Back-to-School Routines That Actually Stick for ADHD Kids
The morning, after-school, and bedtime routines that finally worked for our ADHD kids, what to do when a routine breaks down, and why predictable beats perfect.
Homework and routines
Homework that should take twenty minutes takes three hours and ends in tears, sometimes yours. Mornings are a battle every single day. You made the chart, you made the checklist, and it worked for about a week before everyone stopped looking at it. I hear that same story from parents every week.
The chart was built for what a typical kid that age is supposed to manage. A neurodivergent 10-year-old can be a few years behind on planning and time, and that's the brain, not the effort. We size the routine to the kid you actually have, put it where they can see it, and build it to survive the bad days, not just the good ones.
Start with these
Free resource
Get the free Pills Don't Teach Skills worksheet
Medication can open the door, but your kid still has to learn the skills. This free worksheet covers starting ADHD medication for your child: which changes to expect and when, which side effects level out and which are red flags, why sensory issues can show up, and what to track for the doctor.
For more, check out these Resources!
Book
Late, Lost, and Unprepared
Joyce Cooper-Kahn, Laurie Dietzel
Two psychologists, Joyce Cooper-Kahn and Laurie Dietzel, on executive functioning for parents: what it is, why your kid can know exactly what to do and still not do it, and how to support them at home and at school without doing it for them. Routines, homework, and the morning rush. For the parent of the kid who is late, lost, and unprepared, as the title says, and not for lack of trying.
Podcast
The Autism ADHD Podcast
Holly Blanc Moses
For parents and teachers of Autistic and ADHD kids who want the practical school-and-home version.
Holly Blanc Moses is a licensed clinician and AuDHD herself, and her show is for the adults around autistic and ADHD kids: parents, teachers, and therapists. Behavior, school, and what it looks like when autism and ADHD show up in the same kid at the same time. Her exact license title varies across pages, and her BCBA credential may concern some autistic advocates. For the people raising and teaching those kids.
YouTube channel
Lives in the Balance
Ross Greene, PhD
Ross Greene created Collaborative & Proactive Solutions, and this channel teaches it: how to work with a kid whose behavior keeps blowing up instead of trying to punish it out of him. Meltdowns, explosive behavior, and school. It isn't specific to ADHD or autism. For parents and teachers of a kid who has already failed every sticker chart in the house.