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How to help your child with ADD/ADHD flourish.

Find the support, advice, and resources to help your child with ADD/ADHD succeed—in class, at home, and beyond.

At Varsity Tutors, your child’s success is our top priority. They deserve an education from people who “get them” and understand how ADD/ADHD affects them. And you deserve a partner to help you navigate the unknowns of ADD/ADHD. That’s where we come in.

Get ADD/ADHD help from experienced tutors.

Making sure your child gets the right level of ADD/ADHD help means matching them with a tutor who knows what they’re doing—someone who knows the given subject matter AND how to teach a child with ADD/ADHD.

That’s why every tutor and instructor must go through an exhaustive vetting process that includes:

Completing in-depth interviews
Showing subject-specific knowledge in a simulated session
Demonstrating different teaching methods based on how different students learn
Proving their ability to educate virtually
Passing all academic and personal background checks
Completing a secondary review of certifications
Showing experience with IEPs or 504 plans

Let's find the exact right tutor for your child with ADD/ADHD.

Your child is unique and they learn in their own unique way, with ADD/ADHD or not. So to find the right tutor for them, we start with a conversation about their needs and goals. With the insights you share, we factor in over 90 additional criteria to pinpoint the tutor or class that can make the biggest impact.

Terri

Executive Function and Learning Differences Educator
Known for: Being patient with students and helping them ignite that "spark"

Heather

Executive Function and Learning Differences Educator
Known for: Using creative materials and strategies to increase retention and effectiveness

Melody

Executive Function and Learning Differences Educator
Known for: Designing lessons that inspire according to a student’s needs

The Live Learning Platform

Academic support delivered in the right way.

Our innovative Live Learning Platform combines video, interactive tools, and collaborative workspaces to unlock new potential for students with ADD/ADHD. With the proper setup (we recommend headphones and a quiet space), your child can stay more focused and may even feel like they’re sitting next to their tutor.

Meet with the right tutor, wherever they are.

The best tutor for your child is rarely in your neighborhood. With online tutoring on the Live Learning Platform, we can connect them to the best tutor for their needs regardless of geography.

Experience focused engagement.

By combining purpose-built tools with collaborative workspaces and 2-way video with their tutor, the platform helps your student stay focused on the task at hand.

Rewatch and relearn with recorded sessions.

Every tutoring session that happens on our platform is recorded. If your child can’t remember how a problem was solved or forgot a key piece of info, just rewind and rewatch.

Small Group Classes

Group learning for added confidence.

When a student begins to fall behind, they’re often singled out for special help. Depending on the school size, they might be the only ones. They may feel isolated and get picked on. But they aren’t alone. With our Special Education Small Group Classes, we can put your child in a class with kids at the same level from across the country. As they learn alongside students with similar struggles from experienced instructors who know how to teach ADD/ADHD students, you may be surprised by an increase in their confidence and academic performance.

Executive Function Small Groups
Explore Classes

Special Education Math Collection
Explore Classes

Special Education Reading Comprehension Collection
Explore Classes

Special Education Reading Fluency Collection
Explore Classes

a girl with braids learns at her computer

Getting an ADD/ADHD diagnosis.

School districts vary on how they help ADD/ADHD students who fall behind. Some districts do their own evaluations and place students on an IEP or 504 plan, which are essential for getting additional services.

If a school will not do an assessment, parents must find a 3rd-party organization to do an evaluation to get a diagnosis. It’s often best to start with your primary care physician to get recommendations for where to get an evaluation. The cost of the evaluation may or may not be covered by your health insurance provider. Once diagnosed, school districts are required to provide the additional services to help your child.

Advocating for your child with ADD/ADHD.

As a parent, having a child who struggles with ADD/ADHD is hard enough. When you layer on the complexities of the Special Education system, it can be overwhelming. But the more you understand what services your child needs, what they are entitled to from the school, and how to ask, the better off you’ll be.

Students diagnosed with learning differences like ADD/ADHD may be placed on either an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or a 504 Plan.

IEP

An IEP is an Individualized Education Plan. When a student is unable to meet the goals within their larger class, individual goals that are achievable and measurable are created with the intention of helping the student continue to make forward progress at the appropriate pace.

504 Plan

A 504 Plan is a list of accommodations the school is committing to and is designed to help a student work within the school environment. Examples of accommodations include, but are not limited to, extra time to take tests, sitting near the front of the class to avoid distractions, modified or reduced homework, and even permission to use a fidget toy during class.

Learn from an expert.

For additional insights and tips, watch this special presentation with clinical scientist and author Dr. Russell A. Barkley.

Find the right academic approach.

Once you understand the root cause or diagnosis of your student’s learning challenges, the next step is getting the right academic support. It’s important to note that if a school isn’t finding success with a typical approach, spending more time doing the same thing probably won’t change the outcome. In most cases, a child with ADD/ADHD learns best when they are highly motivated and challenged. Varsity Tutors offers tutors and instructors who understand the attention and time management challenges these students face. Tutors provide support to help these students be more successful.

Because confidence can go a long way.

When a child faces academic challenges due to ADD/ADHD, they often suffer from a loss of confidence and lower self esteem. Because their struggles are often surfaced in front of classmates, bullying can quickly become a serious problem.

All these factors can take their toll, to say the least. But this is where academic support in the form of 1-on-1 Tutoring or a Small Group Class can really make a difference. Your child can work privately with an expert or they can learn alongside students just like them. As they see they aren’t alone and they have a safe place to work, their self confidence improves right along with their reading ability.

Getting help with ADD/ADHD through technology.

Several new technologies have changed the way we learn and teach in countless ways. In fact, several of these developments have created opportunities to put new tools in the hands of students with ADD/ADHD to help them with their academics.

Instant Tutoring is just one of the ways we can use technology to help your ADD/ADHD child. Whenever they get stuck on a problem or could use some quick help, they can connect with a tutor on our Live Learning Platform and get the answers or the help they need.

Be sure to check out these sites for more innovative solutions:
https://www.google.com/accessibility/
https://www.apple.com/accessibility/
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility

And watch our inclusive and equitable education presentation with Microsoft