| Making and keeping friends for children with ADHD | | | | Inattentive children tend to have an easier time |
| can be a struggle. Children with ADHD tend to | | | | relating to children that are a few years younger |
| have problems with their social skills. The problems | | | | than them as these children present much less of |
| that Predominantly Inattentive ADHD (ADHD-PI) | | | | a threat to them than their peers do. |
| children have are very different than the | | | | Children with ADHD are often left out of |
| problems that the Hyperactive/Impulsive ADHD | | | | playgroups, school cliques, and social invitations |
| (ADHD-HI) children and the Combined type ADHD | | | | because of their lack of social skills. School can be |
| (ADHD-CB) children have but all children with | | | | miserable for the child that constantly feels left |
| ADHD run the risk of having fewer friends, of | | | | out. Many children dislike the academics of school |
| feeling lonely, of having problems with self | | | | but look forward to school because they enjoy |
| esteem, and of suffering emotionally because of | | | | the social aspect of spending time in the |
| social skills that are immature or otherwise lacking. | | | | classroom with their friends. Children with ADHD, |
| A study done at Mt Sinai Hospital in New York | | | | who are struggling with the attention required at |
| looked at the social skill of kids with ADHD-PI and | | | | school and who do not engage socially with |
| the social skills of kids with ADHD-C. The | | | | friends in the classroom, find life in the classroom |
| researchers controlled for comorbidities such as | | | | to be sheer torture. Considering that children |
| conduct disorder and Oppositional Defiance | | | | often spend 7-8 hours at school a day, it is not |
| Disorder and what they discovered was that both | | | | surprising that so many children with ADHD also |
| these groups had social skills issues but the | | | | suffer from anxiety and depression. |
| problems that they had were, not surprisingly, | | | | The good news is that children with ADHD can be |
| quite different. This is what they concluded; | | | | taught social skills that will greatly increase their |
| "Children with PI were impaired in assertiveness, | | | | chances or making and keeping friends. Studies |
| whereas children with C were deficient in | | | | have shown that children with ADHD who are |
| self-control. These findings indicate that AD/HD | | | | trained to interact appropriately socially have a |
| subtypes differ in the nature of their social | | | | higher self esteem and carry these learned skills |
| dysfunction independent of comorbidity." | | | | successfully into their teen years and onto |
| All children with ADHD also suffer from emotional | | | | adulthood. CHADD, ( ), the national organization for |
| maturity issues which affect their social skills. | | | | children and adults with ADHD is a good source |
| Whereas at first glance it would seem that the | | | | for finding counselors and trainers who provide |
| self control issues that the Combined and | | | | classes in social skills training. Local area CHADD |
| Hyperactive/Impulsive subtypes have would be | | | | chapters also may have social skills support |
| thoroughly disruptive to the establishment of long | | | | groups where children can practice what they |
| term friendships, the assertiveness issues of the | | | | have learned in their social skills classes. |
| Predominantly Inattentive are no less damaging to | | | | Children with ADHD will have difficulty making and |
| the child's ability to make and keep friends. | | | | keeping friends but training and practice in |
| Predominantly Inattentive children tend to be shy, | | | | appropriate peer interaction skills will help them |
| withdrawn, and prefer to play on their own in the | | | | gain the skills they need to appropriately and |
| safety of their own 'world'. Many Predominantly | | | | willingly interact with their peers. |