Menu
Thriving in an ADHD Relationship
Navigating the complexities of neurodivergent relationships
Navigating relationships can be tough, especially when ADHD is part of the picture. Many couples face unique challenges that can strain their connection and some statistics suggest that upwards of 50% of relationships with ADHD end in divorce within the first few years! However, with understanding and effort, a thriving partnership is possible. Let’s explore how to strengthen your relationship when ADHD is involved.
➤ How ADHD impacts relationships
The most common complaints we hear from partners of ADHD individuals are that the ADHDers:
- Don’t clean up after themselves
- Always lose things
- Are never on time
- Don’t fully listen
- Talk over them
- Don’t understand why something is/was important
- Forget important dates (anniversaries, birthdays, appointments etc
- Make them feel like they are their ‘mom/dad’ and responsible for everything
This can oftentimes create feelings of rejection and confusion while one partner feels ignored and the other (the ADHD person) feels completely confused as to what they did wrong!
➤ How can therapy help?
We focus on developing effective communication strategies to help both the ADHD and the non-ADHD individual learn to support each other through healing their relationship. Here’s how we do that:
- We focus on active listening with empathetic responses
- We teach how to use clear and direct communication by setting expectations, wants/needs and boundaries
- We develop executive function strategies to minimize the forgetting of important things, while also improving strategies to keep track of things
- We support the creation of collaborative task management and organizational strategies to make the home environment a bit less chaotic and one sided.
- We target the emotional dysregulation components that oftentimes lead to the miscommunications and fights
The Dandelion Difference
We do our best to make the process of therapy exactly what you need.
Yoga and Mindfulness
Social Skills Classes
Weekly Parent Sessions
Neurofeedback
Teacher Recommendations
Unlimited Calls and Email
Written Accommodations
Classroom Observations
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!
