How Do Your Help Your Adhd Child with Impulse Control?

I handle my sons impulses by making safe ways for him to act them out.

EX:
Need to jump. For my son this is an input need regarding his sensory and his hyperactive drive - he has an in home rebounder (kind of trampoline).

EX:
Need to open drawers. He has drawers that are HIS that he can open/close slam etc.

EX:
Needs to make noises or sounds that are flat out annoying. He can make them in his room all he wants, as loud as he wants.

EX:
Impulse to grab something. This one has been tricky - if he grabs it out of someone's hands he does not get to touch it for a period of time. Much like when you train a dog to sit and stay even though his treat/toy is right in front of him - that is my basic idea/inspiration.

My son is also 6 with adhd & SPD that has been diagnosed formally by a doctor. The only dietary aids that we implement is a reduced sugar diet. Basically, his diet is no more restricted than that of what I think a typical 6yr old should have. No soda, watered down juice, reduced sugar foods (but not food that has replaced the sugar with fake sugar). My son does not have cake and ice cream at a party - just one of the two. I find that the extra sugar puts him into overdrive and his crash is completely intolerable. I have not found any relief in the whole no wheat/dyes etc. diet suggestions.

Both my son and I have ADD/ADHD.

I took him to the park...every single day...:)

If it rained, I took him to a museum or airport to run around (we lived nearby)

If it was cold, we just bundled up and walked anyway.

I kept a mini-trampoline in the house for him to jump on, and played lots of music he enjoyed.

And I totally changed my living room standards, from adult friendly, to kid friendly. I removed all the furniture and set up a train set.

My son has ADHD and sensory.

We have done diet changes- No gluten, limited to no HFCS, No fake dyes (Red dye 40) and the largest change we noticed was when we took him for acupuncture- no needles, it is done magnetically. I was shocked, we went from being able to count the good moments in day on one hand to being able to count the bad.

Along with OT through school, we are currently able to manage things at this point.

Good luck

I think that's normal for age 6. Most 6-year olds are like that. They are impulsive. It's NORMAL. Giving him lots of verbal reminders over and over will help.

You can try giving him a squeeze ball. That's what we do in classes when kids have impulse control issues.

Just give him time to mature as well.

I just realized this is much harder to explain than I thought.

Not sure if you go with the general assumption that ADHD means you can't pay attention, it is actually the opposite, you pay attention to everything. The part of your brain that controls executive function is under stimulated, that is pretty much what the meds do, stimulate the brain so it functions properly. Without executive function things fly in and out, and around your brain with little control.

Repetition works. Everything I can do without writing it down are things I do every day.

Same thing with changing behaviors, it has to become a habit to think before acting. They may not, and probably will not, bring in the correct decision criteria but stopping to think will allow a second look and maybe just enough time has passed that they are already bored with the object. :-/

How you go about do that is very precision cause and effect. Sort of like rain makes you wet, you see rain, you know it will make you wet. So with buttons, elevators have buttons, so you see him going to push an elevator button without asking you, you say push it and we are going home. If he pushes it, you go home. Then the next time he sees an elevator button he will associate it with losing the privilege of staying out with you. It then turns to what did she ask? Even if he doesn't remember ask first he is going to ask you what he needs to do. Then you say you may press the button once.

It really is that easy and that hard. The beauty of doing it the right way is that it follows through life, with or without you. Hover and you will have to hover for life.

So was your son, actually assessed and diagnosed?
If not, then you don't know, if he is ADHD or just a normal 6 year old boy.
And if he is, then having a Therapist or Skills Trainer can help.
And if he is, then through the school, you can get him an IEP etc., and an Aide with him in school.

Sign him up for karate. They get them moving and teach impulse control, respect, and leadership skills.
I made sure my kids were active every day. If they were cranky when they got home from school, I made them run around the house 10 times.
:)

Yes, his brain if firing off like crazy and he has no control over that. He can learn to sit down and focus but that takes years and years of therapy and work.

His meds should help him a lot with this. If they aren't then talk to his psychiatrist that prescribes them that they're not working very well. Once the meds are right you'll see a change and it will be like night and day. He'll be sitting down doing tasks and paying much better attention. It will still take work since he'll be starting from scratch but he'll be able to pay attention.

Most 6 year olds have the type of impulse control you seem to be talking about.

I don't know ANY six year old who can resist pushing a button! Multiple times! If there is a lever, they will pull it; a bell, they will ring it, etc. That's just being six, not impulse control. Just sounds like to me he's naturally curious. Please put the adhd label away - I doubt it fits.

Many parents are starting to sound like teachers! You all want your children to act like little adults and if they show any signs of childhood curiosity or get overly-excited at any time for any reason (or no reason), parents are quick to label adhd and start looking into meds!

Please let your kids grow up a bit and learn impulse control the good old-fashioned way - by growing up and maturing. Please don't label him because he's curious. If he had adhd he would not be able to focus on ANY tasks. It doesn't "come and go." You either have it ALLTHE TIME or you don't.

I agree with Maureen-start with making dietary changes by cutting out gluten, limiting sugar and processed foods with HCFS and dyes. Basically stick with meats, veggies, fruits and some grains or starchy vegetables like rice or potatoes.
Make sure he gets plenty of sleep 10-12 hours per night and some rest time during the day.
Make sure he gets plenty of exercise daily and drink lots of water, limiting sugary drinks and juices.
My son is 5.5 years old and has these tendencies too, but when I make an effort to engage in the above things consistently, he is more focused and much less impulsive.
Hope this helps!
A.

Sometimes I have to relocate him. Sometimes simply interrupting and re-directing works. Sometimes I resort to rewarding him for NOT doing it. Sometimes giving him a BIG HUG works (sensory input). You may also want to try some sensory clothing like "hug" shirts or vests, which seems to help my son a bit with the compulsive "re-touching" of people and things.

The impulse control stuff can be heart-breaking, I know. Good luck to you.

ETA: Here's a link: http://funandfunction.com/clothing-tees-vests-and-more-c-...

ETA2: Rewarding for not doing things only works if your son is able to think through what he's doing, and self-create what I call intellectual impulse control (it relies on learning to think first, rather than innate impulse control, which he may not have). The whole cause and effect thing likely means nothing much to him if he does have ADHD, so you must remind him several times before you are in a specific situation that he can get a reward if he doesn't do x, y, z -.

ETA3: Oh - we also eliminated red dye and HFCS. Maureen's post reminded me. We have not eliminated gluten.