Non-Medication · Ages 6–21 · Rochester, MN
ADHD & Executive Function Coaching
Our ADHD coaching program delivers evidence-based, non-pharmacologic interventions for children and adolescents who struggle with attention, planning, organization, and impulse control. Coaching builds real-world skills that translate to school, home, and daily life.
What's Included
Each ADHD & executive function coaching engagement includes:
- Initial goal-setting and skills assessment session
- Weekly 45-minute coaching sessions (in-person or virtual)
- Personalized executive function strategy plan
- Parent check-ins and home-implementation guidance
- Optional school-team coordination (with consent)
- Progress reviews every 4–6 weeks
- Physical movement guided coaching integration into daily skills.
What ADHD Coaching Is — and Isn't
ADHD doesn't go away when the school bell rings or when a prescription is filled. Most kids and teens with ADHD know what they're supposed to do — they just can't reliably get themselves to do it. The gap between knowing and doing is exactly where executive function coaching lives.
Coaching is not therapy, not tutoring, and not a lecture about trying harder. It is structured, weekly, one-on-one work with a clinician who helps your child build the practical systems their brain needs to start tasks, manage time, organize materials, regulate emotions, and follow through. Sessions are concrete — we use your child's real backpack, real calendar, real assignments.
At Mind Matters, coaching is delivered by clinicians trained in evidence-based ADHD interventions, with board-certified neuropsychology oversight. That means the strategies we use are grounded in research — and tailored to the specific profile of your child's brain.
Our ADHD/Executive Functioning program is a personalized strategy plan to help children and adolescents who struggle with attention, planning, organization, and impulse control. Coaching that integrates targeted aerobic and coordinated movements will work to build real-world skills that translate to school, home, and daily life.
Where We Focus
Coaching is collaborative, concrete, and tailored to each young person's strengths and goals.
Attention strategies
Practical techniques to sustain focus during school, homework, and daily tasks.
Organizational systems
Personalized routines for backpacks, binders, schedules, and digital tools.
Time management
Estimating, planning, and following through on tasks without overwhelm.
Homework habits
Sustainable study routines that reduce nightly battles at home.
Emotional regulation
Tools to recognize, name, and manage big feelings before they take over.
Self-advocacy
Confidence and language to ask for what they need at school and beyond.
Who Coaching Is a Good Fit For
- Kids and teens with a formal ADHD diagnosis who need real-world skills, not just medication
- Students who understand the material but lose points for missing or late work
- Families exhausted by nightly homework battles, lost assignments, and last-minute scrambles
- Teens transitioning to middle or high school where executive demands suddenly spike
- High-school and college-bound students preparing for greater independence
- Families who want a non-medication option alongside — or instead of — medical management
How Coaching Works
1. Goal-setting intake
We start with the family and the young person together to name what's actually getting in the way — and what success would look like in their own words.
2. Weekly 1:1 coaching
Sessions are concrete and skills-based: build a system, try it for a week, troubleshoot together. We meet the student where they are, not where a textbook says they should be.
3. Family & school loop-in
Brief caregiver check-ins keep parents aligned without taking over. With permission, we can coordinate with teachers, tutors, and IEP/504 teams.
4. Fade & generalize
The goal is independence. As skills stick, sessions space out and the student carries the systems forward on their own.
What Families Notice
More work finished, less nagging
Students learn to start tasks, track them, and turn them in — without a parent acting as their prefrontal cortex.
Calmer evenings at home
When homework has a system, the whole house de-escalates. Families report fewer meltdowns and more downtime.
Confidence and self-knowledge
Young people stop thinking 'I'm lazy' and start thinking 'I have an ADHD brain and here's what works for it.'
Frequently Asked Questions
How is coaching different from therapy or tutoring?
Therapy focuses on mental health and emotional processing. Tutoring focuses on specific academic content. ADHD coaching focuses on the how — how to start, plan, organize, follow through, and self-monitor. It's skills-based, action-oriented, and built around your child's real schedule and assignments.
Does my child need a diagnosis to start?
No. Many of our coaching clients have a formal ADHD or executive function diagnosis, but a diagnosis is not required. If you suspect ADHD is part of the picture, we can also refer for evaluation through our pediatric neuropsychology service.
How often and how long are sessions?
Coaching is typically weekly, 45–60 minutes, and runs in flexible blocks (often 8–12 sessions to start). Many families taper to bi-weekly or monthly check-ins as skills become independent.
Is coaching in-person or virtual?
Both options are available. In-person coaching happens at our Rochester office; virtual coaching is offered for families across SE Minnesota who prefer telehealth.
Can coaching replace ADHD medication?
Coaching is an evidence-based, non-pharmacologic intervention that can be used on its own or alongside medication. Medication decisions stay between your family and your prescribing provider — we focus on the skills and systems side.
Do you work with the school?
Yes, with your written permission. We can coordinate with teachers, school counselors, and IEP/504 teams to make sure the strategies we're building in coaching are reinforced in the classroom.