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🤯 Anger, irritability, mood swings and ADHD ✨ We have a generic list of symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity when diagnosing ADHD, however what *also* often underpins this diagnosis is significant challenges with anger, irritability, mood swings and what appears as “overreaction” to stimuli. 🧠 These behaviors should be considered as seriously as the former diagnostically for a variety of reasons, not least of which = data that supports that individuals with ADHD often have shorter lifespans due to risk taking behavior, aggression, and stressful social situations (like marital discord) as a result of unmanaged challenges in emotional regulation. 🧠 This does not need to be fate! One of the reasons I love the saying “Kids do well when they can”, is that it reminds us that these behaviors are not spiteful, intentional, or willful. They are occurring because kids have no other skills to use in the moment. They are depleted. 🚘 When the engine is empty, banging on it, slamming on the gas, yelling at it, or putting it in the garage are not going to help us get to where we need to go. We need to fill it up. ⬆️ This is the same with our ADHDers. There is a saying that ADHD brains are like “Ferraris with bicycle breaks”. This can be true, however it is also important to remember that Ferraris are incredibly powerful vehicles with lots of potential to win and succeed. 🌱 When you are stuck, remember: Explicit teaching, compassion and support is what is needed. Consider a conversation with your child’s medical provider about whether medication, behavioral or school interventions make sense. 🏡 At home, continue to model the behavior you want to see. The more you tap into those executive functioning skills yourself (pausing before reacting, taking a breath or a walk, walking yourself through the steps out loud), the more those neural pathways will form for you AND for your child. 💪 Source: Hou, W., Sahakian, B., Langley, C. et al.(2024). Emotion dysregulation and right pars orbitalis constitute a neuropsychological pathway to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Nat. Mental Health 2, 840–852 https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-024-00251-z