Effective Teen Support Programs for ADD/ADHD

Teenage years can be a particularly challenging time for anybody, especially for teens with ADD/ADHD. Teens with ADD/ADHD can benefit from different programs that will help them with specific problem areas brought about by their disorder. There are several different types of teen support programs for ADD/ADHD. Here are just a few of them:

Coaching and Counseling for High School Students – High school students are at a very important phase of their lives. It’s the point where they are transitioning to college life and young adulthood. Some of the most common challenges that ADD/ADHD students face include effective goal-setting, organizing, scheduling, prioritizing, and follow-through. These problems prevent them from gaining academic achievement and often take a toll on their self-esteem, which in itself brings about a different set of problems.

Students can coordinate with their school’s guidance counseling office to ask for available teen support programs for ADD/ADHD. Most schools have programs that help students with ADD/ADHD learn effective techniques to help them with their problem areas. ADD/ADHD coaching is becoming a rapidly developing field and there are many outreach programs being conducted at schools and community centers. These coaching and counseling programs can be instrumental in helping young people set and pursue life goals.

Individual and family therapy – When thinking about how to help ADD/ADHD teens, parents should understand that there’s no one road towards achieving this goal. Teens with ADD/ADHD cannot be helped by relying entirely on just structure, or just on medication, or youth programs. It’s often a combination of efforts that have to be consistently given. Therapy is just one piece of the puzzle, but it’s an important piece. For young people who have been struggling with ADD/ADHD, just knowing why focusing seems to be so hard for them is a big help. Just having a name for what they’re struggling against is a big step in the right direction.

Individual and family therapy can be a huge help because having ADD/ADHD is a family concern. It affects the routines of the family. A supportive family that is working towards a common goal helps ADD/ADHD teens enjoy a happier and more connected home life.

ADD/ADHD Support Groups – Even if parents provide ADD/ADHD teens with all the support they can give, sometimes having somebody to talk to who really understands what living with ADD/ADHD feels like is still an important part of coping. An effective example of teen support programs for ADD/ADHD teens is support groups. Interacting with people who have similar challenges and seeing them rise above these challenges can be very encouraging. It also allows teens to share their victories and progress and become an encouragement to one another.

Wilderness camps – Many wilderness camps are made with ADD/ADHD teens in mind. They provide a lot of healthy physical activities along with many opportunities to learn positive social interactions with other people (which is a common challenge for ADD/ADHD teens). These camps have programs for ADD/ADHD teens that will help them become healthier, more physically active, and happier. Some wilderness camps operate during summer breaks and some provide high school programs for the whole year.

Therapeutic boarding schools – Similar to wilderness camps, therapeutic boarding schools also provide programs for ADD/ADHD students. They are a bit like regular boarding schools except that they provide individual and group therapy as well as uses other types of intervention such as wilderness therapy and others. These kinds of schools also usually provide good afterschool programs which ensure that young people with ADD/ADHD will be able to adjust gradually to the world outside these specialized schools.