Understanding how ADD / ADHD impacts behavior and relationships in group settings is important if your child is about to enter a new social environment for the first time. Your children may be enrolled in new after-school or weekend activities -- baseball, chorus, drama, soccer -- for the upcoming school year, for example. This means that other adults who may not be aware of your child’s ADD / ADHD will be providing supervision and guidance. In fact, many of these adults may not be very familiar with ADHD at all.

You know your child best. As a parent, it is so important for you to communicate your child’s needs to the other adults in his life. What is helpful to share? Group settings can present many challenges for children with ADHD. Start out by letting the adults know about some of these challenges.

Click on ADHD Children and Group Settings to read more.

What are the main challenges your ADD / ADHD child experiences in group settings?

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If you are a school teacher, coach or group leader, you will invariably come across situations where you have an ADD / ADHD child to supervise and teach. Group situations can present many challenges for children with ADD / ADHD. If behaviors are not addressed properly, the group experience may quickly deteriorate and become a negative one for this child and the other children within the group.

Children with ADHD want to succeed, make friends, and do well in group situations, though they often have a difficult time doing so. Your approach as a teacher or coach can make a big difference in a child’s experience.

Click on Teaching ADD / ADHD Children to read more.

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If you are not yet a member of our ADD/ADHD discussion forum and would like to join so you can connect with another person for Peer Coaching follow these simple steps.

Step 1. Click on Registration to join our forum.

Step 2. Once you register, you will be directed to the main forum page.

Step 3. You can now post messages and respond to other members’ posts.

Once you are a forum member you can also send emails to other members. Just click on the member’s name and you will be directed to a page where you can send an email.

Please know this is the first time we have tried peer coaching connections on our forum. People may have plenty of questions! If you have a question don’t hesitate to email me directly at add.guide@about.com

If you have joined the forum, you can also post questions there.

Also, if you do not want to join the forum you can still read posts as a guest, just go to the main ADD/ADHD Forum link. You will need to join if you want to post. There is no cost at all to join and participate. We welcome you all!

Here is a sampling of a few posts so far.

“I have tons of things that I should be doing but don't do the most important things first. I tend to take care of whatever presents itself as I start working through the day. Emails often send me in other directions…Phone calls will get me redirected on something else. I get lots done (somedays) but not necessarily what should have been done. I need some consistency. Maybe working with a partner will help me stay on track.”

“Avoidance is a huge problem; I can always justify my procrastination by saying if I clean off my desk I will be able to stay focused while I complete my paper work. Yeah... not so much! By the time I finish my desk its 2 or 3 hours past the time I should be home and that doesn't go over well with my husband. This results in being unable to bring work home to complete, which of course I do resulting in boatloads of tension.”

“I relate to both of your postings. That is partly why I feel so enthused about peer partners coaching each other. I am not alone, though I often feel very alone. I'd love to be more productive and effective, as I feel like I am my own worst enemy.”

“The offer to connect with a peer for coaching appeals to me, and I would like to connect with someone… I am a middle-aged professional female who co-resides with one dog. I am not sure who messes up this place, because the dog denies doing it. I don't really have anyone to blame except myself for the cluttered, disorganized state of my home…I am chronically disorganized at work and I struggle with time management and paperflow. It might be better to refer to paper flow as paper non-flow.”

“Okay, I am going to guess that most people here have ADD so already know the problems....I have ADD and my son has ADHD inattentive type...I take Concerta when I get it...I have the biggest problem with keeping up with it, because I have to go in to my doctor's office to pick up the prescription every time...so I usually don't call them until at least a week after I run out, and then it takes me awhile to get back up there to pick up the prescription...I procrastinate terribly, but I am at a new position this year, working really hard to stay organized.”

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Many of you were interested in giving “Mutual Life Coaching” or peer coaching a try. If you didn’t get a chance to read the article here is the link, Partnering with an ADD Friend to Improve ADD Symptoms. If you are involved in an ADD support group, you can connect with other support group members. If you are having trouble finding a support person with whom to connect, please feel free to use our ADD / ADHD Forum to partner up with someone.

In our Forums I have set up a folder called, Partnering with a Friend. If you are interested in making a connection with another ADDer to set up daily contacts of support, please post under this folder. Feel free to tell a little about yourself and if you’d like to connect through the forum or emails or phone calls. If you don’t want to include your email in the original post, make sure you have your member profile set up to be able to receive an initial email. This way members can send you the first email privately, if you prefer.

Once you find a partner with whom you feel some compatibility, you can both decide the best way to proceed with daily contacts, either through the forum, through emails, or if you find a local ADD partner through phone calls.

Click on ADD / ADHD Forum to proceed directly to the Partnering with a Friend folder to read more.

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