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
- 6 common fears for neurodivergent kids
- Can dyslexia cause headaches in kids?
- 6 steps to take after your child is diagnosed with ADHD
- Understanding developmental coordination disorder (DCD)
- Understanding why kids struggle with math
- 8 common myths about sensory processing challenges
- Neurodivergence fact sheet
- My son behaves at school but melts down at home — I found out why
- Sensory processing challenges and anxiety
- Trouble getting work done is real. Executive function challenges may be the culprit.
- The difference between ADHD and executive function challenges
- What is written expression disorder?
- What is executive function?
- Does processing speed vary from task to task?
- Types of neurodivergence that cause trouble with time management
- 6 benefits of having your child evaluated
- 6 ways kids use flexible thinking to learn
- Understanding evaluation results and next steps
- Pediatric neuropsychologists: What you need to know
- All about twice-exceptional students
- Dyslexia fact sheet
- Download: Anxiety log to find out why your child gets anxious
- I just found out my child has slow processing speed. Now what?
- Understanding sequential memory: Challenges and strategies for support
- Language disorder fact sheet
- Written expression disorder fact sheet
- Download: Log to find out why your child gets frustrated
- ADHD fact sheet
- Sensory processing challenges fact sheet
- Understanding why kids struggle with reading
- Trouble with executive function at different ages
- What is working memory?
- Through My Eyes
- Cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS): What it is and how it relates to ADHD
- Requesting an evaluation
- Learning about evaluations
- What is slow processing speed?
- What is neurodiversity?
- Understanding impulsivity in kids
- Sensory seeking and sensory avoiding: What you need to know
- What is dyslexia?
- What is dyscalculia?
- What causes left-right confusion?
- Why some kids get stomachaches before school
- How ADHD affects sleep — and what you can do to help
- ADHD and seasonal affective disorder
- Why kids struggle with movement and coordination
- 4 reasons kids get anxious about reading — and how to help
- Why do kids fidget?
- ADHD and sensory overload
- Homework anxiety: Why it happens and how to help
- Why some kids get overexcited
- Why some kids struggle with math word problems
- Why some kids talk nonstop
- Why kids have trouble understanding or remembering what they read
- Why some kids don’t listen
- Understanding why kids have trouble managing emotions
- Understanding hyperactivity
- Why kids struggle with estimating quantities
- ADHD medication may not work. Then what?
- How ADHD can affect your sleep
- Stress and kids who learn and think differently
- How to handle a misdiagnosis
- ADHD and the brain
- How doctors test for ADHD in adults
- What’s the difference between sluggish cognitive tempo and slow processing speed?
- What is ADHD?
- What is a functional behavioral assessment (FBA)?
- What is math anxiety?
- How to stop procrastinating
- Understanding receptive language disorder in your child
- ADHD burnout
- ADHD and menopause
- How to focus with ADHD
- Signs and symptoms of ADHD in adults
- What is AuDHD?
- Dyslexia signs in adults
- What causes ADHD
- What is autism?
- What is self-control?
- What is social communication disorder?
- What is dyspraxia?
- What is auditory processing disorder?
- What are nonverbal learning disabilities?
- What are gross motor skills?
- What are fine motor skills?
- What are learning disabilities?
- What are developmental delays?
- ADHD in boys
- ADHD in girls
- What are language disorders?
- What is visual-spatial processing?
- What your child’s anger might be telling you
- What is expressive language disorder?
- Understanding executive function challenges in your child
- Preparing for an evaluation
- Understanding written expression disorder in your child
- ADHD and creativity
- Understanding dyslexia in your child
- Understanding expressive language disorder in your child
- Is ADHD hereditary?
- Understanding ADHD in your child
- Is premature birth linked to learning and thinking differences?
- Is autism a learning disability?
- What’s the difference between learning disabilities and intellectual disabilities?
- Is there a “cure” for learning and thinking differences?
- Does exposure to fluoride cause ADHD?
- I’ve heard that autism and ADHD are related. Is that true?
- Why is my third grader suddenly having trouble reading?
- My late ADHD diagnosis gave me the freedom to stop explaining myself
- Dyscalculia fact sheet
- Why doesn’t dyslexia go away after proper reading instruction?
- A day in the life of a child with ADHD
- The challenges of twice-exceptional kids
- Can I get an fMRI scan to show that my daughter has dyslexia?
- Is dyspraxia a learning disability?
- Do kids outgrow dyspraxia?
- Are dyspraxia and DCD the same thing?
- Who can diagnose learning and thinking differences in adults?
- Is ADHD a learning disability?
- What’s the difference between “specific learning disability” and “learning disability”?
- 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?”
- A day in the life of a child with dyslexia
- Video: Inside a dyslexia evaluation
- Interoception and sensory processing challenges
- What causes trouble with self-control?
- Video: Dyslexia and the brain
- Is it ADHD or a sleep disorder?
- “Is ADHD real?” What experts say when people doubt ADHD
- The connection between slow processing speed and executive function
- Executive function issues: Possible causes
- Independent educational evaluations (IEEs): What you need to know
- 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
- The difference between ADD and ADHD
- 6 things I wish I’d known sooner about my son’s anxiety
- 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
- Learning and thinking differences that cause trouble with spelling
- ADHD and eating disorders
- How ADHD is diagnosed in adults
- Moving past the guilt of “giving” my son ADHD
- A day in the life of a teen with dyscalculia
- Understanding behavior as communication: A teacher’s guide
- ADHD explained: A 28-minute primer
- 8 things that go into an ADHD evaluation for a child
- 8 common myths about ADHD
- Private vs. school evaluations: Pros and cons
- How to help kids learn left from right
- Is ADHD a mental illness?
- 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
- I think my child has receptive language disorder. Now what?
- What is receptive language disorder?
- 7 steps to getting a private evaluation for your child
- Messy handwriting in kids: What you need to know
- What is sensory overload?
- 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
- Types of behavior assessments
- 5 common myths about dyspraxia
- Everyday challenges for people who struggle with executive function
- How I explain the relationship between ADHD and executive function challenges
- 4 ways lack of sleep affects how kids learn
- Motor planning: What you need to know
- Heavy work and sensory processing challenges: What you need to know
- 4 ways sensory challenges impact movement
- Slow processing speed fact sheet
- Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) fact sheet
- Video: Dyscalculia, dyslexia, and genetics
- Video: Why do ADHD and dyslexia co-occur so often?
- Video: How a diagnosis in adulthood changed one woman’s perspective
- Video: Should I get my child evaluated? Advice from a mom (and expert)
- Video: Executive function and the brain