Name It to Tame It – Helping ADHD Kids Label Emotions Without Overwhelm
ADHD children often feel big, fast, and all at once. (Spoiler – ADHD adults sometimes do too). When we ask them to do something like “use your words” or “tell him how it makes you feel” – it can backfire if they don’t already know the language. The vocab. Then, without having the words, they are even more emotional and frustrated.
Helping kids learn to name their emotions is powerful, but it has to be done in ways that are ADHD friendly ford kids – meaning simple, visual, and playful.
Start Simple – the younger the child, the simpler the start. 3-5 Emotions at the beginning – like mad, sad, happy, scared, tired. You can always add emotions as you go. You’ll be able to add nuance as the child ages – For example breaking down “mad” into annoyed, frustrated, or furious.”
Use Visuals – again the younger the child, the more simple the visualization. Make a Face Card that matches each feeling. Smiley Faces, Tears, Etc. Or you can make it personalized by picking cartoon characters, etc. that represent each feeling. Or use a visual from the Making It Fun Section below.
Make It Fun – Instead of using smiley faces, collaborate with your child to make the chart. It could be something like – weather. Sunny days are happy, rainy days are sad, cloudy days are bored, thunderstorms are angry. Or use cartoon characters to describe feelings, or silly emojis, or anything you can think of that will make it fun and still connect the feelings.
Bonus Tip – Model Out Loud – talk about your own feelings. For example, “That person bumped into me and made me angry, I’m going to take a deep breath.” Or narrate others’ feelings like tv characters or books, “how do you think that person felt?”