Programs That Teach You Skills to Support Your Child

As a parent, you can learn to be more confident and consistent in your interactions with your child. This can help your child with a personal understanding of—and strategies for managing—his or her behaviors, at home and beyond. Here are some evidence-based parent training programs that have been shown to be effective.

• Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) is an organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with ADHD. The CHADD Parent to Parent training program (https://chadd.org/parent-to-parent) is designed by parents for parents to give you an understanding of ADHD as well as strategies to improve life at home and at school. Go to www.chadd.org, select “Understanding ADHD,” and click “For Parents & Caregivers.”
• Parent-Child Interaction Therapy uses “coaching” sessions with a certified therapist. You and your child interact with each other in a playroom, while the therapist watches from an observation room (where your child can’t see the therapist). You wear an ear device through which you can hear the therapist’s voice, and the therapist provides real-time coaching as you work on skills you are learning to manage your child’s behavior. Go to www.pcit.org and click “For Parents.”
• The Incredible Years programs are conducted in group settings such as preschools. The programs focus on “strengthening parent-child interactions, nurturing relationships, reducing harsh discipline, and fostering parents’ ability to promote children’s social, emotional, and language development.” There are also programs for parents of preschool and school-aged children to teach school readiness. Go to www.incredibleyears.com/programs/parent.
• The Triple P—Positive Parenting Program helps parents “develop skills, strategies and confidence to handle any parenting situation.” The program offers courses that you can take online, and there is also a “Find a Provider” search feature that shows you where you can take live classes in your area. Go to www.triplep-parenting.com.
• The New Forest Parenting Programme was developed in the United Kingdom and has been implemented there and in the United States. In a series of 8 sessions, about an hour to an hour and a half long, a trainer—a family support worker, psychologist, health visitor, or nurse—makes visits to your home. The trainer identifies symptoms and signs of ADHD and shows you strategies for managing your child’s behavior and attention difficulties. Some of these strategies are taught through games. Go to https://guidebook.eif.org.uk/programmes/the-new-forest-parenting-programme.

Resources to Help You Learn More

Learning more about how ADHD can affect your child’s behavior can prepare you to seek behavioral interventions that work for your family. Here are some free resources in which you can find more information.

• “Understanding ADHD: Information for Parents” is a resource on the American Academy of Pediatrics HealthyChildren.org website. It includes information on treatment and target outcomes, common medications and therapies, and how schools can help children with ADHD.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hosts a website with extensive information on ADHD. To learn more about treatments, including behavior therapy, go to www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd and click “Treatment.”
• Understood.org features resources written and reviewed by a community of experts. It offers a personalized experience—you can click on the specific areas in which your child needs help and get recommendations just for you and your child.

The recommendations in this resource do not indicate an exclusive course of treatment or serve as a standard of medical care. Variations, taking into account individual circumstances, may be appropriate. Original resource included as part of Caring for Children With ADHD: A Practical Resource Toolkit for Clinicians, 3rd Edition.

Inclusion in this resource does not imply an endorsement by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The AAP is not responsible for the content of the resources mentioned in this resource. Website addresses are as current as possible but may change at any time.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) does not review or endorse any modifications made to this resource and in no event shall the AAP be liable for any such changes.

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