While many children with ADHD have problems with EF, this doesn’t necessarily mean a child has ADHD. EF challenges are also common in autistic people, people with learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities or other forms of neurodivergence. Because EF continues to develop into adulthood, EF challenges can also be also a normal part of your child’s development.

If you suspect a concern with EF, it’s a good idea to share that concern with your child’s primary care provider. Learn how to bring up a concern with our how-to guide.

If you’re concerned about ADHD, you can also take a look at the red flags in our Attention Issues & ADHD Guide.

Some of the classroom accommodations that may benefit children with EF concerns include:

• Using visuals, timers, lists and color coding 
• Keeping consistent routines 
• Breaking larger projects into smaller tasks 
• Giving clear, step-by-step instructions 
• Checking in with students 
• Providing outlines or structured notes 
• Using graphic organizers
  

Understood has an article with more ideas or check out A Day in Our Shoes for printable lists.

Many children with EF concerns struggle with self-awareness – the ability to step back from the moment and take stock. Self-awareness is also a foundation for emotion regulation: before you can plan a response to an emotion, you have to know what you’re feeling.

Families can work with mental health professionals or sometimes speech-and-language pathologists (SLP) to start building this type of emotional intelligence. Another great way to help your child is by naming emotions and talking about them when they happen.

For help finding a mental health provider, check out our how-to guide. You can also search for providers in the directory or Ask Us for personalized suggestions.