How do you teach impulse control?

For children with ADHD, impulse control means learning how to stop and think before acting. Medication can help, but kids also need effective behavior management strategies in place — clear expectations, positive incentives, and predictable consequences — if they are to learn to regulate their behavior. Lead your students in compiling a list of class rules, including some that are difficult for kids with ADHD, such as “Always raise your hand to ask for help.” Provide visual reminders to keep kids on track, and encourage appropriate behavior with recognition and rewards. Acknowledge good behavior with specific praise, such as: “Edward, I appreciate how quickly and quietly you cleared your desk.” Be explicit about how your child is to behave, instead of telling her to “be good” at the playground, tell her to “wait in line for the slide, and don’t push.” Hold your child accountable for his actions, and keep punishments short and appropriate, but let them remind your child that he is responsible for his own behavior. A good rule of thumb for time-outs is one minute for each year of a child’s age. Discourage a problem behavior by “charging” for each infraction, such as removing a quarter from a jar each time she interrupts a call.