Techniques to Get Your ADHD Child to Focus

My Children Have ADHD

When my second son was diagnosed with ADHD, it was not a simple diagnosis. The doctor did not say “I think he has ADHD.” He did not say it was a “possibility.” My son's pediatrician looked me in the eye and told me, “your son has the worst ADHD I have ever seen.” Coming from a man who had practiced medicine and owned his own group practice for 40 years, this carried heavy weight.

The weight did not come from the diagnosis; my oldest son was diagnosed with ADHD as well. It came from my lack of awareness of the situation. I guess to really understand you have to have a little bit of backstory.

The Reality

I had been dating my, now husband, for four months when I introduced him to my children. He instantly jumped into the art of being a dad. At the time, I had two children, ages 5 and age 3. I always knew something wasn't right, but I didn't realize how bad the situation really was.

Keeping a babysitter was impossible, and daycare was a nightmare. I had given up my career working at a local hospital to work at home. It wasn't a transition that I wanted. It was a transition of circumstance.

I knew my son could be difficult to manage, but I attributed the feeling to being an overwhelmed single mom of two kids. I worked from home, I attended college from home, I did everything … from home.

It is easy to become overwhelmed by the needs of little kids when you are the only one they depend on.

We were having what I assumed was a typical day doing yard work. We dug holes for new clothes line poles, poured concrete, and set the poles. In the time it took us to do this, my 3-year-old son had three serious accidents.

The first accident, he was swinging around the clothesline pole. When he was asked to stop, he turned his head quickly and hit his face on the pole, leaving a big bruise. The second time, he was running across the yard and became distracted by a bird. He ran chest first into the wheelbarrow handle. The third time, he fell down 13 cement steps coming out our front door.

My then boyfriend looked at me and said, “that boy has ADHD, and if you don't get him on something soon, he is going to kill himself not paying attention.”

Of course, it sounded a little more entertaining coming out with a southern drawl. I chuckled a little until I realized how serious he was. I realized quickly that it was time for some help.

Over the last six, almost seven, years, I have learned a lot about keeping the attention of a child with ADHD. My oldest son is pretty easy to redirect, and his medication works great. Since my second-to-oldest also has autism, it can be a little harder to maintain a medication that works, so constant redirection and attention training is necessary.

Get Your Child with ADHD to Concentrate

Blanket statement: Children with ADHD have trouble paying attention and concentrating on different things. The things they have trouble paying attention to can be different depending on the type of ADHD they have, and how well it is managed.

Your child can be taught to pay better attention, and how to concentrate on certain jobs/tasks/things, but it will take some work. Here are some of my favorite fun ways to encourage and practice focusing.

Techniques:

1. Play Catch and Give Directions

Kids with ADHD can become distracted and zone out during regular activities. When you have one-on-one time, take the time to give directions. While you are playing catch, give directions each time they throw, or you are going to throw the ball back.

After a while, your child will use visual memory to trigger verbal reminders. Once this becomes a habit, they will be able to utilize this skill in class.

2. Freeze – The Best Game Ever!

There are a lot of things that can help your child build a better attention span. One of the best games to get your child to pay attention is to stop what you are doing and play the game “Freeze!” It is a fabulous derivative of freeze tag, but your child will enjoy the surprise of being told to freeze randomly and throughout the day. The random "freeze" comes when they are working on something and become noticeably distracted.

When you see that your child is not paying attention, call out “Freeze!” During this freeze, have your child focus for 10 seconds. When the 10 seconds is up, ask your child what they saw during their focus time.

Once your child has built the habit of focusing when you say freeze, you can put up lists, or signs, around the house. Have your child focus on these. It is an excellent way to teach your child house rules and chore lists during the time they are frozen.

3. Memorize Through Music

Do you remember learning the “States” song when you were in elementary school? It was a great way to learn the names of all the states in the USA.

4. Do Puzzles with Your Child

There are a lot of different puzzles out there. It doesn't matter what type of puzzle game your child is interested in, they can dramatically increase concentration.

Since some kids with ADHD lack fine motor skills, you'll hit two birds with one stone. Do puzzles that involve hands-on maneuvering of pieces and logic. Switching it up some can help keep them guessing, and also help improve their concentration.

5. Have Your Child Tell You the Story of Their Day

There are a lot of kids who love to be the center of attention. ADHD children definitely fall in this group. To help your child pay attention to things that pass by them too quickly, ask them about their day. Have your child tell you the story of their day, with as much detail as possible.

If your child knows you will be doing this, they will hopefully make a conscious effort to pay extra attention to things that happen.

As you can see, there are a lot of ways you can help your child pay attention to what's going on around them. These games offer some easy places to start. Once your child is noticeably paying better attention, you can start building on these skill by increasing the difficulty of each game.