ebook_ADHD2019

The World Federation of ADHD Guide 79 8 Before taking on a new project, assess whether it is really feasible or if you should decline. 9 Go through incoming mail daily and throw out things you don’t need. 10 For a task you need to do, but want to avoid, start by dedicating just 10 minu- tes to it with the option to continue beyond that time limit if you feel ready. Often getting started is the most difficult part of the task. HELPING TEENS AND YOUNG ADULTS IMPROVE SOCIAL SKILLS Many, though not all, teens and young adults with ADHD struggle to make and sustain friendships and comfortable relationships with peers and/or adults. Such difficulties are especially common among those whose ADHD may be complica- ted by characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Elizabeth Laugeson 21 has pu- blished The Science of Making Friends where she describes in text with an accom- panying DVD an excellent intervention developed in the Program for Education and Enrichment in Relational Skills (PEERS) at the University of California-Los Angeles. This program has used scientific methods to break down complex, seemingly sophisticated, social skills into concrete rules and steps for social behavior that can become similar to what is naturally used by teens and young adults who are usually successful in social interactions. The PEERS program involves teens and young adults who want to improve their social skills in a structured course which involves the young people in a series of group instructional sessions and activities while their parents participate in a concurrent series of sessions. Parent sessions are intended to help the parents to understand and support the evidence-based rules and methods being taught to their sons and daughters. The intention is to help the parents become effective “coaches” for their teens and you- ng adults as they develop social skills being taught and practiced in the program. Vignettes, texts, and role plays provided in the PEERS program help parti- cipants to learn specific ways to find good friends, have good conversations and meet new people, how to organize get-togethers with friends, and how to handle things like bullying, teasing and other social problems. Unlike most other pro- grams intended to provide social skills training, this program has been empirically tested and found to be effective for most participants in ways that tend to have lasting benefits. Laugeson’s book provides a useful guide for parents who may want to adapt the PEERS methods for coaching their own son or daughter. That book also provides guidance for clinicians who may want to offer these methods to groups of inte- rested parents with their teen or young adult sons or daughters who are seeking support for enhancing their development and improvement of social skills.