ADHD and Lying
Why do kids with ADHD lie? Is it something parents should be concerned about? Hear from our expert, Stephanie Moulton Sarkis, Ph.D., NCC, DCMHS, LMHC, a clinical mental health specialist in...
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There's a continuum of lying. So there's the little white lies, then there's big-time lies. And so, first we need to look at, you know, is your kid exaggerating about something, or is it that they're lying as a form of self-preservation. As a way to kind of cover themselves so they don't get in trouble. So there's a big difference between that. So for instance, you'll have a kid that talks about something that happened on the playground, and it may not be exactly what happened. But kids with ADHD tend to elaborate, and they tend to build on their stories, and that can sometimes be construed as lying when in fact it's the ADHD brain kind of making things more exciting. And then there's the lie to get out of stuff. So you di...
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There's a continuum of lying. So there's the little white lies, then there's big-time lies. And so, first we need to look at, you know, is your kid exaggerating about something, or is it that they're lying as a form of self-preservation. As a way to kind of cover themselves so they don't get in trouble. So there's a big difference between that. So for instance, you'll have a kid that talks about something that happened on the playground, and it may not be exactly what happened. But kids with ADHD tend to elaborate, and they tend to build on their stories, and that can sometimes be construed as lying when in fact it's the ADHD brain kind of making things more exciting. And then there's the lie to get out of stuff. So you di...
