Many children pick up what they need to know about relationships
and interacting with other people by watching and absorbing what others do.
They're exposed to it; they look at it; they take it all in.
Certainly parents may say, "This is the time to say thank you"
or, "Remember to say please." And when kids get older, their peers give feedback that they take in, integrate and use to make modifications in how they're
reacting. Without a lot of teaching, they somehow end up being able to have relatively fulfilling, ongoing
social relationships.
But that doesn’t happen for all children. Especially for
children with ADHD, exposure to social
interactions doesn’t always result in social performance. Before we expect kids to
behave in the classroom or on the playground, we need to take time to explain what that means, let kids discuss it, and give examples to start those discussions.
Print