School struggles
Learn how ADHD and learning disabilities can cause kids to get bad grades and struggle in school. Get advice and tips for how to help kids finish homework and thrive in school.
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Tips and strategies
- Quick tipSet a time limit.
Give kids a set amount of time for homework to help it feel more manageable. Try using the “10-minute rule” that many schools use — that’s 10 minutes of homework per grade level. And let kids know it’s OK to stop working for the night.
- Quick tipSay it’s OK.
A lot of second graders struggle with math. Say that it’s OK if they need more time or extra practice. And if you’ve ever struggled with math, be open about that. It helps when kids know they’re not the only ones who struggle.
- Quick tipTry using a fidget.
Having something to fidget with, like a stress ball, can actually help some kids focus. For others, though, it’s a distraction. So keep an eye on whether it’s helpful or making it harder to focus.
School struggles
Homework battles: What really matters
Homework. It’s a source of battles in many families. But does it have to be? How can we make homework less stressful for everyone?
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Frustration outreach and supportPDF
Frustration pattern finderPDF
Frustration trackerPDF
Parent-teacher conference worksheetPDF
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All articles
- The challenges of twice-exceptional kids
- Should my child do the hardest homework assignment first?
- Teachers weigh in: What I wish parents asked at parent-teacher conferences
- Download: Sample scripts for dispute resolution
- 10 special education myths you may hear
- Should I encourage my child to go to IEP meetings?
- How to work on your child’s IEP goals over the summer
- 9 steps to take if the teacher hurts your child’s feelings
- Math homework tools for kids with dyscalculia
- Repeating a grade: Pros and cons
- How to break down communication barriers between teachers and families
- Perspectives: How to make sure families of color are heard by the school
- 5 tips for teacher collaboration when students struggle
- English language learners in special education: 4 things to know about partnering with families
- Conversation starters for teachers to use with families
- 6 strategies for partnering with families of English language learners
- School burnout in kids who learn and think differently
- Dyslexia and anxiety in kids
- Should I stop supervising my teen’s homework?
- Tips for talking about report cards
- Dyscalculia or math anxiety? Compare the signs in kids
- Treatment for kids with dyscalculia
- 6 options for resolving an IEP dispute
- My son failed a big test. Here’s how I helped him move forward.
- Teacher tip: My “go to” calming technique for overstimulated kids
- 6 signs your child is burned out
- My child’s teacher is mean to her. What can I do?
- School health and safety challenges for kids who learn and think differently
- My bilingual son has an IEP, and I still don’t know how it will work remotely
- 7 questions about testing English language learners for learning disabilities
- 5 ways to avoid homework battles with your teen or tween
- Experts weigh in: “How can I get my young child less anxious about starting school?”
- How my career ambition got in the way of helping my daughter with dyslexia
- What ADHD feels like to me
- Changing teachers mid-year: Experts weigh in
- Signs your child may have too much homework
- 9 steps to take if your request for evaluation is denied
- How to help if English language learners are struggling in school
- Last-minute SAT and ACT prep tips
- The difference between special education advocates and attorneys
- 5 things not to say to your child about going back to school
- 7 ways to help your grade-schooler develop good study habits
- 5 ways to avoid homework battles with your grade-schooler
- Homework challenges and strategies
- What I say to Hispanic parents who feel uncomfortable about ADHD
- When mean girls bullied my daughter because of her learning differences
- Teacher tip: How to help your child pay attention (just think SLANT)
- Bullying and learning differences
- How often should I contact my child’s teacher?
- Why is fourth-grade writing so hard for some kids?
- Should my child work on school skills over the summer or take a break?
- Public, private, and charter schools: How they compare
- 5 great grade school books about kids who learn differently
- Would my child be better off at a charter school?
- My college freshman is struggling and wants to leave school. Now what?
- 7 tips for improving your relationship with your child’s teacher
- Parent-teacher conferences: How to get ready for your next meeting
- 7 ways to help kids with slow processing speed take notes in class
- Can the school give my child with an IEP “unofficial” suspensions?
- 8 steps to take if your child is facing disciplinary action
- All about twice-exceptional students
- Practice makes perfect for executive function
- How to respond when your child is frustrated about school
- My middle-schooler doesn’t want to talk about dyslexia with teachers. What can I do?
- Why do some kids daydream so much during class?
- Download: Sample letters for dispute resolution
- For ELL families: Why and how to partner with teachers
- How kids can succeed even when they fail
- What are your favorite DIY classroom fidgets?
- Preventing meltdowns before they happen: A classroom guide
- Families weigh in: What I wish teachers knew before parent-teacher conferences
- Live video lessons: 5 ways kids struggle and how to help
- Why the school with the highest test scores wasn’t the right fit for my child with ADHD
- First dyslexia, now ADHD: Facing my son’s second diagnosis
- Deciding on an evaluation: 5 common questions
- Where to find legal help
- Third-grade retention laws: What you need to know
- Download: Sample letters for requesting evaluations and reports
- How to find out if kids really had an academic slide
- What to say when kids fail a test
- Surprising news from a parent-teacher conference? Here’s how to handle it
- The school evaluation process: What to expect
- 4 challenges of English language learners who learn and think differently
- Where to find free assistive technology tools for reading, writing, and math
- 7 myths about twice-exceptional (2e) students
- How to get a free or low-cost private evaluation
- Checklist: What to look for on a grade school visit
- Checklist: What to look for in a private school
- My child is falling behind in school. Now what?
- 10 terms to know if your child struggles with math
- What I tell Black parents who worry about labels like “ADHD” for their child
- 4 ways kids use organization skills to learn
- 10 steps for creating a smooth transition to high school
- The difference between tutoring and academic coaching
- 6 steps to request a free school evaluation
- Assistive technology: Questions to ask the school
- 8 tips to help grade-schoolers slow down on homework
- Are my child’s struggles serious enough for an evaluation?
- 5 things I want teachers to know about my (special education inclusion) child
- 9 tips to make the most of your parent-teacher conference
- 12 signs it’s time to talk with your child’s teacher
- When the IEP team focused on my strengths, it made all the difference
- 5 stress factors for teens who learn and think differently
- What is an evaluation for special education?
- 6 ways to help grade-schoolers get schoolwork done on their own
- 7 study group tips for kids with social skills challenges
- School discipline: The rights of kids without an IEP or 504 plan
- 5 tips to help high-schoolers cope with test anxiety
- 8 tips to help middle-schoolers slow down on homework
- 4 ways kids use self-monitoring to learn
- Specialists who work with kids who learn and think differently
- Does my child need to be evaluated to qualify for SAT test accommodations?
- 9 reasons kids might refuse to use accommodations
- 7 surprising ways to boost your child’s confidence before a test
- Perspectives: Is it OK to let kids fail?
- Are evaluations for IEPs and 504 plans different?
- Do private schools have to evaluate kids for special education?
- Learning about evaluations
- 6 benefits of having your child evaluated
- Why your child’s school may deny your evaluation request
- 5 ways the principal or school counselor can help with your child’s challenges
- 6 ways kids might respond to an evaluation result
- I disagree with the school’s evaluation results. Now what?
- What to expect at an IEP eligibility determination meeting
- Why second evaluation results may differ from first ones
- Prior written notice: Your right to hear about changes to your child’s IEP
- 6 self-advocacy sentence starters for grade-schoolers with DCD
- School refusal: How to help kids cope
- Why pediatricians want to know how your child is doing in school
- The best question I’ve asked at a parent-teacher conference
- How to talk with your child about signs you’re noticing
- Math trouble: Conversation starters to use with your child’s teacher
- Reading trouble: Conversation starters to use with your child’s teacher
- Families of color and communicating with teachers
- How to find a special education advocate
- Why teens and tweens may be frustrated with school — and what you can say to help
- 7 tips to keep tweens and teens from “checking out” at the end of the school year
- My sixth grader is anxious about school. What can I do?
- 5 watch-outs when you’re choosing a school for your child
- 5 ways executive function challenges can impact math
- 5 ways executive function challenges can impact reading
- Experts weigh in: Learning and thinking differences in the Hispanic community
- 7 locker challenges for kids and how to solve them
- What your child is expected to learn in high school
- 5 ways social challenges can play out at recess
- Retention: Why kids are held back
- Social and emotional trouble in school: 7 things to ask your child’s teachers
- 8 common playground problems and how to help
- How to decode what teachers say about your child
- Writing trouble: Conversation starters to use with your child’s teacher
- 5 conversation starters for discussing an evaluation report with teachers
- 5 conversation starters for discussing supports and services with teachers
- My child’s grades are low. Is it worth trying to get him into a four-year college?
- School discipline rights for kids with IEPs and 504 plans
- Signs of bullying in kids with learning differences and ADHD
- Executive function challenges and learning: 6 ways to help your grade-schooler
- Executive function challenges and learning: 6 ways to help your middle-schooler
- Executive function challenges and learning: 6 ways to help your high-schooler
- The story of my ADHD evaluation in college
- 6 college students share accommodations that help them succeed
- Private vs. school evaluations: Pros and cons
- 6 steps to prepare your child for changes to routine in middle school
- Mom’s emotional video about IEP frustration goes viral
- What to say when your child doesn’t want to go to school
- Montessori preschools: What you need to know
- A unique IEP solution for our twice-exceptional son
- What is Child Find?
- Independent educational evaluations (IEEs): What you need to know
- How to help your grade-schooler handle school cliques
- Delaying kindergarten: Experts weigh in
- 13 questions to ask before hiring a private evaluator
- Topics to talk with teachers about early in the school year
- Behavior contracts: What you need to know
- Back-to-school stress: Why I believe self-advocacy can help
- Unilateral placement: Moving from public to private school
- How to talk with your child’s teacher about too much homework
- Out-of-district placement: How it works
- The school holiday party that helped me see beyond my son’s reading progress
- The emotional toll of slow processing speed on my daughter
- When college professors refuse accommodations: 5 things to know
- How to help your child deal with college rejection
- Small success: My son with ADHD stood up to a bully
- Good grades, bad tests scores: My daughter’s story
- How to help your child seek out support for common problems in college
- I’m letting go of the shame I felt about my ADHD and learning disabilities
- What to bring to an IEP meeting
- 6 self-advocacy sentence starters for grade-schoolers with ADHD
- 6 steps for breaking down assignments
- 9 reasons kids don’t finish their reading homework
- The difference between teasing and bullying
- Private evaluations: What you need to know
- What to do if your child is losing IEP services
- Should my child study for a special education evaluation?
- Who’s on the evaluation team at your child’s school
- 8 steps to take if your child is being bullied at school
- Evaluation rights: What you need to know
- Why kids with executive function challenges have trouble with planning
- Why fourth grade can be hard for kids
- My child just got expelled. What happens to the 504 plan?
- Types of tests for executive function challenges
- Preparing for an evaluation
- 10 smart responses for when the school cuts or denies services
- How competence anchors can help kids overcome fear of failure in school
- 5 things not to say to your child about dysgraphia
- 9 tips to keep grade-schoolers from “checking out” at the end of the school year
- 8 tips to help middle-schoolers cope with test anxiety
- 7 tips for building a good relationship with your child’s teacher
- 9 important terms to know for school visits
- Can the school require my child to take ADHD medication?
- How can I get my child’s teachers to recognize processing speed as a real issue?
- New challenges kids face in high school
- New challenges kids face in middle school
- The school says my child needs to repeat third grade. What can I do?
- ADHD and cheating
- The 3 types of self-control
- 7 reasons kids with ADHD often rush through homework
- What is a neuropsychological evaluation?
- What is cyberbullying?
- 8 steps to advocating for your child at school
- What’s in an IEP
- The difference between tutors and educational therapists
- Download: Homework contract for your child
- Types of school discipline
- My child with ADHD is being disciplined at school for things they can’t control. What can I do?
- Video: My experience with ADHD in school
- Video: My experience with dyslexia and bullying
- What to write in an email to your child’s teacher
- Two Black women talk about the teen with ADHD put in juvie for not doing homework
- Resources for parents coping with their own difficult school experiences
- Building self-compassion skills
- What pushes your buttons?
- School trauma and the fight, flight, freeze response
- Conversation starters to use with your child’s teachers
- School was hard for me. Now my child is struggling, and it’s bringing up a lot.
- Download: Parent-teacher conference worksheet
- What can I do if my child’s teacher takes recess away?
- Download: Find out why your child doesn’t like going to school
- 3 ways to help make field trips go well for kids with sensory processing challenges
- What is least restrictive environment (LRE)?
- Download: School contact lists
- 10 ways to help grade-schoolers manage sensory processing challenges
- Social problems at school: How and when to jump in
- How to help kids with tricky math homework
- Bullying fact sheet
- All about private schools and kids who learn and think differently
- 5 conversation starters for discussing teaching approaches with teachers
- Printable: Help families prepare for parent-teacher conferences
- What’s the difference between structured literacy and balanced literacy?
- How I adapted to big lecture classes in college
- Download: Parent-teacher conference surveys
- Pros and cons of disclosing learning and thinking differences in college
- Download: Back-to-school introduction letters
- How to calm first-day-of-school nerves in different grades
- Why do some kids write numbers backwards?
- The difference between a high school diploma and a high school certificate
- Why some kids clown around in class
- Understanding why kids struggle with writing
- Fourth-grade math: Why it’s hard for kids
- School refusal: What it means when kids won’t do schoolwork
- 7 tips for jump-starting the second half of the school year
- Why kids don’t hand in their work (even if they did it)
- Why some kids struggle with math word problems
- Video: Mother and daughter take their dyslexia story to Washington
- Video: From high school dropout to college student and youth advocate
- How to defend kids from bullies
- 8 study tips to help middle-schoolers with dyslexia
- What can teachers say when families raise concerns about their child?
- Understanding evaluation results and next steps
- 5 steps to work with your pediatrician when your child is struggling
- The difference between discipline and punishment
- 6 unexpected signs that your child is frustrated at school
- 7 common myths about discipline
- Video: Should I get my child evaluated? Advice from a mom (and expert)
- Video: Actor Bex Taylor-Klaus on being kicked out of school and embracing “different wiring”
- STEM stars who learn and think differently
- How to rebuild self-esteem in the new school year
- Video: Inside a dyslexia evaluation
- Tutoring options: Pros and cons
- Homework anxiety: Why it happens and how to help
- The changes in teaching between third and fourth grade
- Why kids have trouble understanding math symbols
- Second-grade math: Why it’s hard for kids
- Needles on my brain dyslexia art
- Why kids struggle with estimating quantities