ADHD Dude Guys Group Program

While many professionals recommend social skills groups to parents of children and teenagers diagnosed with ADHD, it’s important to note that the research data is clear that these groups offer no benefit to kids with ADHD. Guys Group is a psychoeducational program designed for boys and young men diagnosed with ADHD. Most social skills groups are designed for kids with an autism diagnosis. They will gladly take kids with ADHD who often serve as the “role models” for the group participants who have more significant support needs. Secondly, most social skills groups teach overly formal etiquette and social behaviors that do not resemble the way boys communicate or build friendships. No other programs like Guys Group exist, so Ryan has presented on social skills for boys with ADHD multiple times through ADDitude Magazine, the leading ADHD publication in North America, and the International Conference on ADHD.

Guy’s Group runs for four consecutive meetings at a time, each lasting 2 hours. Approximately 45 minutes of each meeting is dedicated to an interactive learning time. The rest of the time is spent in the community, playing games and “hanging out.” The goal is for Guys Group to resemble a group of guys their age spending time together in person (without everyone being on their phones). As needed, concepts taught during instructional time are reinforced with each individual and the group. 

Most participants attend most sessions throughout the school year. The program content varies based on the group’s makeup and is adjusted as needed. Groups that are all or primarily returning members will be taught new content. Research data shows that teaching others is one of the best ways to retain information. We ask our recurring group members to take a leadership role and teach the material to the newer members.

Many boys and young men with ADHD have a propensity to be inflexible and want to stay in their comfort zone. We expect that some will be hesitant to attend because it is outside of their comfort zone and will report to their parents after the first session that they did not like the group or the other guys in the group are not like them (despite the fact they are very similar). If you want your son to learn that he can persevere through temporary discomfort and that other guys his age are interested in being friends with him, it will require you to step into your parental authority and not let him avoid his temporary discomfort. For this reason, we do not allow participants to try groups and require a commitment to attend one session (4 meetings). Please note there are no refunds or pro-rated tuition discounts for missed sessions.  

Because Guys Group is a unique program, we receive many requests from mental health professionals and coaches who want to learn our approach. All sessions are recorded for education and training purposes, with some clips being used for social media. No identifying information about group participants is used (unless their first name is used in a discussion). Additionally, we ask participants not to wear any clothing with identifying information (such as a shirt with school name, etc.) All families must sign a waiver as part of the admissions process agreeing to this. This policy is non-negotiable to participate in ADHD Dude programs.

Please get in touch with our office and share your son’s current age and grade and some details if you’d like. If he could succeed in the program, we will send you an online form for one of his current teachers to complete. The next step in the admission process is a brief, informal interview virtually (or preferably) in our office. There is no charge for this brief interview meeting.