What is ADHD? Types, Symptoms & How SEL Can Help

More About ADHD

There are three subtypes of ADHD:

Predominantly Inattentive - The majority of symptoms fall under inattention.
Predominantly Hyperactive/Impulsive - The majority of symptoms are hyperactive and impulsive.
Combined - This is a mix of inattentive symptoms and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms.

Symptoms of Inattention

A child who shows a pattern of inattention may often:

Fail to pay close attention to details or make careless mistakes in schoolwork
Have trouble staying focused in tasks or play
Appear not to listen, even when spoken to directly
Have difficulty following through on instructions and fail to finish schoolwork or chores
Have trouble organizing tasks and activities
Avoid or dislike tasks that require focused mental effort, such as homework
Lose items needed for tasks or activities, for example, toys, school assignments, pencils
Be easily distracted
Forget to do some daily activities, such as forgetting to do chores

Symptoms of Hyperactivity and Impulsivity

A child who shows a pattern of hyperactive and impulsive symptoms may often:

Fidget with or tap his or her hands or feet, or squirm in the seat
Have difficulty staying seated in the classroom or in other situations
Be on the go, in constant motion
Run around or climb in situations when it's not appropriate
Have trouble playing or doing an activity quietly
Talk too much
Blurt out answers, interrupting the questioner
Have difficulty waiting for his or her turn
Interrupt or intrude on others' conversations, games or activities

Source: The Mayo Clinic

Social Emotional Learning and ADHD

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs such as Emotional ABCs help establish strong emotional competency skills which often overlap with other modalities that are specific to the needs of a child with ADHD. Particularly, Emotional ABCs helps children identify and communicate their emotions (self-awareness), and shows children an easy-to-use, repeatable sequence of behaviors to help regulate emotions (self-management).

Articles

Treatment for Childhood Attention Deficit Disorder

"Because kids with attention deficit disorder often have difficulty with simple social interactions and struggle with low self-esteem, another type of treatment that can help is social skills training… A social skills group teaches children how to “read” others’ reactions and how to behave more acceptably. The social skills group should also work on transferring these new skills to the real world.”
Source: HelpGuide.org

How Can We Help Kids with Self Regulation?

“Children with ADHD or anxiety may find it particularly challenging to manage their emotions and need more help to develop emotional regulation skills.”
Source: ChildMind.org

Emotional ABCs Reviews

”I work as a school psychologist, and provide therapy for students with both ASD and ADHD. I love the strategies in emotional ABCs! I see my students putting the strategies in practice and have had a lot of positive feedback from parents about how much better their children are doing at regulating their emotions. It’s especially helpful for kids with ASD, EBD and ADHD, as it helps them learn to recognize cues in themselves and others and identify specific emotions. I would definitely recommend this for all elementary age students, but especially students with special needs!”
~ Tracey Allison P.

“This is one of the best programs I’ve ever used in my classroom to help with students in a trauma sensitive district. I definitely recommend this program.”
~ Chonnie N.

“Emotional ABCs has done so much for my kiddos, especially those with special needs who struggle with naming emotions and causes. This program has made my life so much easier!”
~ Andrea W.