Dear ADDitude: How Can My Son Stop Hitting?

"My son recently hit his best friend for telling him to shut up. We have tried several consequences, but nothing works and we are at the end of our rope. How can we discipline him more appropriately for impulse control problems?"

dragoncita

September 25, 2018 at 1:22 pm

What do you do when your child hits but it’s not even out of anger? Its’ just a sort of pure impulsivity. Today he hit a girl at school, a girl who is his friend, and who also has a wounded arm with stitches (that is, she already had that when he punched her). I don’t understand why he would do that, so I don’t understand how to get him to stop. 🙁
1. ADHDmomma
  
  September 27, 2018 at 11:26 am
  
  There has to be a reason. Even if it doesn’t make sense to be correlated. Even if it’s as simple as being fidgety and flailing his arms about and accidentally hitting someone. Was he frustrated by something unrelated and swung at whatever is around? Did she say or do something that he perceived as mean or breaking the rules? So many possibilities. He could have been creating sensory input…
  
  Penny
  ADDitude Community Moderator, Parenting ADHD Trainer & Author, Mom to teen w/ ADHD, LDs, and autism
  1. dragoncita
    
    September 27, 2018 at 11:37 am
    
    Thanks, no, it looks like he just meant it as a funny poke, but the teacher misinterpreted it. His friend that he hit backed him up.