I (Lori) grew up in a family of 7… with 4 brothers… and some of them had ADHD. Chaos was constant in our home. All I can say is, my mom was a saint. The seemingly endless daily reminders, meetings with the principal or teachers, school suspensions, yelling, and constant wrestling matches in the living room…it was a lot! And though my brothers were some amazing athletes who were so fun to hang with, they required a lot of my parent’s attention. When you have 5 kids, it can be a real challenge to find the time to give all of that attention.

If you are a parent of more than one child with ADHD, we know how exhausting (and fun!) your life can be at times. Here are a few things to keep in mind when parenting multiple children with ADHD:

1) Help Yourself Before You Help Your Kids

The research is very clear that ADHD is often passed down from parent to child. In fact, nearly half of parents who have a child with ADHD, have a diagnosis of ADHD themselves (Starck, Grunwald, & Schlarb, 201...

Years ago, I talked with a friend about her daughter with ADHD. She was very concerned because her daughter was lying frequently at school. The teacher had now come to her mother wanting to address the problem, but they were both overwhelmed and unsure of how to address lying.

After talking with many families over the years, the concern about lying is a common one for our kids with ADHD. When children lie, we as parents (understandably!) tend to overreact and assume this type of behavior will only lead to other concerns, such as stealing or total lack of concern for others. The truth is, lying can be a reflection of a child’s ADHD brain and differences in executive functioning skills. 

Why Kids with ADHD Lie

First, it’s important to note that lying is a normal part of cognitive development as young children (around 4-6 years of age) learn that others can’t read their mind and that their thoughts are private. It’s an exciting development for kids, albeit a frustrating one for pare...

Between the constant teacher calls about problem behaviors, the meetings with the principal, or the suspensions, the process of supporting your child with ADHD can not only feel overwhelming…it can feel hopeless. To top it off, sitting in meetings with various teachers and school professionals can be really intimidating. Even if you may feel like your child needs something more or something different, you question yourself or struggle to speak up. The truth is, it is intimidating for us too, even with our knowledge of special education laws and ADHD!

If you want to help your child, you have to begin educating yourself about your child's rights at school. And even though it might not feel like it, as a parent of a child with ADHD you have a LOT of rights.

Today, I am going to be sharing with you some key information from a very important letter that will help you feel a little more empowered to support your child with ADHD at school.

The Dear Colleague Letter

In 2016, the U.S. De...

This week, we were interviewed by Special Education and Civil Rights attorneys, Amanda and Vickie, over at the  Inclusive Education Project. We had a great conversation and shared more about our mission as well as tips and tricks to help parents raising kids with ADHD and anxiety. 

In the podcast, we covered a lot of different topics, including: 

1) A little bit about Lori, Katie, and Mallory and why we started the Childhood Collective.

2) School refusal and anxiety.

3) The not so common symptoms of anxiety.

4) What questions you can ask your kids if you suspect anxiety.

5) Kids do well if they can.

6) What kids really need. Hint: It isn't more punishment!

7) Why parenting children with ADHD is not at all intuitive.

8) Our online ADHD parenting course, Creating Calm, and why it is so unique.

And much more!

Check out the podcast: Empowering Parentings a Conversation with The Childhood Collective

Have an amazing week!

The contents of this site are opinions of The ...

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