Root causes
Get basic information on ADHD and learning disabilities like dyslexia, dyscalculia, written expression disorder, and other learning differences.
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Tips and strategies
- Quick tipGet rid of distractions.
Make it easier to “hear” directions by limiting distractions. If possible, find a space that’s away from a lot of noise, movement, or clutter.
- Quick tipBe an ally.
Even if you’re frustrated, try to offer support. Say, “If you’re not sure about what I said or what I meant, I’m happy to explain.”
- Quick tipRepeat directions.
If you’re giving cleanup directions, expect to say them more than once. People with ADHD often need reminders to stay on track. Phones are a great tool: Jot down steps in a note, use alarms to get started, or try an organization app.
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Identifying your child’s behavior triggers
Do your child’s outbursts seem to come out of nowhere? Learn what details to look for to help you spot patterns and identify your child’s triggers.
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- Why kids have trouble understanding or remembering what they read
- Why is my third grader suddenly having trouble reading?
- Is ADHD a learning disability?
- I’ve heard that autism and ADHD are related. Is that true?
- What’s the difference between “specific learning disability” and “learning disability”?
- Does exposure to fluoride cause ADHD?
- Is there a “cure” for learning and thinking differences?
- What’s the difference between learning disabilities and intellectual disabilities?
- Is autism a learning disability?
- Is premature birth linked to learning and thinking differences?
- Why does my 7-year-old still wet the bed?
- Learning and thinking differences that cause trouble with math
- “If my kid is so smart, why is he so slow?”
- Written expression disorder fact sheet
- How ADHD affects sleep — and what you can do to help
- ADHD and sensory overload
- Understanding dyslexia in your child
- A day in the life of a child with dyslexia
- Understanding why kids have trouble managing emotions
- ADHD and seasonal affective disorder
- Video: Inside a dyslexia evaluation
- Interoception and sensory processing challenges
- A day in the life of a child with sensory processing challenges
- What causes trouble with self-control?
- Video: Dyslexia and the brain
- Is it ADHD or a sleep disorder?
- 6 steps to take after your child is diagnosed with ADHD
- “Is ADHD real?” What experts say when people doubt ADHD
- Understanding dyscalculia in your child
- Trouble with executive function at different ages
- The connection between slow processing speed and executive function
- Executive function issues: Possible causes
- Independent educational evaluations (IEEs): What you need to know
- What are nonverbal learning disabilities?
- 5 ways executive function challenges can impact reading
- 5 ways executive function challenges can impact math
- How dyslexia affects speech
- Conversation starters for pediatricians to use with families whose kids are struggling
- Do I have ADHD?
- Types of reading disabilities
- 6 benefits of having your child evaluated
- Learning about evaluations
- Requesting an evaluation
- The difference between ADD and ADHD
- Can dyslexia cause headaches in kids?
- What are learning disabilities?
- Is ADHD hereditary?
- Understanding executive function challenges in your child
- 6 things I wish I’d known sooner about my son’s anxiety
- My son behaves at school but melts down at home — I found out why
- Understanding ADHD in your child
- ADHD and trouble with personal boundaries in kids
- What are ADHD rating scales?
- ADHD and related behaviors
- Large-scale MRI study confirms ADHD brain differences
- What is visual-spatial processing?
- Learning and thinking differences that cause trouble with spelling
- ADHD and creativity
- ADHD and eating disorders
- How ADHD is diagnosed in adults
- ADHD and the brain
- Moving past the guilt of “giving” my son ADHD
- A day in the life of a child with ADHD
- ADHD fact sheet
- What is dyscalculia?
- Dyscalculia fact sheet
- A day in the life of a teen with dyscalculia
- Understanding written expression disorder in your child
- A day in the life of a child with written expression disorder
- What is written expression disorder?
- What is executive function?
- My late ADHD diagnosis gave me the freedom to stop explaining myself
- Understanding behavior as communication: A teacher’s guide
- ADHD explained: A 28-minute primer
- What causes ADHD
- ADHD in girls
- ADHD in boys
- 8 things that go into an ADHD evaluation for a child
- Signs and symptoms of ADHD in adults
- 8 common myths about ADHD
- Private vs. school evaluations: Pros and cons
- How to help kids learn left from right
- How to stop procrastinating
- ADHD and menopause
- ADHD burnout
- How to focus with ADHD
- What is dyslexia?
- Dyslexia signs in adults
- What is AuDHD?
- Is ADHD a mental illness?
- How ADHD can affect your sleep
- What is ADHD?
- The difference between ADHD and executive function challenges
- The difference between learning disorder and learning disability
- The difference between dyspraxia and dysgraphia
- Year by year: Early intervention, early screening, and special education evaluation
- Understanding developmental coordination disorder (DCD)
- Through your child’s eyes
- The challenges of twice-exceptional kids
- I think my child has receptive language disorder. Now what?
- Trouble getting work done is real. Executive function challenges may be the culprit.
- Language disorder fact sheet
- Understanding receptive language disorder in your child
- Understanding expressive language disorder in your child
- What are language disorders?
- A day in the life of a child with receptive language disorder
- A day in the life of a child with expressive language disorder
- What is receptive language disorder?
- What is expressive language disorder?
- What your child’s anger might be telling you
- What is autism?
- I just found out my child has slow processing speed. Now what?
- 7 steps to getting a private evaluation for your child
- What is dyspraxia?
- What’s the difference between sluggish cognitive tempo and slow processing speed?
- Who can diagnose learning and thinking differences in adults?
- All about twice-exceptional students
- Does processing speed vary from task to task?
- How doctors test for ADHD in adults
- Messy handwriting in kids: What you need to know
- What is sensory overload?
- 8 common myths about sensory processing challenges
- I think my child has sensory processing challenges. Now what?
- How kids use executive functions to learn
- 4 ways kids use self-monitoring to learn
- A day in the life of a child who struggles with flexible thinking
- What is social communication disorder?
- Types of behavior assessments
- 5 common myths about dyspraxia
- Are dyspraxia and DCD the same thing?
- What is auditory processing disorder?
- Everyday challenges for people who struggle with executive function
- Pediatric neuropsychologists: What you need to know
- 6 ways kids use flexible thinking to learn
- How I explain the relationship between ADHD and executive function challenges
- What is math anxiety?
- Preparing for an evaluation
- 4 ways lack of sleep affects how kids learn
- 6 common fears for kids who learn and think differently
- Stress and kids who learn and think differently
- What are developmental delays?
- What are gross motor skills?
- What is self-control?
- Learning and thinking differences that cause trouble with time management
- Is dyspraxia a learning disability?
- Sensory processing challenges fact sheet
- Motor planning: What you need to know
- What is slow processing speed?
- Heavy work and sensory processing challenges: What you need to know
- Why some kids get overexcited
- Understanding why kids struggle with reading
- What are learning and thinking differences?
- 4 ways sensory challenges impact movement
- Slow processing speed fact sheet
- Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) fact sheet
- Dyslexia fact sheet
- Download: Log to find out why your child gets frustrated
- Download: Anxiety log to find out why your child gets anxious
- What are fine motor skills?
- Why some kids get stomachaches before school
- Sensory seeking and sensory avoiding: What you need to know
- Video: Dyscalculia, dyslexia, and genetics
- Understanding impulsivity in kids
- Why some kids struggle with math word problems
- Why kids struggle with movement and coordination
- Understanding hyperactivity
- Video: Why do ADHD and dyslexia co-occur so often?
- Video: How a diagnosis in adulthood changed one woman’s perspective
- What is a functional behavioral assessment (FBA)?
- 4 reasons kids get anxious about reading — and how to help
- What is working memory?
- Understanding evaluation results and next steps
- Sensory processing challenges and anxiety
- A day in the life of a child with executive function challenges
- Video: Should I get my child evaluated? Advice from a mom (and expert)
- Video: Executive function and the brain
- Why some kids talk nonstop
- Homework anxiety: Why it happens and how to help
- A day in the life of a child with slow processing speed
- Why do kids fidget?
- Why kids struggle with estimating quantities
- Understanding why kids struggle with math
- Why some kids don’t listen
- Learning and thinking differences fact sheet