ADHD And The Constant Talking

Or as I call it, Verbal Diarrhoea.

It drives you crazy. The constant talking. Non stop, about nothing, or anything. Everything they see, everything that pops into their mind. They don’t even seem to breath.

And it really does make you just want to scream ‘SHUT UP’ at them. In fact, I bet at some point you have screamed at them to shut up.

Just 5 seconds of quiet. that’s all you want.

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In the car is the worst. Especially if there’s something on the radio you want to listen to. But you can’t, because they won’t stop talking for you to listen to it.

As a parent of a child with ADHD, this is actually something that can really get to us. It’s very hard to explain to someone who hasn’t got a child with ADHD. But it’s very difficult to deal with.

Some mornings I just can’t wait to drop him at school because I already can’t handle any more talking, and it’s only 9 o’clock in the morning.

What’s frustrating as a parent, is not knowing what to do about it. How to make it stop.

As hard as it is, what we shouldn’t do is constantly shout or tell them to ‘shut up‘ or ‘be quiet‘.

Unfortunately, for children with ADHD, they have very little self control over themselves, particularly in regards to constant talking. So, it can be very frustrating for them.

Often children with ADHD can have very low self esteem and this will only be made worse when they’re always being told to shut up or simply being ignored.

So, what should you do?

There are ways to tackle constant talking.

It is important to take the emphasis away from the negative and give lots and lots of positive praise.

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Reward Charts

Try setting up a reward chart or system, and when they don’t talk too much or are able to identify when they are talking too much and stop themselves, they get lots and lots of praise and a reward on their chart.

Don’t underestimate how difficult this level of self control can be for a child with ADHD. So you really can’t praise too much for managing it.

Discuss it with them and have a signal for when they are talking too much

As well as the praise and reward chart. Sit your child down and talk to them about what you’re going to do. And come up with a gesture that tells them when they are talking too much, without you having to actually tell them.

This could be putting a hand on their shoulder, or placing your finger over your lips. But, always follow this with lots of praise and reward them when they manage to stop talking as much.

When you sit down with them to discuss it. If it’s possible, tell them that when they realise they are talking too much, or when you signal them, they should say to themselves (either out loud or in their head) ‘I must stop talking now’.

This form of self instruction, is not something children with ADHD are usually very good at. But it is very helpful for them to re-affirm what they need to do.

Change their environment

Another thing to bear in mind, when your child is talking too much, is the reason they are talking too much.

Often an increase in talking is the result of increased anxiety or hyperactivity levels. And talking can be one of the first signs of those levels going up.

So a good way of lowering any anxiety and hyperactivity short term and before it escalates, is to simply change your child’s environment.

Take them outside or into a different room, where there is different lighting and quieter, calmer surroundings. This can help to calm them just enough to stop them talking quite so much.

Meditate

One other thing you can do, if you are at home or in a convenient location, is to take them into a different room, where it’s very quiet and there are no other people and do a quick 2 minute meditation with them, This can really help.