FRIENDSHIPS, REJECTION AND FEELING DIFFERENT
ADHD Parent Support Series - Part 16
Friendships can matter enormously to a child with ADHD, while also asking a great deal from the very skills they may find difficult to use consistently.
A child may interrupt because they are frightened of losing their thought, miss a social cue, react quickly when hurt, become intensely attached to a friendship, struggle after a disagreement or come home exhausted from trying to fit in.
This resource helps parents look beyond the friendship fallout.
It explores rejection, social misunderstandings, friendship repair, masking, bullying, loneliness, social overload and the difference between helping a child develop useful skills and teaching them that they must change who they are to be accepted.
There is also an important section on when not to push friendships. More social contact is not always the answer, particularly when a child is being excluded, bullied, overwhelmed or simply needs recovery time.
Parents are supported to work with school, look at what happens during less structured parts of the day and help their child take appropriate responsibility without carrying all the blame for every friendship problem.
The downloadable guide includes a practical Friendship Support Map that can be completed with the child, covering safe people, difficult situations, signs of overwhelm, repair phrases, healthy friendship qualities and what adults need to understand.
The aim is not popularity.
It is helping a child experience relationships where they can learn, make mistakes, repair, belong and still remain themselves.
Space to Breathe Therapy
ADHD Parent Support Series - Part 16
