Could you be parenting with ADHD?
Parents who go undiagnosed with ADHD find themselves overwhelmed by the demands of parenting and struggling to meet their children’s needs. It’s not only a lack of organizational skills, but also a lack of managing their child’s behaviors and multiple schedules that can easily overwhelm parents.
Often it’s the mothers, the primary caretakers and managers for their homes, who are likely prone to go undiagnosed. Mothers discover they have ADHD when they get help for their children and recognize the signs within themselves. Rather than the hyperactive/impulsive or combined types that are the most typical signs, women tend to have the inattentive type of ADHD. They’re not likely to be disruptive, which is often overlooked but are constantly disorganized and underachieving in home, work or school life.
“Women with ADHD often wonder how other women do it. Not being superwoman but being able to do things like stay organized, clean the house, or just moving from thought to action,” says Sari Solden, a psychotherapist.
Anxiety or depression are often associated with women and moms who are stressed out and challenged by multiple schedules of work and home life. Rather than identify the underlying symptoms of adult ADHD and understand why that is making it challenging for women to manage all of those things, health professionals stick with what’s obvious for most women.
Getting a diagnosis for parents with ADHD can reduce guilt on themselves and alleviate stress. And with treatment, parents can look forward to improved parenting skills and less stress on the entire family. Research shows that their behavior management skills improve, when parents receive treatment for their ADHD, leading to an increase in positive parent-child interactions and more effective direction for their children. By treating the parents for ADHD we help the child overcome behavior problems as well.
Professional treatment can be a huge benefit for adults with ADHD. Treatment can include a combination of counseling, coaching, medication, and other tools designed to help make parenting more manageable.
List of resources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/01/08/parenting-with-adhd/
https://www.hartgrovehospital.com/im-parent-im-one-adhd-cope/