ADHD: Alternative Treatments

Parent Training

Parent training is a technique used to strengthen the bond between child and parent by educating parents how to respond to their child's symptoms. 


Parent training is a recently developed technique used to treat ADHD, and according to research, it may be an effective approach to treating the symptoms associated with the disorder. This approach treats ADHD as a psychological disorder. A study published in the journal, Japanese Psychological Research, explored the use of parent training and support group sessions for mothers with children formally diagnosed with or suspected to have ADHD. Each training session had a specific topic such as, “Stress Management”, “Problem Solving”, or “Effective Communication”, and incorporated the children to practice the new techniques among the other mothers. Dr. Shizuka Shimabukuro stated, “it is important that children with ADHD are rewarded with praise after engaging in appropriate behavior” (5). This is the main concept of parent training, a reward system. After the treatment sessions, the mothers reported a significant decrease in the ADHD symptoms of their child, a decrease in their total stress, and a decrease in misbehavior episodes from their child (5).