Back to School Success for Students with ADHD, Executive Functioning, and Reading Challenges
Guest post for families by Carey Heller, Psy.D., a psychologist specializing in ADHD and executive functioning
In This Post
The start of a new school year can feel exciting: fresh notebooks, new teachers, new routines, and the hope that this year will go smoothly. But for many kids, especially those with ADHD, executive functioning challenges, dyslexia, or other reading struggles, it can also feel like a lot, all at once. Suddenly, they’re expected to keep track of assignments, read directions carefully, remember materials, move from one activity to the next, finish homework after a long day, and still get out the door on time in the morning.
In my work as a psychologist specializing in ADHD and executive functioning, I often remind families that these struggles are not about laziness, defiance, or a lack of intelligence. Reading challenges can add another layer. A child who is working hard to decode words, spell accurately, build fluency, or understand what they read may have fewer mental resources left for planning, organization, emotional regulation, and getting started on tasks. Some students simply need more support, more practice, and more external structure while those skills are still developing.
The good news? A few small, thoughtful changes at home can make the school year feel much more manageable. Here are some practical back-to-school strategies that can help your child feel more confident with reading, learning, and daily routines, especially when reading takes extra effort.
Start With A Clear Assignment System
Before the homework battles begin, it helps to make sure your child knows how assignments are given and where to find them. Are they posted online? Written on the board? Sent through a learning platform? Given verbally? For a child who struggles with reading, even finding and interpreting the assignment can be a challenge. Sometimes kids lose track of assignments not because they do not care, but because the system is confusing, inconsistent, text heavy, or spread across too many places.
At the beginning of the year, ask teachers how assignments will be shared, then help your child choose one dependable way to track them. That might be a paper planner, a digital checklist, a shared calendar, or a simple assignment tracker with checkboxes. If reading is hard, keep the system visually clear and uncluttered. The goal is not to find the fanciest system. It is to find one your child can realistically use.
Build Homework Blocks Around Real Life
A good homework routine does not have to mean starting the second your child walks in the door. Many kids with ADHD are mentally worn out after school, and struggling readers may be even more depleted if they have spent the day working harder than their classmates to read directions, take notes, spell words, or keep up with written work. A snack, some movement, and a short chance to decompress may actually make homework and reading practice go better than trying to push through immediately.
Take a look at your family’s real schedule, including sports, tutoring, therapy appointments, music lessons, dinner, and bedtime, and build homework blocks around that. Short, timed work periods with planned breaks usually work better than one long, open ended session. For reading practice, a predictable and doable routine often matters more than a marathon session. For a younger child, that might mean 10 to 15 minutes of reading or word work followed by a quick movement break. For an older student, it might mean using a timer, working in focused intervals, and checking off progress along the way.
Create A Workspace That Supports Attention
The “right” workspace is not always the quietest or most traditional one. Some students need a workspace with fewer distractions. Others focus better standing at a counter, sitting on a wobble stool, using a kick band, or having a quiet fidget tool nearby. The goal is to reduce distractions while still allowing the kind of movement that helps your child stay engaged.
It also helps to keep supplies in one predictable place: pencils, chargers, paper, headphones, sticky notes, decodable books, audiobooks when appropriate, bookmarks, and any reading tools your child uses. Fewer scavenger hunts usually mean fewer opportunities to drift away from the task.
Simplify The Morning Routine
Mornings can be tough because they involve so many transitions. For kids with ADHD, every extra decision or move from one room to another can make things harder. Try packing the backpack the night before, placing shoes and materials near the door, and using a short visual checklist for the essentials: get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, grab backpack, leave.
When you can, ask, “What does your checklist say comes next?” instead of repeating reminders again and again. This moves the routine away from a power struggle between parent and child and toward a system your child can learn to rely on.
Anchor The After-School Routine
After school, a predictable sequence can keep the backpack from turning into a black hole. For example: unpack the lunchbox, put papers in the parent review spot, eat a snack, move your body, check the assignment tracker, and then start the first homework or reading practice block. Keep the sequence visible and repeat it consistently until it becomes more automatic.
Use Schedules To Make Time Visible
Many students with ADHD experience time as “now” or “not now,” which can make homework deadlines, tutoring sessions, sports practices, and bedtime feel abstract until they suddenly become urgent. A visual or electronic schedule can help your child see what the week actually looks like. Include school events, reading tutoring, sports, appointments, homework blocks, reading practice, and downtime.
For students getting reading support, this can be especially helpful. Reading growth takes practice, and many tutoring approaches are designed to build skills such as phonological awareness, phonics, spelling, fluency, and comprehension over time. Practice is much easier to maintain when it has a predictable place in the routine. Even 10 to 15 minutes of reading at a consistent time can feel less overwhelming than a vague reminder to “read more.”
Keep Collaboration Warm And Proactive
If your child is working with a reading tutor, teacher, therapist, or executive functioning coach, it helps when the adults are on the same page. Share what helps your child get started, stay regulated, and recover from frustration. Ask what the tutor is noticing: Does your child lose focus after a certain amount of time? Do they avoid reading tasks that feel too hard? Do they do better when directions are read aloud, broken into smaller steps, or paired with visuals? Are spelling, fluency, or comprehension demands making the work feel bigger than it looks?
When adults share observations early, supports can be adjusted before small problems turn into big ones. The best plans are usually simple, consistent, and collaborative.
Progress Over Perfection
Back to school success is not about creating the perfect planner, the perfect workspace, or the perfect morning routine. It is about lowering the executive functioning load so your child has more energy left for learning, reading, spelling, connecting, and growing.
Start small. Choose one routine, one checklist, one reading practice time, or one assignment tracking system to practice for a few weeks. Notice what works, adjust what does not, and involve your child in the process. With the right scaffolding, students with ADHD, executive functioning challenges, and reading challenges can begin the school year with more confidence, and families can move through the season with a little less stress.
About the Author
Dr. Carey Heller is a licensed psychologist and the founding partner of The Heller Psychology Group LLC in Bethesda, Maryland. He specializes in the evaluation and treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), executive function challenges, learning disabilities, and related conditions. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Heller serves as an assistant clinical professor of clinical psychology at The George Washington University, where he provides assessment supervision to graduate students.
Dr. Heller blends traditional talk therapy with practical ADHD and executive function coaching to equip individuals with concrete tools for time management, organization, study skills, and daily task completion. For children, teens, and families, his work often focuses on navigating school-related demands, managing stress, establishing routines, and improving study efficiency.
Beyond his practice, Dr. Heller serves as the chair of the Editorial Advisory Board for CHADD's Attention Magazine, coordinator for the Montgomery County chapter of CHADD, and is on the board of Washington Independent Services For Educational Resources (WISER). He is a frequent author and speaker, sharing practical strategies on ADHD, executive functioning, and parenting across national and local platforms.
