The Impact Of ADD on The Family

The impulsiveness of children with ADHD makes them act
before they think and their behavior can quickly get out of control.

They don’t mean to do damage and are upset when they hurt
people or break things, but they’ll still do exactly the same
thing next time round! It's almost as if they can't help themselves.

ADHD children are untidy and disorganized, which will
irritate people who like tidy houses and regimented behavior.

They can be unpopular with other children, teachers,
friends and even family members because of their "bad" unruly behavior.

This can cause problems
with both family and friends.

Parents can feel overwhelmed and unable to cope with
their child’s behavior. They may avoid social situations in the
hope of avoiding problem behavior and then start to feel
isolated. always felt that people were judging me because of my son's behavior.

Friends, relatives and neighbors may feel entitled to
comment and give negative judgments, which can strain
relationships.

Your child may hurt other family members or damage
their belongings, to the point where relationships are very
strained. Your child can feel like a scapegoat and may start
ignoring what he feels is constant nagging from you. No matter how much I tried to use reason and logic to appeal to my son, his behavior never changed. It's only when I changed my parenting strategy from yelling and punishment to one more appropriate to the ADD Child, did his behavior improve.


When dealing with siblings, the issue becomes even more
sensitive. Children with ADHD need a lot of attention and may
need different treatment from other children in the family. This
can cause resentment and jealousy on the part of your other
children who don’t have ADHD.

Older children may resent the lack of attention or feel
forced to look after their sibling because of their special needs.

Younger children may copy the bad behavior of the ADHD child.
Siblings may feel their home life is disorganized and
tiring, with lots of conflict. They may resent the fact their
brother or sister breaks their possessions and interferes all the
time.
They may feel their sibling is favored because you’re using
different methods of discipline to manage ADHD. 'I’d never get
away with that' is a common complaint.

The Coping With ADHD ebook and The 'Make Your ADD Child A Winner e-course" offers some advice on dealing with these issues.


And what happens to your partnership – be it marriage or
otherwise? ADHD can put a strain on your partnership,
particularly if you have different view views on discipline or different
parenting styles.

One of you may feel you have to take the brunt of dealing
with ADHD and taking time off work, for example to deal with
problem behavior, attend school and medical consultations have meetings as part of the stalemating process.

You may also have to pay private specialists to deal with
medication, counseling and evaluations, which will put a strain
on the family budget.

If one parent leaves the relationship, it puts even more of a
burden on the parent left to deal with ADHD, and the
subsequent resentment may sour the relationship further.

There's also a danger of spending so much time on your
child that you don’t spend any time on your relationship as a
couple. If you find yourself unable to cope, talk to someone
before the strain gets too much.

It's best to get advice on how to deal with problems while
they’re still small and easier to manage. Talk to your doctor,
find a support group, and get counseling or family mediation.
It’s better to face the problem head on than to avoid it entirely.