Ten Tips to Empower Self-esteem in Kids with AD/HD/LD

Relationship Tips:

• Empower yourself with knowledge about the child's cognitive, emotional, behavioural, social and perceptual strengths and obstacles.
• Develop a relationship based on unconditional acceptance, empathy and empowerment.
• Model competency, hope and resilience to embrace the problem and provde the necessary support. Be proactive. Keep your sense of humor.
• Identify personal strengths and create opportunities for success experiences and capacity building at home and at school.
• Value-based Self-esteem: emphasize "mistakes" as "problems to solve" / opportunities to discover something new and "perseverance" as more valuable than "winning".

Competency Tips:

• Create a supportive Individual Education and Behavioural Plan at home and at school; include child, parents and teachers in goal-setting.
• Involve child in support strategies to develop problem-solving skills and to develop self-advocacy skills.
• Encourage responsibility and independence in utilizing problem-solving strategies.
• Replace self-defeating behaviour with adaptive behaviour.
• Believe in your child's ability to work towards independence; encourage efforts and celebrate every positive outcome.