A Calm Home ADD ADHD Atmosphere

DESIGNING A CALM ADD ADHD HOME ATMOSPHERE

Attention Deficit Disorder is a mild brain disorder thatis passed down from parent to child.

If one parent has Adult ADHD, then their child has a 50%chance of inheriting it. If both parents have it, a childis almost 90% likely to have attention deficit disorder. This means there may be more than one ADHD child in afamily.

What this means is that attention deficit disorderhyperactive children who have trouble concentrating andsitting still are born to hyperactive ADHD adults who havetrouble organizing their day and staying focused on tasks.

This is a real problem, because the ADHD child does bestin a very structured environment. ADHD child adultADDThey function best when there is a definite routinefollowed hour by hour...day by day.

Yet they are born to parents who are unorganized andunstructured - this is where the family problems start.That is why most ADD ADHD specialists recommend that thefamily go into counseling as a group, or that the parentsget trained in how to handle children who tend to bedifficult.

If you cannot afford a therapist trained in attentiondeficit disorder or if your insurance does not cover thisservice, you may want to join a support group throughCHADD. Books like Conquer ADD ADHDhelp you.

Here are some things ADD ADHD coaches and counselorstypically recommend. This kind of advice is the hardestfor someone with attention deficit disorder to follow,because they prefer to "live on the edge" and find well-organized houses "boring" and "uptight."

1. Set up a soothing, calm physical environment. Keepthe house neat. Paint rooms in soothing colors like lightblue and beige. Don't put up a lot of posters and artwork,clocks, and other decorations. If you DO put up artwork,buy soothing pictures of nature and landscapes, not violentpictures with bright colors.

2. Buy simple furniture and aim for an unclutteredlook. Don't put up a lot of knickknacks or use busypatterns for draperies and rugs. Think simple, minimal and"less is more."

3. Organize supplies in an orderly way. Thementality is "Everything in its place and a place foreverything." Store things like forks and spoons, pencilsand stationery, and all other household supplies in anorderly way. Put things away after you use them. Clutteris very distracting to the ADD ADHD mind.

4. Keep televisions, computers and other "screens"covered or enclosed in cabinets. Otherwise they will "call"to you to use them. The ADHD child and adult ADHD haveproblems controlling the impulse to turn these machines onwhen they pass them. Keep televisions, radios, CD playersand everything else that makes noise turned off and shutaway, unless you are going to sit down and use them for atleast a half-hour.