Therapy and coaching
Executive Function Coaching for Kids and Teens
Coaching that helps kids and teens with ADHD or learning differences plan, start and finish their work: programs that coach online, LA coaches who meet in person, prices, and what to ask first.
An executive functioning coach teaches a child or teen the skills behind schoolwork: planning, getting started, managing time, keeping track of assignments and following through. It’s often used by kids with ADHD or learning differences. It isn’t therapy and it isn’t subject tutoring, though some programs also tutor. Most programs on this list coach one-on-one by video, and several LA coaches meet in person. Insurance often won’t pay; posted prices here run from $90 a session to $1,500 a month.
On this page
15 executive function coaching programs, online and in LA
The first nine coach online; Primed Potential works only with California families, so ask any online program whether it serves your state. The last six are LA coaches, and most of them can also meet in person. Each says on its own site that it coaches children or teens.
Coachbit
Online
Good for Teens who need daily nudges between sessions
Coachbit pairs students aged 11 to 21 with a dedicated coach and an app that holds their routines and school plan through the day. The Growth Plan is $148 a month, with one live video check-in a week and daily chat accountability; extra weekly check-ins can be added for $85 a month. Parents get weekly progress reports, and there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Ages 11 to 21
- $148 a month (Growth Plan)
- Weekly progress reports for parents
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Russell Coaching
Online
Good for Younger kids, from 1st grade
Dr. Norrine Russell’s team coaches students with ADHD, autism, anxiety and learning differences by video, from a Tampa Bay base, for families nationwide. It starts younger than most programs here: Basics of EF is for grades 1 to 4, and the flagship one-on-one Connected Coaching runs from 5th grade into young adulthood, covering executive function, academic systems and self-advocacy. It was founded in 2009.
- Grades 1 through young adulthood
- ADHD, autism, anxiety, learning differences
- Virtual, nationwide
Engaging Minds
Online
Good for Parents who want a weekly progress report
Engaging Minds coaches executive function skills one-on-one online for students from 4th grade through college, with a focus on nightly homework and long-term assignments. Coaching covers organizing materials and ideas, planning and time management, starting tasks, flexibility, working memory and follow-through. Parents get weekly progress reports from the first session, and it runs free workshops for parents.
- Grades 4 through college
- Weekly progress reports
- Free parent workshops
Educational Connections
Online
Good for Middle schoolers with ADHD
Coaches middle and high school students with ADHD and executive function struggles in live, one-on-one virtual sessions built on the student’s real assignments and deadlines. Its middle school program, for grades 5 to 8, starts with a short survey that gives you a report and gives the coach a plan to work from. Weekly sessions cover planning, organization, time management, focus and getting started.
- Grades 5 to 8, and high school
- Starts with an EF survey and report
- Weekly live virtual sessions
ectutoring.com (opens their site)703-934-8282On Summerground
Kate Fisher Tutoring
Online
Good for Students who need a tutor and a coach in one
A New York tutoring company that coaches middle school, high school and college students online and in New York City. Students practice planning, organization, time management, task initiation and self-advocacy on their actual assignments. The founder holds a Landmark College Institute certificate in learning differences with an executive function specialization, and the same person can often both coach and tutor. Many of its coaching students have no diagnosis.
- Middle school through college
- Coaching and subject tutoring
- Online and in New York City
EF Coach Tutors
Online
Good for Families ready to commit for a school year
A fully remote program for students with ADHD from 4th grade through college that combines one-on-one executive function coaching with subject tutoring. Families commit to a full school year, June and July included, starting from a plan with three learning goals. Each week brings a one-on-one session plus support in between: checks of the school’s online portal, session notes and parent updates.
- 4th grade through college
- Full school-year commitment
- Coaching plus subject tutoring
Carolina ADHD Coaching
Online
Good for Students with ADHD who need flexible Zoom times
Based in South Carolina, this practice coaches students with ADHD over Zoom for families across the U.S., from late elementary and middle school through high school and college. Coaching builds routines, planning systems and self-advocacy for school and home, with scheduling that fits around school and activities. It starts with a free call to make sure it’s a good fit.
- Late elementary through college
- All sessions on Zoom
- Free first call
The Feisty Brain
Online
Good for Teens, at a posted per-session price
A Florida-based coach who works with teens virtually across the U.S., including teens with ADHD, AuDHD and anxiety. Sessions look at where the week broke down and build simpler systems, testing small changes over time. Prices are posted: $90 for a 45-minute session, $60 for a 30-minute maintenance session, or $150 for a session plus up to 30 minutes of check-ins by text, email or phone during the week.
- Teens
- $90 per 45-minute session
- Optional weekly check-ins
Primed Potential
Online (California only)
Good for California families who want parent coaching too
An educational psychology practice that coaches only online and only for families in California. Coaching usually starts around 8th grade and runs through high school and college, in weekly 50-minute sessions. Families choose independent coaching or family-supported coaching with parent meetings, and parents of younger kids who aren’t ready for a coach can get parent coaching instead.
- California families only
- From about 8th grade
- Weekly 50-minute sessions
- Parent coaching option
Executive Functions Coach
Online (based in LA)
Good for High schoolers heading to college
Yi Chang, an LA-based coach with 11 years in executive function work, coaches middle school through college students, all over Zoom, so coaching can follow a student to college. Plans run month to month: $650 for four 50-minute sessions, $1,200 for eight, or $1,500 for eight plus short live check-ins, each with messaging between sessions. Coordinating with your child’s therapist or psychiatrist is a $200-a-month add-on.
- $650–$1,500 a month
- Month to month
- All sessions on Zoom
- Free 30-minute consultation
executivefunctionscoach.com (opens their site)310-896-8510On Summerground
The Ladder Method
Across LA, in home or online
Good for Kids who do better with a coach at home
An LA coaching company with one-on-one programs for middle schoolers, high schoolers, college students and adults; it says about 70% of its clients come with ADHD or related challenges. After a call with an enrollment coordinator, an assessment coach meets the student and family, then weekly sessions follow a plan with regular progress reviews. Coaches come to your home in LA or meet online, and a coach in Beverly Hills serves Westside families.
- Coaches come to your home
- Middle school through adult
- Starts with an assessment coach
CARE-LA
Century City · 10323 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Good for Kids who may need therapy alongside coaching
A clinical practice across from Westfield Century City where Rana Lustyan coaches children, teens and young adults. Coaching starts with an intake and goal-setting meeting and an individual assessment of your child’s executive functioning, then works on organization, time management, planning, self-advocacy and emotional regulation. It’s for students with ADHD as well as those with anxiety, OCD, learning differences or autism, in person or online.
- Children, teens and young adults
- In person or online
- Therapy and testing in the same practice
Just Start LA
4505 Las Virgenes Rd, Suite 107, Calabasas, CA 91302
Good for Coaching and tutoring in one place
A Calabasas team of coaches, tutors and educators founded by Jordyn Shapiro, a UCLA psychology graduate. One-on-one executive function coaching works on organization, planning, time management, self-advocacy and communication, and subject tutoring runs from elementary school to AP courses, so one place can cover both. Sessions are in person or online, for adolescents through adults.
- Coaching and subject tutoring
- In person or online
- Adolescents through adults
juststartla.com (opens their site)818-835-2565On Summerground
Deirdre Allen Coaching
LA and online
Good for Teens who need short, frequent check-ins
An LA-based coach for high school and college students, and sometimes middle schoolers; most of her students have ADHD. She starts with a $250 deep dive: a parent consultation and a look at the student’s online school portal. The $500 monthly package covers two or three short meetings a week, to-do list updates, text check-ins and up to four hours a month working alongside the student on assignments. Coaching is online, with some in-person meetings for LA students.
- $250 to start, then $500 a month
- 2 or 3 short meetings a week
- Some in-person meetings in LA
deirdreallencoaching.com (opens their site)240-888-8152On Summerground
Illuminate Educational Therapy Group
Calabasas, Santa Monica and Sherman Oaks
Good for Kids who may also need an educational therapist
An educational therapy group founded by Andrea Chernin, M.Ed., ET, that matches children, teens and young adults with independent educational therapists, learning specialists and executive functioning coaches. Its coaching is one-on-one with master’s-level coaches and mixes in study skills, essay writing, long-term projects and self-advocacy. Sessions can be at its offices in Calabasas, Santa Monica and Sherman Oaks, at home, at school or online.
- Master’s-level coaches
- Educational therapy and tutoring too
- Offices in Calabasas, Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks
illuminateedtherapy.com (opens their site)747-888-3330On Summerground
What executive function coaching is, and isn’t
Executive function skills, as Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child puts it, help us plan, focus attention, switch gears and juggle tasks. No one is born with them, but everyone is born able to build them. An executive function coach works one-on-one with your child on the everyday versions: writing assignments down, breaking a project into steps, starting homework without a fight, estimating time and turning work in.
- It isn’t tutoring. A tutor teaches the subject; a coach teaches how to manage the work. Some programs, like Kate Fisher Tutoring, EF Coach Tutors and Just Start LA, offer both. If you were searching for ADHD tutoring near you, one of those may be what you want.
- It isn’t therapy. CHADD, the national ADHD nonprofit, describes coaching as practical help with the what, when and how of daily life, rarely the why. Unlike therapists, coaches aren’t licensed to diagnose or treat conditions like anxiety or depression, and CHADD says coaching complements medication and other treatment. For therapy, see child psychologists in LA.
- ADHD coaching is mostly the same work. As CHADD describes it, ADHD coaching targets planning, time management, goal setting, organization and problem solving.
Programs on this list work with students who have ADHD, learning differences, anxiety or autism, and some with kids who have no diagnosis at all. For younger children, CHADD notes, coaching may need to work through the parents: Primed Potential offers parent coaching for kids who aren’t ready for their own coach, and Russell Coaching has a program for grades 1 to 4.
How coaching sessions work
Programs differ, but most follow a similar pattern:
- A free call, then an intake. Many programs start with a free consultation. Then the coach learns your child’s classes and sticking points, sometimes with a formal look at executive function: The Ladder Method sends an assessment coach, Educational Connections uses a short survey, and CARE-LA does an individual assessment.
- Weekly one-on-one sessions. Often 45 to 50 minutes, by video or in person, working on this week’s real assignments rather than practice exercises.
- Check-ins between sessions. The hard part is follow-through, so many programs add texts, app reminders or messaging during the week. Coachbit, Executive Functions Coach, Deirdre Allen Coaching and EF Coach Tutors build this in, and The Feisty Brain offers it as an add-on.
- Parent updates. Expect reports or parent meetings. Coachbit and Engaging Minds send weekly progress reports, and Primed Potential’s family-supported track includes parent meetings.
Give it time. Executive Functions Coach recommends three months to see lasting results, and EF Coach Tutors asks families to commit to a full school year.
What executive function coaching costs, and who pays
Plan to pay out of pocket: CHADD notes that coaching is often not covered by traditional health insurance. Prices posted by programs on this list:
- The Feisty Brain: $90 for a 45-minute session, $60 for a 30-minute maintenance session, or $150 for a session plus weekly check-ins.
- Coachbit: $148 a month for its Growth Plan, with one live check-in a week and daily chat; extra weekly check-ins can be added for $85 a month.
- Deirdre Allen Coaching: $250 for an initial deep dive, then $500 a month for two or three short meetings a week, texts and work sessions.
- Executive Functions Coach: $650 a month for four 50-minute sessions, $1,200 for eight, or $1,500 for eight plus short live check-ins.
The others don’t post prices, so ask on your first call. Ask, too, whether you pay by the session or the month, whether there’s a minimum commitment (Executive Functions Coach is month to month; EF Coach Tutors is a school year), and what happens if you stop early.
School can help too. If your child has ADHD or a learning disability, an IEP provides special education services and a 504 plan changes the learning environment, as the CDC explains. Ask what each can do for organization and planning. If you’re not sure what’s behind the struggle, start with ADHD testing.
How to choose a coach: questions to ask
Coaching has no licensing requirement, according to CHADD, so training varies. CHADD notes that the International Coaching Federation (ICF) recognizes ADHD coaching as a specialty without certifying it, and that the Institute for the Advancement of ADHD Coaching offers ADHD coaching certifications. Ask each coach:
- Have you had specific training in ADHD or executive function coaching, and how many kids my child’s age have you coached?
- Are you also a licensed mental health provider? If not, how do you work with my child’s therapist or doctor?
- Who exactly will coach my child, and can we switch if it isn’t a good fit?
- How often do you meet, for how long, and what happens between sessions?
- What will you tell me, and what stays between you and my child?
- What are your fees and policies: per session or monthly, any minimum, cancellations?
- Do you offer a trial session or a free consultation?
- How will we know it’s working?
Good signs: the coach works on your child’s real assignments, builds systems with your child rather than for them, and plans to hand the reins back over time.
Questions parents ask
What does an executive function coach do?
An executive function coach helps a child or teen build the skills that run schoolwork: planning, getting started, organizing materials, managing time and following through. Sessions use the student’s real assignments, and many programs add check-ins between sessions. The goal is a student who can run their own week without a parent as the reminder system. It’s coaching, not therapy or subject tutoring.
Is executive function coaching the same as ADHD tutoring?
Not quite. A tutor teaches content, like algebra or essay writing. An executive function coach teaches how to manage the work: capturing assignments, planning long projects and starting on time. If you’re looking for an ADHD tutor near you, you may want both, and some programs combine them: Kate Fisher Tutoring and EF Coach Tutors online, and Just Start LA and Illuminate Educational Therapy Group in LA.
How much does an executive functioning coach cost?
Prices vary a lot. Programs on this list post $90 for a 45-minute session (The Feisty Brain), $148 a month (Coachbit’s Growth Plan), $500 a month after a $250 start (Deirdre Allen Coaching) and $650–$1,500 a month (Executive Functions Coach). Others give prices on a first call. CHADD notes that health insurance often doesn’t cover coaching, so plan to pay out of pocket.
What age should a child start executive function coaching?
Many programs here start somewhere between 4th grade and middle school. Russell Coaching has a program for grades 1 to 4, Engaging Minds and EF Coach Tutors start in 4th grade, and Coachbit at age 11. CHADD notes that coaching for younger children may need to work through the parents, and Primed Potential offers parent coaching for kids who aren’t ready for their own coach.
Can I find an ADHD coach in Los Angeles who meets in person?
Yes. The Ladder Method sends coaches to your home around LA, with a coach in Beverly Hills for Westside families. CARE-LA in Century City, Just Start LA in Calabasas and Illuminate Educational Therapy Group, with offices in Calabasas, Santa Monica and Sherman Oaks, also offer in-person sessions. Deirdre Allen mixes online and in-person meetings for LA students. Executive Functions Coach is based in LA but coaches only on Zoom.
Does my child need an ADHD diagnosis for coaching?
No. Coaching isn’t medical care, and programs like Kate Fisher Tutoring say many of their coaching students have no diagnosis. But a coach can’t diagnose or treat, so if attention problems are new or severe, or come with anxiety or low mood, an evaluation is worth it. See our guide to ADHD testing for kids in Los Angeles.
How we made this list
We searched the web for executive function and ADHD coaching for students, online and in Los Angeles, and kept programs whose own sites say they coach children or teens. We left out college-only and adult-only coaching, directories and anything we couldn’t confirm. Every detail comes from each program’s own pages, read in October 2026; prices change, so check before you sign up.
No one paid to be on it. It’s information to start from, not medical or legal advice: check services, costs and coverage with each provider before you book. Spotted something out of date, or run a place that belongs here? Write to hello@summerground.com.