ADHD and Executive Function Strategies: Helping Children Thrive at Home, in Therapy, and in School

CPD

Planning Committee Disclosure - No relevant relationships

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

Handouts

Speaker

Cindy Goldrich, EdM Related seminars and products

PTS Coaching, LLC

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Cindy Goldrich, EdM, is a leading expert in ADHD, executive function, and behavioral management. As a mental health professional and globally recognized speaker and trainer, Cindy works with educators, mental health professionals, and allied professionals to provide evidence-based strategies for supporting children, teens, and parents in managing ADHD and executive function challenges.

Through her company, PTS Coaching, Cindy offers professional training, including the ADHD Parent Coach Academy and ADHD Teacher Trainer Academy, equipping professionals worldwide to coach parents and train educators in fostering student success. She also provides direct coaching for parents, helping them implement effective strategies to support their children’s growth and success.

Cindy is the author of 8 Keys to Parenting Children with ADHD and co-author of ADHD, Executive Function & Behavioral Challenges in the Classroom. She has trained thousands of professionals in research-based, practical interventions that improve learning, motivation, and behavior across educational and clinical settings. Her work bridges the gap between research and real-world application, empowering professionals and families to create structured, supportive environments where children with ADHD can thrive.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Cindy Goldrich maintains a private coaching practice and receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Cindy Goldrich is a contributing author to The ADHD Awareness Book Project: 365 Ways to Succeed with ADHD. She is the Co-Founder of the Long Island ADHD Professional Consortium.

Additional Info

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Objectives

1. Identify how neurodiversity-affirming approaches differ from traditional behaviorist models in supporting children with ADHD within their daily occupations of play, school, and self-care.
2. Examine how executive function challenges impact children’s ability to engage in learning, task initiation, self-regulation, and participation in routines.
3. Choose brain-based, trauma- and sensory-informed strategies that promote co-regulation, attention, and self-monitoring to enhance occupational performance.
4. Restructure challenging behaviors as forms of communication and apply strategies that strengthen participation in school, home, and peer contexts.
5. Integrate environmental and strengths-based tools that increase predictability, reduce stress, and support engagement in academic, social, and daily living activities.
6. Utilize collaborative coaching methods to guide caregivers and educators in shifting from compliance-based responses to connection-focused support that fosters children’s occupational success.

Outline

ADHD, Executive Function & Behavior

• Neurodiversity-affirming insights into ADHD and executive function differences
• How neurodevelopmental wiring affects learning, emotional regulation, and focus
• Common myths that contribute to shame and mislabeling
• The role of stress, emotional overload, and nervous system dysregulation
• Limitations of the research and potential risks

Promote Attention, Organization & Task Success

• Create environments that support predictability, regulation, and success
• Tools for scaffolding memory, planning, and task completion
• Strategies to boost engagement, motivation, and initiation without pressure
• Support classroom participation and homework routines through executive function strategies
• Experiential learning: Regulation simulation

Emotional Regulation & Strength-Based Behavior Support

• Responsive approaches to emotional intensity and dysregulation
• Help kids develop self-awareness, self-monitoring, and confidence
• Co-regulation strategies that build trust and safety
• Apply regulation supports to daily occupations like play, transitions, and self-care
• Hands-on learning: Co-regulation activities

Collaborative Coaching for Parents and Educators

• Guide adults to better understand and support neurodivergent learners
• Build routines and rituals that offer security, not control
• Reframe “challenging” behavior as communication
• Help caregivers shift from frustration to empathy and empowered partnership
• Address the limitations and risks of purely behaviorist models
• Group work: Brain breaks to support learning and emotional regulation

Target Audience

• Counsellors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Speech-language Pathologists
• Teachers
• School Administrators
• Occupational Therapists
• Occupational Therapy Assistants
• Nurses
• Other Helping Professionals Who Work with Children