the desk, solving a math problem, and following the instructions. To summarize, an ADHD child with lack of attention or concentration finds it difficult to perform a task or stick to it. Listed below are some tips to deal with these two problems.

• Divide big actions into small chunks, as this works well with a child with low attention span. This requires planning and attention from your side.
• Let the tasks be very short in duration or a set of tasks that can be completed faster to boost the ADHD child’s confidence. For example, getting crayons and drawing book from the cupboard or writing the some proverb everyday on the blackboard before the class starts.
• Stand near to the ADHD child and with the eye contact, provide shot and simple instructions.
• Make the child with ADHD to restate the instructions to ensure that he/she has understood what to do and how to do.
• Ask questions to the child in between the session to maintain his/her attention.
• Use visual aids such as images.
• Create checklists and jot them down on the blackboard.
• Monitor the child’s progress during the execution of the assigned task.
• Be with the child and work together – Assign tasks that are more challenging if you observe that the child with ADHD finds it difficult to concentrate as the day passes.
• Provide handouts that contain a summary of key concepts or terminologies before starting a lesson. Following are certain guidelines on preparing a handout:
  • Write in large font size.
  • Use a simple page.
  • Restrict to 1-2 activities on a page.
  • Try to provide images that depict the action or are related with it.
  • Underline core directions and vocabulary.
  • Draw borders to organize and highlight blocks of text.

Problems Related to Homework

Homework issues include not doing the homework at all, forgetting about it, or doing it partly. Listed below are certain guidelines to deal with this problem.

• Provide a home-school diary wherein the homework is noted down along with the deadlines.
• Inform the parents about the homework.
• Motivate the child to show even a part of the homework done, even if he/she has not finished it.
• Confirm that the child with ADHD has submitted the homework. This is the secondary problem wherein when you ask for the homework and due to low attention, the child might not have submitted it.
• Tell the students to check their homework always after completing it. This becomes a habit and gives them a chance to rectify their mistakes, if any. This is because children with ADHD hardly have a habit to check their work.
• Talk to the parents for any concerns.
• See if you can provide another set of textbooks for home if within the budget.

Problems Related to Learning

These problems include reading and writing problems, which needs a specialist such as language therapist and the SENCO’s help. Listed below are certain guidelines to deal with this problem.

• Make use of visual signs.
• Provide sequential instructions.
• Provide a quite area or extra time during the exams to the child with ADHD. You can also take the test when his/her attention level is good.
• Talk with the SENCO regarding what help is available in the school, such as access to speech and language therapy programmes.

Problems Related to Peers

Peer difficulties include acting silly, overreacting, fighting, or fear of teasing and bullying. Listed below are certain guidelines to deal with this problem.

• Maintain a playtime diary that contains information about play, reactions, performance, problems, and alternatives to the displayed behavior.
• Mix the child with a kind friend with whom he/she can play.
• Arrange for a ‘Circle time’. Here, for around 40 minutes, children settle themselves in a circle and discuss about the matters to understand each other views in you presence.

Problems Due to Difficult Behaviors

A teacher might be annoyed or frustrated while dealing with an ADHD child due to his/her intolerable behavior. You should understand that this is all due to a psychiatric disorder and should not deal with him/her harshly.

• Set unambiguous rules and display them in the class regarding conduct and interruption.
• Control the behavior in the classroom by taking a walk around the desks and acting upon the actions. For example, if a child is putting effort in doing a task, smile at him/her or move your hands on his head.
• Praise or reward the child in front of the class on observing such behavior that you want more and more. Avoid using generalisms like ‘good work’ or well done’, instead say – “I am happy the way your are showing interest in your work”.
• Avoid punishing the whole class just because of the behavior of the ADHD child.
• Give some more minutes to the child to think about the refusal of the punishment, if he/she tells so. Further, tell him/her that now also if he/she refuses, there will be a more serious unavoidable punishment.

Sources of Support

For you, the SENCO is the first contact point for any advice or help on dealing with the difficult behavior of an ADHD child. SENCO will be with you from the stage of creating IEP until the statementing process. Further help will depend on the type of support specified in the statement. If this specified help of the statement is not sufficient, discuss with the SENCO for a review as early as possible.

If you have a high self-esteem, you know what are your strength and weak points and that you will never let the weaknesses overcome your strengths. As you know your strengths and weaknesses, you can plan to achieve your goals well.

If you have a low self-esteem, you will mostly feel that others are quite deserving and are better than what you are. In addition, you are not able to perceive your own weaknesses and strengths and do not have confidence to achieve your stated goals or face challenging situations. Further, you feel embarrassed when someone praise you and deliberately accept  negative comments as that is what you feel for yourself too. Such symptoms indicate that you are undergoing from the state of inferiority complex wherein you do not like yourself, nor others like you.

ADHD Affecting Self-esteem

ADHD is the one of the major causes of low self-esteem in children, adolescents, and adults. Low self-esteem is the outcome of improper or no social skills and famous as a bad character in the minds of others. Criticism is one more factor that results in low self-esteem. This actually takes place due to the following reasons.

• Children suffering from ADHD feel difficult to make and maintain friendships.
• Such children act without any proper thinking and therefore, might seem to speak meaningless.
• They are short-tempered and might just burst on others.
• They might also damage the belongings of others.
• They might be bullying other children in fear of them being bullied.

Due to above behaviors, it is natural that such a child mostly faces ignorance, rejection, bullying. In adult life, this is not that common as among children, but rather it affects the relationships at family, workplace, and other social events. The causes or symptoms of low self-esteem that can create difficulties in relationships are:

• Feeling it tough to complete a task
• Disorganized way of handling things
• Poor socialization

Actually, ADHD starts right away in your childhood. As a child suffering from ADHD, you must have faced ignorance to such an extent that you have an in-depth feeling that you are good for nothing. This negative state further worsens in the adulthood state when you fail to get a job or do not obtain the desired project at a job.

Treating Low Self-esteem

Evaluating the patient’s self-esteem is one of the critical assessments while diagnosing ADHD. Listed below are the treatments for improving self-esteem that includes methods wherein the victim itself has to practice certain ways of thinking and acting.

• Medication
• Psychotherapy
• Cognitive therapy
• Behavior management strategies
• Assertiveness training courses

As a part of the treatment plan, the counselors and therapists suggest some ways of encouragement for differently perceiving yourself. Listed are some of these ways.

• Inculcate innovative skills.
• Improve skills that you possess.
• Try to give a thought on what unique you can do to bring about a positive change in yourself or in some another person.
• Learn to be concerned and always think about others to talk to them in a manner in which they feel worthy of themselves.

To track where the problem lies in your thinking, the counselor or therapist will ask you about the situations or events of your past wherein you thought negatively or might have lost confidence. The key of the treatment of low self-esteem is to perceive or look at things, situations, people, and life differently, actually in a positive way. Such a technique is referred to as reframing wherein you view everything with a different vision and understand each entity in a positive manner including yourself.

A plus point of this treatment’s success is improved condition of ADHD.

Assertiveness training courses are designed to recover the lost confidence and feel positive for yourself. You can obtain information on these training courses through the following mediums:

• Internet
• Library
• Education colleges in your residing region

Managing Criticisms

Low self-esteem simply means that you do not have confidence in your own abilities and capabilities. Whenever you face success, you tend to give its credit to luck or other senior or capable people involved with you.

When somebody criticizes you, because of low self-esteem, you simply are not embarrassed. Further, it acts as a support to your negative thinking about yourself. Criticism is a cause and boost for low self-esteem. Unfair criticisms, if any, will make you feel that the entire planet dislikes you.

Face criticisms in the following ways.

• Listen carefully when somebody says negative about you.
• On facing an unfair or unjust comment, you can raise an issue against it calmly with a proper explanation as to why you feel unfair. Role-play is an ideal option to practice this.

If you have low self-esteem and still go ahead to criticize others, just think on how you will feel it if you were the front person. So, to avoid criticisms for others:

• Be just
• Remain cool
• Accept the facts
• Avoid attacking on the front person’s character
• Speak politely even if you have to trace mistakes. For example say, “I worry if you do not come on time to catch the train”; instead of saying, “You are a late comer and do not value time.”

Do you know that you can make criticism a good medium for your child to improve his/her self-esteem? Yes! It just about the manner in which you speak and what words you use. For example, if your child finds it difficult to do a drawing, tell him/her – “I am happy that you are able to do much of the drawing. Tell me your problem and let’s think on its solution together”. This is a better approach rather than saying – “You cannot draw this much?”

A child spends almost 50 percent of the day’s time with parents. A child with ADHD behaves inconsistently, i.e. what he/she does today while facing a situation might not be done the next time. Therefore, as a parent, you need to keep on experimenting the different tricks and techniques that is quite effective for your child.

Parenting Styles Responsible for Bad Behavior

Let me tell you that it is not only the internal disorders that lead to bad behavior, but somewhere your parenting styles can also be the medium in stimulating such behavior. This is because the way you handle your child always has an impact on how he/she thinks and behaves. In some way or the other, you might be responsible for further worsening your child behavior apart from medical conditions. Listed below are some ways through which parents can unintentionally support the bad behavior of the child.

• Your Childhood Experience in Dealing with the Child
  When you were a child, you might have faced negative comments on every small and big mistake or might not have been scolded even once on any mistake. Your child too might face such behavior from you, which in turn, further spoils the behavior. This is because too much scolding or no scolding at all are both the extreme ways of treating a child, which will only support bad things and therefore, should be avoided.
• Disagreement between Parents
  If one of the parents does not agree with a rule or opinion, this can lead to a battlefield. With this, your child is simply confused and would learn from you to be defiant or resentful.
• Lack of Discipline
  If you are tired after doing a lot work at hone and office or you do not get enough support, there are more chances of letting a rule slip. This is OK once in a while, but a consistent series of slippages will lead your child to behave badly to obtain focus.

Sometimes, you might tend to be too strict with the child. In such a case, you need to spend some spend some good time with your child. This could be playing some favorite game or things that you both enjoy doing together.

Now, let’s see what can be done to overcome the unwanted and aggressive parenting styles.

Set Rules

Rules are boundaries that help in controlling the behavior of a person. With rules, your child can get along with other people. This is because everyone knows what is acceptable, what is not, and what will happen if something that is not acceptable is done. For example, a simple rule can be, “Before speaking with the other child, think how you would feel when somebody was to tell you the same”. If this rule is known to the child, he/she would not start speaking suddenly, and if the child ignores the rule, he/she knows that the other person might be hurt and in turn, can hurt the child too.

Parents and other adults have realized that children change their behavior for better if they feel that they are loved, secured, and are been given due attention. However, if the attention is only given at their bad behavior, this will stimulate bad behavior even more just
for the sake of more attention.

A rule of thumb is praise the good behavior and ignore/punish/avoid bad behavior by applying rules. Good behavior is the one that you want again and again, whereas bad behavior is the one that you do not want anymore.

Rules must be consistently applied and discussed with the older children so that they can give their own opinions and ideas. With rules, there are three catch verbs:

• State
  Simply tell the rule.
• Remind
  If your child forgets a rule or challenges it, just repeat the rule and its consequences.
• Enforce
  In case you need to do so, do not hesitate!

Motivating Good Behavior

Listed below are certain tips to motivate good behavior in your child.

• Obtain your child attention by calling with his/her name often during a discussion and maintaining an eye contact without any force.
• Provide easy, but specific instructions wherein avoid confusion and be positive. For example, tell your child what is to be done, instead of telling what is to be avoided – “Do your homework now” and not “It’s not the time to watch TV”. Avoid vagueness – “Welcome your aunt with a smile” and not “Do a good welcome of your aunt”. Give instructions in a calm place; otherwise, your child will be distracted and will not be able to heed properly.
• Praise for every instance of good behavior, but should not be too much. Just tell your child that you are happy.
• Set rules clearly with mutual agreement on the same. For example, what will be the sleeping time, will it be 10 or 10:30 p.m.
• Apply rules consistently without fail.
• Schedule clear routines so your child knows what to do when. If there is any change in the routine, inform your child along with additional information or warnings, if any. For example, “We are going out in next 5 minutes, so be ready and do not forget to switch the lights and fans of your room”.
• Play with your child to show that you care for him/her.
• Give small rewards immediately on good behavior. For example, a hug, a kiss, extra time for play, or some materialistic thing – stickers or toy.
• Try to avoid harsh punishments such as loss of privileges. A punishment should make the child realize its bad behavior; instead of aggravating it further.
• Focus on really important matters to avoid fights.
• Provide options to your child by telling him/her about what will happen on implementing each of the choices. This will help your child in taking the responsibility of the actions.
• Be cool by applying counting methods and time out techniques. For example, say the rule, count to five in mind, and act. Alternatively, allow you or your child to go to calm down and think on a solution in another room for 10 minutes.

Other Sources

Listed below are the sources of help for your child.

• Health Visitor or GP
  Can provide advice and suggest ways to deal with such behavior. If there is no improvement in three months, a GP can refer a mental health specialist for better behavior of your child.
• Child’s School Teachers
  They are the ones who might have dealt with similar problems in school and possess experience in handling such children. Try to work in coordination with them for improvement in your child.
• Support Groups
  Include Parentline Plus, ADDISS, and Adders.