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Why Time Management Feels So Hard – And What Time Blindness Has to Do With It

⏰  If your child always seems to be rushing, procrastinating, or completely losing track of time, you’re not alone – and neither is your child. Many students struggle with time management , but for those with ADHD or executive functioning challenges, it’s often more than just poor habits. It’s something called time blindness , and it’s genuine. What exactly do we mean by “time management” anyway? We often think of time management as simply being organized or getting things done on time. However, it’s actually much deeper than that. Time management is a key executive function – a set of mental skills that help us plan, prioritize, initiate tasks, and follow through. For students, time management shows up in many ways: Starting homework before it’s urgent Estimating how long something will take Breaking projects into smaller chunks Arriving on time and prepared When executive function skills are underdeveloped, these tasks feel overwhelming or even impossible. That’s where time bli...
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Why State Testing Doesn’t Tell the Full Story

Every spring, students across the country sit down for state standardized tests. For many families and teachers, these scores are treated like a final judgment: Are they on grade level? Are they behind? Are they “proficient”? But here’s the truth: standardized testing gives us a very narrow picture of a student’s abilities.  These tests are designed to measure broad academic skills – reading comprehension, math problem-solving, maybe some writing. They’re useful for identifying large-scale trends or school-wide performance. But when it comes to understanding an individual child’s strengths, struggles, and learning profile, standardized tests fall short.  Here’s why: They measure what’s been taught, not how a student learns. A student might score “below grade level” on a reading test – but is it because they can’t decode or because they have attention difficulties? Do they struggle with comprehension, or did they simply mismanage their time? They don’t reflect processing, worki...
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To Reward or Not Reward...in ADHD

This has been a hot topic of debate among professionals in the field for as long as motivation has been a topic of study.  There are many schools of thought, and you may get a different opinion depending on who you ask.   ADHD and Rewards In individuals with ADHD, rewards can trigger a dopamine response, a chemical reaction in the brain that plays a crucial role in motivation and pleasure. This chemical reaction, in turn, facilitates the completion of mundane tasks.  Dopamine levels are lower in people with ADHD.  In this, people with ADHD cannot derive any pleasure from boring things.  On top of that, they generally aren't "big picture" thinkers, so they don't see the benefit of completing the task in the long run.  Also, they tend to struggle with pushing through hard things.    Therefore, having rewards in place can provide the immediate release of dopamine that is required to push through a boring or challenging task.   Rules fo...
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What Exactly is Educational Therapy And Does My Child Need It?

"When a child is struggling in school, it takes a toll on their self-esteem and wellbeing.  They start to feel like there’s something wrong with them. An accurate diagnosis is the first step to changing that. Once it’s understood what skills a child is lacking, an educational therapist can help them get back on track in school and boost their confidence, too." (Caroline Miller, Child Mind Institute)  When kids are struggling in school, it can be a very challenging journey.  It's hard on the child's confidence, and the parents struggle with knowing what to do.  When children struggle with learning disabilities or attention difficulties, it can be an overwhelming experience.   Educational therapy is a growing field in learning challenges and disabilities.   Educational therapists are highly trained in learning challenges and offer personalized intervention, strategies, and techniques to support a child's specific learning needs. What is Educational ...
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Memory Matters: Nurturing the Power of Working Memory

      A lot of people, especially if you live in the ADHD world, have at least heard of the term "working memory."  However, how many people actually know what it means and how it affects everyday life?  The purpose of this blog is to describe what working memory is and how it affects learning, as well as daily life...for all of us.       We all have working memory.  There is a threshold for how much working memory we all hold, and it's different for all of us because we all have different wiring in our brains!  You can think of working memory as the "sticky note of our brain."   What is working memory?          - It's a system for temporarily holding and manipulating information          - It's a component of short-term memory Why do we need working memory?          - Problem-solving: when figuring out solutions to challenges or making decisions ...
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