How to manage comments from family and friends

If you read my last blog post on family gatherings, you know that the holidays can bring up a lot of stress for kids and families with learning differences.

One challenge that I didn’t mention in my last blog was how friends and family members may make comments about your child’s diagnosis that can be frustrating. 

Have you ever had someone close to you make a comment like…

“Are you really sure they have ADHD?”

“Well everyone's a little ADHD.”

or “We didn’t have ADHD back in my day.”

It can be so frustrating to hear someone say these things.

So, how can you respond if someone close to you makes a comment that is invalidating?

One of the first things I would want to know is what made them say that comment.

There is a lot of misinformation about ADHD that is unfortunately further leading people to believe some of these comments.

It can be helpful to start with addressing their comment with an open question such as,

“Let me know why you’re asking that or saying that”

or “Tell me what you know about ADHD and where you’ve gotten some of your information from.”

ADHD is very real, and what matters most is that your child with ADHD has people that understand them.

Once you have more understanding about why they made that comment, you may want to share about what is actually true about ADHD.

Sharing what ADHD is like for your child may be helpful by sharing a fact sheet about ADHD, and then sharing what strategies work for your child at the same time whether its movement breaks, positive praise, or others.

Having your community as a parent of a child with learning differences is so important. Finding just one supportive person can make a huge difference.

If you’re having a hard time finding a supportive community near you, you can connect with other parents by downloading the Wunder App by Understood.org.

Best,

Dr. Carrie