ADHD Support: How to Know When Your Child Needs More Help
Originally published November 26, 2025
ADHD support can make a meaningful difference when a child is struggling in school. Many parents wonder if the challenges their child faces are “normal,” a phase, or something deeper. If your child has ADHD, or you strongly suspect it, you may be noticing struggles that feel heavier than typical school stress. ADHD often impacts far more than learning, negatively affecting a student’s emotions, motivation, and confidence in ways that often go unseen by teachers.
This guide will help you recognize the signs that ADHD tutoring or ADHD coaching may benefit your child, and how the right support can transform your child’s day-to-day life.
Additionally, I’ll share when to consider working with an ADHD tutor, an ADHD coach, or someone who blends both, like our team at Strive Learning Solutions.
What Does ADHD Look Like in Real Life?
Every child with ADHD is unique, but there tend to be predictable patterns that show up across school, home, and daily routines.
Here are some signs your child may benefit from specialized ADHD support:
1. Difficulty Starting Tasks
Homework may be sitting right in front of them, but getting started feels impossible for them.
This isn’t laziness; it’s an incredibly common executive functioning struggle.
2. Trouble Staying Organized
Lost worksheets. Missing backpacks. Messy planners.
Even the most simple of systems feel overwhelming.
3. Emotional Overwhelm
Big emotions hit fast and they’re hard to manage: frustration, shutdowns, or tears during homework or transitions. Self-regulation becomes nearly impossible when they’re tired, stressed, or hungry.
4. Inconsistent Performance
One week, they’re turning everything in. The next, their homework is incomplete, crumpled in their backpacks.
One week, they’ve mastered a skill. The next, it’s completely foreign to them.
ADHD can cause wild swings in productivity based on interest, energy, or stress.
5. Difficulty Following Multi-Step Directions
The reason may be unclear, but the evidence is clear: They quickly become lost when they’re given more than a one-step direction.
6. Homework Battles That Exhaust Everyone
If evenings feel like a daily fight, your child may need external, structured support beyond what you can provide at home.
If any of these resonate with you, ADHD tutoring or ADHD coaching may be a strong fit.
How ADHD Affects School Success
ADHD isn’t a problem with intelligence; it’s a challenge with executive functioning skills that make learning, organization, and planning possible.
Executive Functioning Skills That Often Lag
- Organization
- Task initiation
- Planning
- Time management
- Working memory
- Emotional regulation
When these skills lag, school becomes utterly exhausting, even for bright students.
Academic Areas That Often Suffer
For students with ADHD, their classwork becomes doubly as challenging: they must not only learn the content, but they must do this with a developing executive functioning skill set.
- Writing (task initiation, organizing ideas, staying focused)
- Reading (attention, short-term memory)
- Math (multi-step processes, problem-solving steps)
- Long-term projects (planning, breaking tasks down)
ADHD tutoring supports both the academic and executive functioning layers of these struggles.
What ADHD Support Actually Does
Many parents think tutoring means “homework help,” but true ADHD tutoring or ADHD coaching is much deeper.
A high-quality ADHD tutor focuses on:
1. Executive Functioning Skill Development
This is huge. Tutors not only support students in their classwork, but they also teach students systems for:
- Prioritizing assignments
- Managing deadlines
- Breaking down tasks
- Organizing materials
- Planning and pacing work
- Building stronger emotional regulation strategies
2. Personalized Academic Support
Students with ADHD benefit from highly specialized support, not generic worksheets.
3. Confidence Building
ADHD can wear down self-esteem. A great ADHD coach helps students feel capable, independent, and proud of their progress.
4. Consistency & Accountability
An ADHD tutor becomes a safe, predictable support system, one who guides, encourages, and teaches in a way that is far more receptive to children than their parent.
Signs Your Child Would Benefit from ADHD Support
Here are several indicators your child is ready for expert ADHD support:
✔ They melt down or shut down during homework
✔ They’re bright but underperforming
✔ They lose assignments or forget instructions
✔ They need constant reminders
✔ They feel overwhelmed easily
✔ They want to do well, but can’t keep up
✔ You are providing more support than what feels sustainable
✔ They’re becoming anxious, frustrated, or defeated
How ADHD Tutoring and ADHD Coaching Work Together
Some children need more academic support.
Some need more executive functioning support.
Many need both.
At Strive Learning Solutions, our ADHD-informed tutors blend:
- ADHD tutoring
- Executive functioning coaching
- Structured executive functioning instruction
- Emotional and academic support
This approach helps students become more independent, confident, and capable—at home and at school.
Looking for ADHD Support?
You don’t have to navigate this alone, and your child doesn’t have to struggle this hard.
Strive offers:
We support K–12 students virtually nationwide and have ADHD specialists with deep training and experience.
Book your free consultation today to see if ADHD tutoring at Strive is the right fit for your child.
FAQs
How do I know if my child needs ADHD tutoring?
If your child struggles with task initiation, organization, emotional overwhelm, or inconsistent school performance, ADHD tutoring can help. These are common signs of executive functioning challenges that benefit from structured support.
What’s the difference between ADHD tutoring and ADHD coaching?
ADHD tutoring blends academic support with executive functioning skills like planning, organization, and time management. ADHD coaching focuses more on skill-building and independence. Many students benefit from a combination of both.
Can ADHD tutoring help even without an official diagnosis
Yes. Many students with ADHD traits benefit from support long before a diagnosis is made. If your child shows patterns like overwhelm, forgetfulness, difficulty starting tasks, or inconsistent performance, ADHD tutoring can be highly effective.
What does an ADHD tutor actually do during sessions?
A high-quality ADHD tutor teaches executive functioning strategies, provides personalized academic support, and builds routines for planning, organization, and follow-through. Sessions focus on consistency, confidence, and helping students feel more in control of school.
Does ADHD tutoring improve school performance and confidence?
Absolutely. With the right support, students develop tools to manage their time, stay organized, reduce overwhelm, and complete work more independently. As executive functioning improves, academic performance and confidence rise together.
