Self Esteem

Your Child’s Self Esteem Matters: 8 Confidence Builders for Kids with ADHD

Everyone learns differently — especially children with ADHD. Helping your child find out where she excels can give her self-confidence and a positive outlook on the future. Her self esteem will improve, and that will change everything.

ADD vs. ADHD brain
Illustration of head, brain of child with ADHD with icons representing "multiple intelligences": book smart, body smart, people smart, etc.

How Can I Improve My Child’s Self Esteem?

Children with ADHD and learning disabilities are just as smart as their friends and classmates — but they rarely feel that way because they learn and think differently. Their answers are sometimes unexpected. Their observations are not always appreciated. And their areas of excellence are not always graded.

The trick to boosting a child’s self esteem is finding the areas in which he or she excels, and then finding activities that play to those strengths. Self confidence almost always follows. And when a child feels confident, he does better at school and in life.

[Click to Read: Why Praise Is So Important for Children with ADHD]

Use “Multiple Intelligences” as your guide; log on to literacynet.org to have your child take a quiz. Use the results to explore activities. If he is…

MUSIC SMART

Taking music lessons, singing in a choir, joining a marching band, or playing in a neighborhood band. Local music shops often give lessons and host fun events.

PEOPLE SMART

Volunteering, peer-counseling training, school improvement/student leadership groups, or babysitting.

SELF SMART

Writing workshops, poetry groups, Bible studies, drama classes, starting a small business.

WORD SMART

Learning a foreign language, joining a debate club (or debating at home) or a book and/or writers’ club.

LOGIC SMART

Classes, clubs, or competitions in robotics, computer programming, chess, and/or student business/marketing associations.

NATURE SMART

Joining a conservation group, a hiking club, or volunteering at your local animal shelter.

PICTURE SMART

Joining an art club, taking photography or painting lessons, making a film and posting it to YouTube (with your permission).

BODY SMART

Playing organized sports/games, taking fitness, nutrition, or cooking classes.

[Get This Free Download: 25 Things to Love About ADHD]