If your child has been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, you may be feeling overwhelmed with all the information that the doctor has given you all at once.
It's important to take time to absorb all the information that has been given to you and realize what your next step will be.
You can successfully live with attention deficit disorder as long as you are prepared.
The first thing you need to do is to buy a notebook and start writing yourself notes.
You have probably received tons of information on ADD but it is all foreign if you don't understand it or are feeling overwhelmed.
On the first pages, you need to make a list of all the symptoms of ADD and then check off the ones that your son or daughter are displaying.
It may be one or two symptoms or it may be all of them but when you write it all down and then check it off, it is a mental acknowledgement that you are not going to deal with the problem.
The second thing you need to do is to realize where your child needs help the most.
Is it hard for them to concentrate and now the teacher is starting to get frustrated with them? Your teacher may not seem as though they have the time to deal with a child who has ADD but they can.
You need to work with your child's teacher in a close relationship so you can control the outburst and control the ADD.
Give your child something that they can hold in their hands to remind them of when they need to be quiet.
When a teacher is talking or when you are talking, they need to have a visual reminder that something is going on that they need to pay attention to.
Place a colored glass stone in their hands when they need to listen.
This stone can fit into their pocket or can be placed on their desk.
When the teacher begins to talk they need to pick up that stone and if they feel a need to interrupt they can squeeze their hand and feel the stone.
These stones are available at any store and they represent control over a situation.
There are other tools that you can use to remind your child but a stone is flat and inexpensive and does the same thing.
Next, you want to give your child boundaries at home.
When they have ADD they cannot finish tasks easily so you need to start setting the timer and giving your child about ten minutes to pick up everything he or she gets out before it is time to go to bed.
Hearing the timer will help to keep them on track and when the bell goes off on the timer, they know that their time is up and they don't need to worry about it.
The sooner you recognize signs and get them to a doctor who can diagnose ADD the sooner you and your child can learn to handle it.