Q: I Can’t Be Entertaining My Child Every Second This Summer!
Yes, kids with ADHD tend to crave constant stimulation. But that alone is not the reason your child is always “so bored” during the summer. Weak nonverbal working memory and time blindness are at least partially to blame. Help your kid find and initiate independent activities this summer with this skill-building strategy.
FREE WEBINAR REPLAY WITH RYAN WEXELBLATT
Listen to “The Social Lives of Boys with ADHD”
Q: “My son (9 years old with ADHD) has had trouble since he was a toddler with entertaining himself. He always needs to be playing with myself or someone else (of his preference). If he isn’t, he wanders around the house and ‘can’t find anything to do.’ What activities can he do alone that will keep his attention and that aren’t electronics? What have you found success with in the past? With summer coming up, this becomes a huge issue as I can’t be entertaining him all day everyday.”
A: “The Number One reason why kids with ADHD have trouble tolerating boredom is faulty non-verbal working memory — or your ability to visualize doing a task in the future. If you cannot visualize yourself doing a task, that is going to make it difficult for you to complete a goal and visualize things to do when you are bored. So this is the strategy that I teach kids for this…”
Ryan Wexelblatt, LCSW is the facilitator of the ADHD Dude Facebook Group and YouTube channel. Ryan specializes in working with males (ages 5-22) who present with ADHD, anxiety with ADHD, and learning differences; he is the one professional in the United States who specializes in teaching social cognitive skills to boys from a male perspective.
