All Behavior Has a Purpose

Most of the time children either get something or they avoid something by engaging in a particular behavior. Think of a problem behavior your child is currently displaying. What do you think your child is getting or avoiding by engaging in that behavior?

If your child uses a behavior to get something, try and identify what he is hoping to gain. It could be attention, something tangible, a preferred activity or control.

If the behavior is to avoid something ask yourself if your child is trying to avoid attention, difficult tasks, demands or activities.

Now take a closer look at what triggers the behavior. What happens right before, or what sets off the problem behavior. Also note any factors or events that set up the behavior This could be factors related to home or family, social or environmental conditions, biological or medical conditions.

Once you've established the above, ask yourself the following questions:

When is my child most successful?

When is the problem behavior least likely to occur?

Use the answers to these two questions to map out a plan to redirect the problem behavior. You may be able to eliminate the trigger(s). Make your child a part of the solution by enlisting his help in coming up with a way to change the behavior.

Want To Learn More About Parenting A Child With ADHD?

I will be speaking at the October 3rd support group meeting of the Gateway Satellite CHADD. I will be addressing some of the common behaviors that ADHD children engage in and how to deal with them.

Details on time and place are HERE.

ADHD Awareness Week

ADHD Awareness Week is September 14-10, 2009. Join with CHADD (Children and Adults with Attentions Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) to celebrate the progress that's been made and to assess how much work is still ahead. Go to the CHADD website for more information.

A support group, in the St. Louis area, for parents of children with ADHD has recently been organized. Click here for information about the Gateway Parents Satellite of CHADD.

National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month

Recovery Month is an annual observance that takes place during the month of September.

The Recovery Month observance highlights the societal benefits of substance abuse treatment, lauds the contributions of treatment providers and promotes the message that recovery from substance abuse in all its forms is possible. The observance also encourages citizens to take action to help expand and improve the availability of effective substance abuse treatment for those in need. Each year a new theme, or emphasis, is selected for the observance.

Recovery Month provides a platform to celebrate people in recovery and those who serve them. Each September, thousands of treatment programs around the country celebrate their successes and share them with their neighbors, friends, and colleagues in an effort to educate the public about treatment, how it works, for whom, and why. Substance abuse treatment providers have made significant accomplishments, having transformed the lives of untold thousands of Americans. These successes often go unnoticed by the broader population; therefore, Recovery Month provides a vehicle to celebrate these successes.

Recovery Month also serves to educate the public on substance abuse as a national health crisis, that addiction is a treatable disease, and that recovery is possible. Recovery Month highlights the benefits of treatment for not only the affected individual, but for their family, friends, workplace, and society as a whole. Educating the public reduces the stigma associated with addiction and treatment. Accurate knowledge of the disease helps people to understand the importance of supporting treatment programs, those who work within the treatment field, and those in need of treatment.

http://www.recoverymonth.gov/