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Taking Charge of ADHD

By
Russell A Barkley, PhD

Course Outline

A treasured parent resource since its publication, Taking Charge of ADHD has now been revised and updated to incorporate the most current information on ADHD and its treatment. From internationally renowned ADHD expert Russell A. Barkley, the book empowers parents by arming them with the up-to-date knowledge, expert guidance, and confidence they need. Features of the revised edition include:

  • A step-by-step plan for behavior management that has helped thousands of children with ADHD
  • Hard data that clear up current controversies about increased diagnosis and stimulant use
  • New strategies that give children greater changes of success at school and in social situations
  • Advances in genetic and neurological research that enhance our understanding of what causes ADHD
  • Practical advice for parents on managing stress and keeping peace in the family
  • Updated descriptions of books, organizations, and Internet resources that families can trust

About Authors

Russell A Barkley, PhD, is Director of Psychology and Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, and editor of The ADHD Report, the leading newsletter in the field. His many books for professionals and parents include Your Defiant Child: Eight Steps to Better Behavior.

Learning Objectives

  1. Describe the challenge of raising a child with ADHD
  2. List 7 principles of a principle-centered parent
  3. Explain why it is important for the parent of an ADHD child to become an executive parent
  4. Separate fact from fiction about ADHD
  5. Discuss cases of ADHD children, their diagnoses and treatment
  6. Describe how difficulty sustaining attention affects children with ADHD
  7. Describe five definite symptoms of ADHD and their impact on behavior
  8. Explain how the problems of ADHD can be traced to a delay in the development of inhibition of behavior
  9. Explain how deficiencies in self-speech and rule-governed behavior create problems in ADHD children
  10. Make the neurological connection between the inability to inhibit behavior and ADHD
  11. Recount the research on brain injuries and ADHD
  12. Dispel myths about what causes ADHD
  13. Identify parental or family characteristics that increase the odds that the child will have ADHD
  14. Establish criteria for the diagnosis of ADHD
  15. Describe the progression of ADHD from preschool children through school-age children, adolescents and adults
  16. Describe how the symptoms of ADHD change with the situation
  17. Explain mental, physical, behavioral, and emotional problems associated with ADHD
  18. Describe the interactions of children with ADHD and their mothers
  19. Explain why children with ADHD seem to behave better for their fathers than for their mothers
  20. List six conditions that should prompt a parent to seek professional evaluation of their child for ADHD
  21. Identify the type of professional one should call to evaluate a child’s ADHD
  22. Provide ten helpful hints for an effective school evaluation
  23. Prepare for a psychological or psychiatric evaluation of a child with ADHD
  24. Fill out a Home Situations Questionnaire
  25. Distinguish between ADHD and ADD
  26. Describe various emotions parents are likely to feel upon learning the diagnosis of ADHD for their child
  27. List five things a parent can do to get educated about ADHD
  28. Describe fourteen guiding principles for raising a child with ADHD
  29. Identify and avoid the source of stress as parents of a child with ADHD
  30. Describe four techniques to cope with the stress of raising a child with ADHD
  31. List eight kinds of behavior that may indicate that the child has oppositional defiant disorder
  32. Describe eight steps that would lead to better behavior from your ADHD child
  33. Give more effective commands to your child so as to improve obedience of your commands
  34. Describe seven steps for solving problems at home
  35. Identify five steps to improve social interaction problems of your child with ADHD
  36. Help a child with ADHD to deal with teasing
  37. Explain what to look for in a school for your child with ADHD
  38. Explain how to choose a teacher for your child with ADHD
  39. Provide advice about classroom structure and curriculum for a child with ADHD
  40. Identify seven principles for developing classroom management programs for a child with ADHD
  41. Describe behavior management methods for the classroom for children with ADHD
  42. Manage the academic problems of adolescents with ADHD
  43. Put school performance in proper perspective
  44. Formulate questions to ask a physician about ADHD medication
  45. Dispel misconceptions about stimulants for ADHD
  46. Describe how the stimulants work
  47. Describe the side effects of stimulants for ADHD
  48. List factors that should be considered before prescribing stimulants to children with ADHD
  49. Outline parameters that might help a parent in making decision about trying stimulant medication for the child with ADHD
  50. Identify drugs (other than stimulants) that may be of benefit to those with ADHD
  51. Describe the side effects of tricyclic depressants

Course Contents

  • Preface
  • Introduction. A Guiding Philosophy for Parents of Children with ADHD
  • Part I Understanding ADHD
    1. What is Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder?
    2. What’s Really Wrong with My Child?: Poor Self-Control
    3. What Causes ADHD
    4. What to Expect: The Nature of the Disorder
    5. The Family Context of a Child with ADHD
  • Part II Taking Charge: How to Be a Successful Executive Parent
    1. Deciding to Have Your Child Evaluated for ADHD
    2. Preparing for the Evaluation
    3. Coping with the Diagnosis of ADHD
    4. Fourteen Guiding Principles for Raising a Child with ADHD
    5. Just for Parents: How to Take Care of Yourself
  • Part III Managing Life with ADHD: How to Cope at Home and at School
    1. Eight Steps to Better Behavior
    2. Taking Charge at Home: The Art of Problem Solving
    3. How to Help Your Child with Peer Problems
    4. Getting through Adolescence with Arthur L. Robin, PhD
    5. Off to School on the Right Foot: Managing Your Child’s Education with Linda J. Pfiffner, PhD
    6. Enhancing Education at School and at Home: Methods for Success from Kindergarten through Grade 12
    7. Keeping School Performance in Perspective
  • Part IV Medications for ADHD
    1. The Stimulants with George J. DuPaul, PhD, and Daniel Connor, MD
    2. Other Medicines for ADHD
  • Support Services for Parents
  • Suggested Reading and Videotapes
  • References
  • Index
  • About the Author