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.
Podcast
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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Learning and thinking differences fact sheetPDF
ADHD fact sheetPDF
Dyslexia fact sheetPDF
Dyscalculia fact sheetPDF
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All articles
- What is AuDHD?
- Dyslexia signs in adults
- The challenges of twice-exceptional kids
- 8 things that go into an ADHD evaluation for a child
- I think my child has receptive language disorder. Now what?
- What is dyslexia?
- What is ADHD?
- ADHD explained: A 28-minute primer
- Trouble getting work done is real. Executive function challenges may be the culprit.
- My late ADHD diagnosis gave me the freedom to stop explaining myself
- 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 is executive function?
- What is written expression disorder?
- A day in the life of a child with written expression disorder
- Understanding written expression disorder in your child
- A day in the life of a teen with dyscalculia
- Dyscalculia fact sheet
- What is dyscalculia?
- ADHD fact sheet
- A day in the life of a child with ADHD
- Moving past the guilt of “giving” my son ADHD
- ADHD and the brain
- How ADHD is diagnosed in adults
- ADHD and eating disorders
- ADHD and creativity
- 8 common myths about ADHD
- What your child’s anger might be telling you
- Is autism a learning disability?
- What is autism?
- Why is my third grader suddenly having trouble reading?
- Learning and thinking differences that cause trouble with spelling
- I just found out my child has slow processing speed. Now what?
- 7 steps to getting a private evaluation for your child
- What is visual-spatial processing?
- What is dyspraxia?
- What’s the difference between sluggish cognitive tempo and slow processing speed?
- I’ve heard that autism and ADHD are related. Is that true?
- Who can diagnose learning and thinking differences in adults?
- All about twice-exceptional students
- Is ADHD a learning disability?
- Large-scale MRI study confirms ADHD brain differences
- Learning and thinking differences that cause trouble with math
- Does processing speed vary from task to task?
- Year by year: Early intervention, early screening, and special education evaluation
- ADHD and related behaviors
- How doctors test for ADHD in adults
- What are ADHD rating scales?
- ADHD and trouble with personal boundaries in kids
- Understanding developmental coordination disorder (DCD)
- Messy handwriting in kids: What you need to know
- Understanding ADHD in your child
- My son behaves at school but melts down at home — I found out why
- 6 things I wish I’d known sooner about my son’s anxiety
- What is sensory overload?
- 8 common myths about sensory processing challenges
- Understanding executive function challenges in your child
- I think my child has sensory processing challenges. Now what?
- How kids use executive functions to learn
- Is ADHD hereditary?
- What are learning disabilities?
- Can dyslexia cause headaches in kids?
- The difference between ADD and ADHD
- 4 ways kids use self-monitoring to learn
- Requesting an evaluation
- Learning about evaluations
- 6 benefits of having your child evaluated
- A day in the life of a child who struggles with flexible thinking
- The difference between learning disorder and learning disability
- Types of reading disabilities
- Do I have ADHD?
- Conversation starters for pediatricians to use with families whose kids are struggling
- How dyslexia affects speech
- 5 ways executive function challenges can impact math
- 5 ways executive function challenges can impact reading
- What is social communication disorder?
- Types of behavior assessments
- What are nonverbal learning disabilities?
- 5 common myths about dyspraxia
- Private vs. school evaluations: Pros and cons
- Independent educational evaluations (IEEs): What you need to know
- 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
- ADHD in girls
- Executive function issues: Possible causes
- The connection between slow processing speed and executive function
- What is math anxiety?
- Trouble with executive function at different ages
- Preparing for an evaluation
- 4 ways lack of sleep affects how kids learn
- Understanding dyscalculia in your child
- “Is ADHD real?” What experts say when people doubt ADHD
- 6 common fears for kids who learn and think differently
- Stress and kids who learn and think differently
- 6 steps to take after your child is diagnosed with ADHD
- ADHD in boys
- What are developmental delays?
- What are gross motor skills?
- What is self-control?
- Learning and thinking differences that cause trouble with time management
- Is it ADHD or a sleep disorder?
- Is dyspraxia a learning disability?
- Sensory processing challenges fact sheet
- Motor planning: What you need to know
- The difference between dyspraxia and dysgraphia
- Video: Dyslexia and the brain
- 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?
- What causes trouble with self-control?
- 4 ways sensory challenges impact movement
- Slow processing speed fact sheet
- Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) fact sheet
- A day in the life of a child with dyslexia
- Dyslexia fact sheet
- Download: Log to find out why your child gets frustrated
- Download: Anxiety log to find out why your child gets anxious
- Through your child’s eyes
- What are fine motor skills?
- Understanding dyslexia in your child
- ADHD and sensory overload
- Why some kids get stomachaches before school
- Sensory seeking and sensory avoiding: What you need to know
- Video: Dyscalculia, dyslexia, and genetics
- How ADHD affects sleep — and what you can do to help
- Understanding impulsivity in kids
- Why some kids struggle with math word problems
- How to help kids learn left from right
- 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)?
- A day in the life of a child with sensory processing challenges
- Interoception and sensory processing challenges
- 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
- Why kids have trouble understanding or remembering what they read
- Video: Should I get my child evaluated? Advice from a mom (and expert)
- Video: Inside a dyslexia evaluation
- ADHD and seasonal affective disorder
- What’s the difference between “specific learning disability” and “learning disability”?
- Video: Executive function and the brain
- Why some kids talk nonstop
- Written expression disorder fact sheet
- Homework anxiety: Why it happens and how to help
- A day in the life of a child with slow processing speed
- Understanding why kids have trouble managing emotions
- 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
- The difference between ADHD and executive function challenges