06/13/2026
Living with severe tyrannical behaviors is exhausting, and a lot of parents are carrying it quietly.
The aggression, the property destruction, the threats of self-harm, the intimidation. These behaviors can take over a whole home until everyone is organized around keeping one child calm.
Here is what most behavior advice leaves out: the pre-steps. These are the steps you put in place in advance so your child knows exactly how you will change your response to their behavior.
We use pre-steps for two reasons. Kids with ADHD do better with routine and consistency, and this change is going to feel like a loss of control to them. We want them prepared for the parent to step back into their parental authority.
One of those pre-steps is the Announcement Letter. It is how a parent prepares their child in advance for what they will be doing differently, rather than asking the child to change. The graphic is a sample Announcement Letter available for download from the ADHD Dude Parent Behavior Training courses.
When you reclaim your parental authority, your child's behavior may worsen for a time. This is why I tell families who use the ADHD Dude Parent Behavior Training that things may get worse before they get better. That is not failure. It is a child mourning their loss of control through their behavior.
Reality Check: No amount of therapy, OT, coaching, etc., is going to change your child's behavior. You are the one who needs to change your response to their behavior if you want it to improve.
If your child exhibits severe tyrannical behavior, you need an evidence-informed plan and the steps to follow it. That is what the ADHD Dude Parent Behavior Training programs provide. See the sequence for your child's age in the comments section.
Our Parent Behavior Training sequence helps families reduce and, in many cases, stop these behaviors once they have taken over the home.