Back-to-school season brings new routines and expectations, which can be especially challenging for students with ADHD. Adjusting to new teachers, busy schedules, and increased homework can place added demands on executive functioning skills such as organization, time management, planning, and sustained attention.
Students with ADHD often struggle to complete assignments on time, keep track of materials, manage their schedules, and stay focused during longer tasks. However, concrete tools and consistent routines can make a significant difference in their long-term success. By setting up effective strategies at the beginning of the school year, like the ones detailed below, you can help your child develop stronger habits, build independence, and feel more self-confident.
For additional strategies, read How to Improve Organizational Skills for Students with ADHD from Knowledge Plus Tutoring at How to Improve Organizational Skills for Students with ADHD - Knowledge Plus Tutoring.
1. Establish a Consistent School Routine for Your Child With ADHD
Consistent routines can be very helpful for students with ADHD. When activities happen at approximately the same time and in the same order every day, students have fewer decisions to make and are less likely to forget important tasks and obligations.
At the start of the school year, set up consistent routines for:
- Waking up
- Getting ready for school
- Packing backpack
- Completing homework
- Preparing for the following day
- Going to bed
For younger students, a visual checklist can be helpful, making the routine easier to follow. Older students may prefer a written checklist, planner, calendar, or digital reminder system.
Ideally, you should not manage every step of your child’s schedule; instead, encourage them to gradually manage their responsibilities more independently.
2. Create an ADHD-Friendly Homework Space
Students with ADHD tend to be easily distracted by what is happening around them. Phone notifications, a television playing in the background, or even a cluttered workspace can make it challenging for them to maintain focus and stay on task.
At the start of the school year, help your child set up a designated homework area that is organized and free from distractions - ideally a desk in their room, but a space at a communal table can work too. This space should have all the supplies they need for completing their schoolwork, such as pencils, paper, calculators, and highlighters, so your child doesn’t wander around mid-study session looking for materials.
Some students focus best in a quiet environment, while others prefer some background noise. Try to identify what works best for your child rather than assuming that the same setup will work for every student.
3. Break Down Assignments for Students with ADHD
For students with ADHD, long-term projects or multiple assignments can feel overwhelming. Instead of telling your child to “just finish their work,” help them break their assignments into smaller, more manageable steps.
For example, instead of saying, “complete your social studies project,” help them come up with a plan such as:
- Choose a topic
- Find sources
- Take notes
- Create an outline
- Write the first section
- Complete each section
- Edit the project
- Prepare the final presentation
By breaking larger assignments into smaller, more manageable steps, your child will find it easier to get started on and complete their tasks in an efficient manner.
4. Teach Your Child with ADHD to Use a Planner
A planner can be a key component to your child’s success if they use it consistently.
At the beginning of the school year, help your child come up with a system for recording their homework, tests, projects, after-school activities, and other responsibilities. Some children prefer a paper planner, while others prefer an electronic calendar or school-based digital system.
Encourage your child to check their planner at set times each day, such as at the end of the school day and before they start their homework.
For long-term assignments, teach your child to work backward from the assignment’s due date. If a project is due in three weeks, for example, help them identify the steps that need to be completed each day or on set days and put those steps in their planner, rather than waiting until the night before it is due.
If your child continues to struggle with planning, organization, and homework completion, learn more about how to find the right ADHD tutor for your child at ADHD Tutoring Near Me: How to Find the Right Tutor for Your Child - Knowledge Plus Tutoring.
5. Use Timers to Improve ADHD Homework Focus
Students with ADHD often struggle to estimate how long tasks will take to complete and recognize how much time has passed.
Timers can help make time feel more visible and manageable for students with ADHD. When using a timer, your child can break studying or homework into shorter, more manageable segments, making it easier to maintain focus and stay productive. For example, they might work on a task for 25 minutes, take a 5-minute break, and then start studying again for another focused work period.
The ideal length of a work period can vary based on age and individual preferences. Some children might start with 10 or 15 minutes of focused work time and then gradually increase this window, while older students may be able to maintain their attention for longer periods of time from the start.
The idea is to find a structure that helps your child work efficiently without becoming overwhelmed.
6. Build Movement Breaks into Homework Time
Sitting at a desk for a long period of time can be challenging for many students with ADHD. Encourage your child to integrate short, planned movement breaks into their study sessions to help maintain their attention.
In between assignments or work windows, your child might:
- Stretch
- Walk around their room
- Grab a drink
- Have a snack
- Do a few movements
- Step outside for a brief break
Encourage your child to keep these breaks short and predictable. An open-ended break with no time limit can easily turn into 45 minutes of distraction.
7. Create an Organizational System for School Papers
For students with ADHD, loose papers can quickly become a problem. They may complete their homework but forget to turn it in, misplace important forms, or lose study materials they need for an upcoming exam.
Help your child create an organizational system that they can realistically maintain. You may want to have them use color-coded folders, with a different color designated for each subject. Your child should also have specific locations for:
- Homework that needs to be completed
- Assignments that are completed but need to be turned in
- Papers that need your signature
- Study and homework materials
Try to keep the system as simple as possible to help ensure your child maintains it. Complicated organizational systems are often abandoned after just a few weeks.
8. Develop an ADHD Morning and Evening Routine
For many students, mornings can feel rushed and stressful, especially when they are trying to find their homework, grab their lunch, gather sports equipment, locate their shoes, and still get out the door on time.
To help combat this stress, help your child prepare as much as possible the night before.
An evening checklist for your child might include:
- Check the next day’s schedule
- Complete and pack their homework
- Charge their laptop or tablet
- Pack their sports or activity supplies
- Put their backpack by the door
- Choose clothes for the following day
With time, completing this routine will likely become more automatic and your child should begin to complete these steps independently, without your intervention.
9. Focus on One Organizational Skill at a Time
Your child may struggle with many different executive functioning skills, but it’s hard to work on all these skills at once. For example, your child may need to improve their time management, organization, task initiation, homework completion, and planning skills; trying to address all these areas at once can be overwhelming for them.
Instead of working on all these skills at once, start by identifying one skill that is creating the most difficulty for your child and begin there. If your child often completes their homework but forgets to turn it in, for instance, focus on developing a system for turning in assignments regularly before moving onto other skills.
Once that habit becomes more consistent, then move on to another skill, and so on.
10. Communicate With Teachers About Your Child’s ADHD
Communicating with your child’s teacher early on can help identify problems early, before they become bigger academic concerns.
Tell your child’s teacher about strategies that have worked well in the past. Ask them how they post homework assignments and long-term projects, and how you can find out about any missing work.
For students with an IEP or 504 Plan, the start of the school year is also a great time to review your child’s accommodations and make sure their teacher understands the support your child needs.
11. Praise Effort, Progress, and Independence
Students with ADHD often receive negative feedback, including frequent reminders about what they forgot or neglected to complete. Over time, this can be discouraging and they can lose motivation to work hard and excel.
Try to praise your child’s progress, focus on positive rather than negative language.
Rather than putting emphasis on a final grade, acknowledge their behaviors with language like:
- “I’m so proud of you for remembering to check your assignment book without being reminded.”
- “You did a great job starting your science project several days before it was due.”
- “Nice job packing everything you needed for tomorrow on your own.”
By recognizing these behaviors, you’ll reinforce effective habits that can lead to improved independence.
12. When to Consider ADHD Tutoring or Executive Functioning Coaching
Even with these strategies and routines, your child may continue to struggle. You may notice frequent missing assignments, challenges starting homework, poor time management, declining grades, reduced motivation, or increased frustration as the academic demands grow.
In these situations, individualized tutoring or executive functioning support may help your child tremendously.
At Knowledge Plus Tutoring, we specialize in providing one-on-one academic tutoring and executive functioning coaching to students with ADHD and other learning challenges. We help students strengthen their organization, planning, time management, and homework management skills, while also providing individualized academic tutoring based on each student’s individual needs.
Knowledge Plus Tutoring provides customized, research-based tutoring to students in Boca Raton and Orlando, as well as virtually throughout Florida. Students who receive Step Up For Students scholarship funds may also be able to use these funds for one-on-one tutoring services.
If these challenges persist despite consistent support at home and school, learn more about how to know if your child needs an ADHD tutor at How to Know If Your Child Needs an ADHD Tutor - Knowledge Plus Tutoring.
13. Use Step Up for Students Funding for ADHD Tutoring
For Florida students who receive a Step Up for Students scholarship, tutoring may be one of the educational services they can use their scholarship funds to pay for. Depending on your child’s scholarship and eligibility, funds may be available for one-on-one academic tutoring and other approved educational services.
These specialized tutoring services can be particularly helpful for students with ADHD who need additional support with reading, writing, math, or executive functioning skills. Rather than waiting until your child falls significantly behind, consider putting individualized tutoring in place at the beginning of the school year.
Knowledge Plus Tutoring is a Step Up for Students-approved tutoring provider, offering individualized tutoring for students with ADHD, learning disabilities, and academic skills challenges. We create customized tutoring programs based on each child’s specific academic and executive functioning needs.
If your child receives Step Up for Students funding, contact Knowledge Plus Tutoring to learn more about using scholarship funds for tutoring services.
Florida families can learn more about using Step Up for Students funds for private tutoring at Can Step Up For Students Pay for Private Tutoring?
14. ADHD Tutoring in Boca Raton
For families seeking ADHD tutoring in Boca Raton, Knowledge Plus Tutoring provides individualized, one-on-one instruction to students who struggle with attention, organization, executive functioning, and academic skills.
Our Boca Raton tutoring program helps students strengthen their reading, writing, math, organization, time management, and planning skills. All tutoring sessions are customized to the needs of each student.
For students with ADHD, this individualized instruction can be especially valuable. Tutors can help students address academic skill gaps while also teaching them strategies for managing assignments, planning ahead, staying organized, and becoming more independent.
Knowledge Plus Tutoring works with students from Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and surrounding Palm Beach County communities. We are also an approved Step Up for Students tutoring provider, allowing eligible Florida families to use scholarship funds toward approved tutoring services.
15. ADHD Tutoring in Orlando
Knowledge Plus Tutoring provides ADHD tutoring in Orlando to students who need individualized academic and executive functioning support.
Our Orlando tutoring program is customized to each student’s unique needs. Students can receive one-on-one support in reading, writing, math, study skills, organization, time management, planning, and other executive functioning skills that are essential for academic success.
For Orlando families using Step Up for Students funding, eligible scholarship funds may be used for approved tutoring services. This funding can help families give their children individualized academic support while minimizing out-of-pocket tutoring costs.
Knowledge Plus Tutoring serves families in Orlando and surrounding communities, including Winter Park, Winter Garden, Lake Nona, and Dr. Phillips. Virtual tutoring is also available to students throughout Florida.
Helping Students with ADHD Start the School Year Strong
To start the school year successfully, students with ADHD don’t need to become perfectly organized overnight. Instead, the goal is to establish practical, manageable systems and gradually help your child develop the skills they need to become more independent and successful.
Consistent routines, effective organizational systems, scheduled breaks, and regular communication with your child’s teacher can make the school year feel much more manageable.
Remember to focus on effort and progress! When students learn strategies that work, they often become more motivated and confident, helping them achieve long-term success.
Frequently Asked Questions About Back-to-School Strategies for Students With ADHD
How can I help my child with ADHD become organized for school?
To help your child become more organized for school, start with a simple, easy-to-follow organizational system. Have them use color-coded folders for each subject, establish a regular spot for keeping school materials, create morning and evening checklists, and teach your child to look at their planner at the same times each day. Try to avoid introducing too many organizational strategies at once so your child doesn’t become overwhelmed.
How can students with ADHD stay focused on homework?
To help your child with ADHD stay focused on homework, set up a distraction-free workspace. Also encourage them to do shorter periods of focused work rather than trying to work for one large stretch of time. Have them integrate timers and scheduled movement breaks and encourage them to break larger assignments into smaller steps.
Why does my child with ADHD know the material but still receive poor grades?
Academic performance, including grades, depends on more than understanding concepts. Many students with ADHD know the material but struggle with their executive functioning skills such as remembering assignments, managing deadlines, organizing their materials, studying effectively, and turning in their work on time, all of which can negatively impact grades.
Can executive functioning skills be taught?
Yes! Students can absolutely learn strategies to improve their executive functioning skills. Tools for planning, organization, time management, task initiation, and self-monitoring can be taught to your child and should be practiced consistently. Many students benefit from learning specific strategies and receiving executive functioning coaching by an ADHD specialist until they can use the strategies independently.
When should I consider tutoring for a student with ADHD?
You may want to consider ADHD tutoring for your child if they have difficulties with attention, organization, executive functioning, or if they struggle with specific academic skills, like reading, writing, or math. Individualized tutoring can help fill academic skills gaps and help students develop strategies for managing their school responsibilities and personal obligations more effectively.
Dr. Emily Levy is the executive director of Knowledge Plus Tutoring and a special education expert. She holds her Doctorate Degree in Education and her Master’s Degree in Special Education, and has helped thousands of students with ADHD develop their academic and executive functioning skills over the past twenty years. She frequently speaks at national educational conferences and appears as an ADHD expert on podcasts. Dr. Levy is the author of the Strategies for Study Success, Flags and Stars Orton Gillingham, and Flags and Stars Multi-Sensory Math student workbook programs, all of which are used by students and schools nationwide. She has been featured in publications including Newsweek, Epoch Times, Autism Advocate Parenting Magazine, and Macaroni Kids.
