& Family Support Centre
Children
AN ADD/ADHD CHILD "BILL OF RIGHTS"
"Help me to focus"
Please teach me through my sense of "touch". I need "hands-on" and body movement.
"I need to know what comes next"
Please give me a structured environment when there is a dependable routine. Give me an advanced warning if there will be changes.
"Wait for me, I'm still thinking"
Please allow me to go at my own pace. If I rush, I get confused and upset.
"I'm stuck, I can't do it"
Please offer me options for problem-solving. I need to know the detours when the road is blocked.
"Is it right? I need to know now"
Please give me rich and immediate feedback on how I'm doing.
"I didn't forget, I didn't ‘hear' it in the first place".
Please give me directions one step at a time and ask me to say back what I think you said.
"I didn't know I WASN'T in my seat!"
Please remind me to stop, think and act.
"Am I almost done now?"
Please give me short work periods with short term goals.
"I know, it's ALL wrong, isn't it?"
Please give me praise for partial success. Reward me for self-improvement, not just perfection.
"But why do I always get yelled at?"
Please catch me doing something right and praise me for my specific positive behaviour. Remind me (and yourself) about my good points, when I'm having a bad day.
Source: Newsletter of the Delaware Association for the Education of Young Children
Sydney Developmental Clinic
The ADD Assessment & Family Support Centre organised for a visit to Wellington during ADD/ADHD Awareness Week 2005 by Dr Mark Selikowitz, a leading Australian Consultant Developmental Paediatrician based in Sydney who specialises in learning and behavioural disorders in children.
Dr Mark Selikowitz is the founder and director of the Sydney Developmental Clinic. He has published numerous original research articles and contributes regularly to conferences and publications in the field of Developmental Paediatrics.
Two books published by Dr Mark Selikowitz that are available from the ADD Centre or from the Sydney Developmental Clinic are "ADHD the Facts" and "Dyslexia the Facts".
There is a considerable resource of material on the Sydney Developmental Clinic website: www.sydneydevelopmentalclinic.com.au
For further information please feel welcome to contact the ADD Assessment and Family Support Centre:
Phone: 04 383 5061 |
Fax: 04 383 5063 | Email: addtrust@xtra.co.nz |