Does Attention Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder become more controllable...?

Question

with age? My friend was visiting with her son who was eleven. He had to be instructed to properly behave continually! My friend is patient but still persistant to inforce rules and boundries...(more tolerent then I could ever be) yet It seem to always turn into a yelling session between the two of them. It embarrises me when my friend corrects her son out in public if by drawing negitive attention being loud or disruptive. Saddly, this makes me uncomfortable,nervous having my friend around although we have been friend for many years. We live at a distance from one another so I overlook this delima. My friend thinks I need to( get over it) about what people think...that it is ok to be loud, it is part of her family's temperment:(
Is there hope for people who have to face this sisuation every day? Will their child learn to be socially adaptible?

Answer 1

I've heard that it can be less severe the older you get, but in my experience that is not always the case.

Take my son - diagnosed ADHD since age 6. Although he is better at impulse control, he still has difficulties with paying attention (unless of course, it's a tv show or video game he's playing/watching).

My former boyfriend was diagnosed at age 5. Now at age 40, he still has difficulties. For him, it's always been a challenge to interact socially, probably stemming from the reaction to and rejection of his behavior as a child. That kind of stigma makes it very difficult to socialize when you're an ADHD kid, and most times, many will become self-conscious and keep much to themselves as a result.

I believe that family counseling is CRITICAL when trying to improve the behavior of an ADHD child. Yelling sessions are bound to happen, but reinforcing boundaries and structure will help the child to control his own behavior as time goes on. It will likely get worse as he enters adolescence (because of the hormones), but staying on top of will give the child enough reinforcement to keep himself under control.

Answer 2

No this child will not adapt, and if your friend continues to deny him medication to allow him to act that way he should, he will become a social outcast.

TX Mom
ADD Mom