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The beginning of every school year brings renewed hope. But as a parent to a child with ADHD, this can be a moment filled with anxiety and uncertainty.
You would want to trust that the coming year will be different, but deep down, you’re worried about the missed assignments, poor grades, emotional outbursts, and the struggles of keeping your child organized and focused.
ADHD and learning challenges are a common combo that can make your life—and your neurodivergent child’s life—more difficult than it needs to be.
The good news is that you can learn how to help a child with ADHD succeed in school. And once you do, you’ll feel more equipped to support your child’s growth, both in the classroom and beyond.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), also called attention deficit disorder (ADD), remains one of the most misunderstood and often mismanaged conditions today. But a growing body of research shows that improvement could be hidden in how your child eats, moves, or rests.
In this blog, you’ll get to learn about three proven, brain-based strategies that will help you unlock your child’s full learning potential.
You can learn how to help a child with ADHD succeed in school. And once you do, you’ll feel more equipped to support your child’s growth, both in the classroom and beyond.
One of the most beneficial ADHD school strategies is creating time for your child to engage in physical activities every day. Studies show that regular physical activity plays a vital role in supporting brain function and managing core symptoms of ADHD.
There is a strong relationship between exercise and ADHD, with research showing that consistent physical activity helps increase blood flow to the brain and boosts the production of feel-good chemicals like serotonin and dopamine.
Boosting these chemicals can support your child by helping them:
Even though they are intelligent and hardworking, children with ADHD often find it difficult to keep up, which can take an emotional toll on the entire family.
The good thing about it?
It doesn’t have to be complicated. You can take a nature walk with your child, dance to music, or take a 30-minute bike ride. Including movement in your child’s routine, more so during long breaks like summer, will not only support their brain health but also set the stage for improved behavior and better learning throughout the school year.
As you do this consistently, you will begin to notice some changes in your child. For instance, the emotional outbursts are likely to reduce in frequency, plus, they will have better focus in class and a calmer mind overall.
Food is not just fuel. It’s a key pillar in supporting brain health and the management of ADHD symptoms. Research on nutrition for ADHD kids highlights how targeted dietary choices can significantly improve focus, regulate emotions, and support better behavior.
Ensure your child’s diet is high in protein and low in refined sugar. It will help stabilize your child’s blood sugar levels and support the production of neurotransmitters like dopamine, which could be lacking in a child with ADHD.
Experiment with meals that are simple and family-friendly. To fuel your child’s brain, focus on:
Traditional mental health care approaches often rely on symptom checklists to diagnose ADHD, leading to cookie-cutter diagnoses and treatment for ADHD. But ADHD is not a single or simple mental health condition.
Based on the brain-imaging work at Amen Clinics involving over 250,000 brain scans, there are seven types of ADHD. Each ADHD type has its own unique pattern of brain activity and behavioral profile.
If these underlying brain activity patterns are not identified, treatment can involve a long process of trial and error. This can result in months or even years of added frustration for you and your child.
Related: Treating the Brain for 7 Types of ADHD
A comprehensive evaluation for ADHD should involve more than just symptom checklists. Neuropsychological assessments are key components that can help in the diagnostic process. Getting a brain scan for ADHD can also be beneficial.
Brain SPECT imaging, the advanced technology used at Amen Clinics, evaluates blood flow and activity in the brain. It goes beyond surface-level symptoms to provide a clear, visual understanding of how your child’s brain is functioning.
It can reveal areas of the brain with healthy activity, too much activity, or too little activity. In most types of ADHD, there’s a decrease in activity in an area called the prefrontal cortex. The PFC is involved in executive functions like planning, impulse control, judgment, follow-through, and learning from your mistakes.
Getting a SPECT scan for ADHD allows specialists to deliver a more accurate ADHD diagnosis.
Related: Brain SPECT Made Ridiculously Simple
Most ADHD treatment plans center on stimulant medications. But using prescription stimulants alone is bad treatment. Why?
Medication that works for one child may not work for another when it comes to managing ADHD. That’s because this common neurodevelopmental disorder isn’t a single, uniform condition. As you saw above, children may have one or more of the seven types of ADD, requiring a personalized treatment plan.
Giving a child the wrong ADHD medication can limit progress or exacerbate symptoms. And depending on standard medication alone isn’t enough.
The best way to treat ADHD goes beyond medication and should include a whole-child approach. Personalized ADHD treatment plans may involve:
Brain-based ADHD interventions focus on understanding your child’s specific brain functions. This allows you and your health care providers to choose the most effective strategies for their unique needs.
According to research, one child may benefit from dietary changes, while another child may respond well to targeted therapy or medication. Without such individualized approaches, treatment may be ineffective or could make a child’s symptoms worse.
When you understand the structure and functioning of your child’s brain, you’re better equipped to help them succeed at school, at home, and in life. This kind of approach is one that supports the growth of your child and reduces stress. It also improves the overall quality of life of your entire family.
Start establishing healthy routines as soon as possible. Introduce brain friendly meals, add nature walks, and establish a consistent sleep and wake up schedule, even on weekends.
These habits will help regulate your child’s mood and improve their focus as you prepare them for the structure of school. With a routine in place before the next academic year begins, your child will succeed both emotionally and academically.
While both involve mood changes, borderline personality disorder is defined by rapid, emotionally reactive shifts often triggered by relationships or fear of abandonment. Bipolar disorder involves longer mood cycles and distinct episodes of mania or depression. Accurate diagnosis is essential, and that’s why we use brain SPECT imaging to help distinguish between the two.
To determine your child’s ADHD type, it’s important to start by looking at what is happening inside their brain. A SPECT scan will provide a detailed image of how blood is flowing through their brain, as it shows areas that are underactive and overactive.
When paired with a detailed clinical evaluation and neuropsychological assessments, this brain-based diagnostic process will help clarify which of the seven ADHD types is present. This insight can guide a treatment plan tailored to your child’s specific needs.
ADHD and other mental health conditions can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we provide personalized, science-backed treatment plans designed to target the root causes of your symptoms. Our 360-approach includes brain SPECT imaging, clinical evaluations, innovative therapeutic techniques, medications (when necessary), and holistic lifestyle recommendations to promote the health of your brain, body, and mind. Speak to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here.
Mehren A., et al. Physical Exercise in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder—Evidence and Implications. Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul. January 2020;7:1. doi: 10.1186/s40479-019-0115-2. PMC6945516
Chan Y‑S, Jang J‑T, Ho C‑S. Effects of physical exercise on children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Biomed J. 2022 Apr;45(2):265–270. PMID: 34856393; PMCID: PMC9250090. doi: 10.1016/j.bj.2021.11.011
Lange, K. W., Lange, K. M., Nakamura, Y., & Reissmann, A. (2023). Nutrition in the management of ADHD: A review of recent research. Current Nutrition Reports, 12(4), 383–394. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-023-00487-8
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, October 22). ADHD in the classroom: Helping children succeed in school. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://www.cdc.gov/adhd/treatment/classroom.html