ADHD & Aggression: Your Angry ADHD Child

When you don’t know when the next explosion will occur.

The intense mood swings of ADHD children can be absolutely exhausting. It often feels like you are walking on eggshells! Your child is so sensitive– they are always overreacting and they get angry at a moment’s notice. Living with them is so unpredictable and sometimes you consider sending them to boarding school.

ADHD kids are oftentimes more irritable, hyper-sensitive and just overall more challenging for parents. They are hyper-sensitive in all ways- and it causes them to be irritable, frustrated and unpredictable all day, every day. Sometimes it feels like they don’t even try to be happy! And sometimes it feels like they are doing the best they can, but it is never enough!

➤ Increasing emotional IQ

Your child’s level of anger is out of control and makes absolutely no sense. The emotions and situation do not match, and their reaction is over the top. It feels like they are just looking for a reason to overreact. They yell, hit, throw things, and are just straight up dangerous at times. You are sick and tired of walking on eggshells, and you are ready for intentional solutions to manage the severity, but therapy has never helped before. An essential component of ADHD therapy is focusing on increasing emotional intelligence. We focus on learning to become aware of what triggers the child, how to be aware of it, and how to handle it, as well as teaching parents what to expect and how to help as it is occurring. We teach both children and parents emotional vocabulary so that actionable steps can be created to avoid the next blow up.

➤ What do anger issues look like?

- Irrational reactions
- Low frustration tolerance
- Meltdowns
- Rapid mood swings
- Arguing
- Kicking
- Throwing
- Hitting
- Mean words
- Aggression
- Friendship problems

➤ What is really going on beneath the anger problems?

- Cannot express emotions and feelings
- Impulsive behaviors
- Brain is going faster than words can come out
- Low emotional vocabulary
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Anxiety
- Low self esteem
- Frustration
- Stress buildup from the day

How does therapy help for anger management?

We use play therapy, CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and parenting strategies to help your child begin to overcome their anger by identifying the source of the emotions and determining new ways to handle the intense emotions. With parenting support we directly target the source of the anger, and all the overwhelm that comes along with it.

The Dandelion Difference

We do our best to make the process of therapy exactly what you need.

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Weekly Parent Sessions

Due to our intensive parenting support process, in addition to individual weekly child sessions, weekly parenting sessions are expected at the beginning of therapy. The duration of these sessions depends on the level of distress in the family and the level of parenting needs. With meeting weekly, many families meet their goals in 6-8 months!