Every once in a while, as a teacher, parent, or tutor, you can encounter a student or young adult who has a hard time controlling their reactions to situations. And sometimes it is not easy to help them.
But in today’s Blog, I want to share with you a success story about ADHD and Impulsivity.
A few weeks ago, during a phone call with one of my friends, she told me about her grandson. A very smart, happy eight-year-old boy who was having trouble at school because he wasn’t able to control some of his impulses. His behavior earned him a spot on a behavioral chart.
Every time he got in trouble at school, he would come home sad, and when his family asked the reasons behind his behavior, there was not really an appropriate answer.
After thinking about it, I told my friend that maybe he was simply not able to control his reactions. That they should see it as having a Ferrari brain, but with bicycle brakes. She then discussed it with her family.
The metaphor resonated with them because her grandson is really into cars, so they decided to talk to him about it and explain it in that way. Luckily, her grandson really connected with it, so now he understood what was happening to him. The best part, he had an idea on how to fix it.
In a matter of days, the school contacted the parents with an update, and it seems things had changed dramatically. They saw he was attempting to calm himself before reacting. Amazing! So they asked him about it, and he said (this part warms my heart): I want to have Ferrari brakes. How awesome is that?
We, as tutors, can help them understand that there is a reason and an explanation for what they are going through. That’s the most important part. For them to know there is a way to improve and that the adults understand they are not doing it on purpose, it’s a game-changer. Now both the school staff and his family can help develop his skills which are necessary to perform better in life.
There is no one-size-fits-all in Impulsivity or even ADHD, but I wanted to share this story with you, so you know there is hope. We just need to take the first step and go from there.
If you want to learn more about Executive Functioning Skills, check out our blog series. So far, we have discussed Impulsivity, Flexibility, Task Initiation, Time Management, and others. And there is so much more to come!
If you want to know more about our processes and 1:1 tutoring sessions reach out! We can help. You can contact us here: Contact us.
Love,
Ev.