Speaking of Teens
Episode #41: Parenting Teens With ADHD (and without) Through A Different Lens with Dr. Mark Bertin
Parenting the neurotypical teenager is not a job for the faint at heart, but when your teen has an ADHD diagnosis, it can feel downright daunting. In this week’s episode, although my guest, Dr. Mark Bertin, specifically addresses parents of teens with ADHD, much of his wisdom applies to most parents of teens and tweens.
As the parent of an adolescent, it can be so frustrating to deal with the daily homework battles, checking behind them, constantly reminding, not to mention the emotionality and the behavior issues that often intensify beginning in middle school.
But for parents of a teen with ADHD, these issues are 10-fold because of the additional delay your kid has is self-management skills. Add in IEPs or 504s, evaluations, doctor visits, medication issues, communications with the school…and you have a recipe for major stress, overwhelm and exhaustion.
Learning to manage your reactivity to your teen’s behavior is crucial for their wellbeing and yours. This is true not only for parents of a teen with ADHD, but for parents of any teen. And so much of our behavior as parents, depends on our own thoughts and emotions – expectations for ourselves, judgment from others, questions about our teen’s behavior, etc.
Dr. Bertin gives us guidance for reframing the way we think about these issues, discusses mindfulness and its impact on our reactivity, and addresses specific ADHD-related concerns as well.
Access TRANSCRIPT here.
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Sources, Resources and Mentions:
Dr. Mark Bertin's books