Time managementPaper28 Oct 2026

Skills training helped children with ADHD get more organised

HelpedThe short version

At the end, children who learned skills were better organised at home than the reward group.

The study

Who took part
158 children with ADHD took part. They were 8 to 11 years old, in grades 3 to 5, and about two in three were boys.
What they did
Children had 20 sessions at a clinic, twice a week over 10 to 12 weeks, and a third group waited instead. The skills group learned routines such as writing down homework and breaking tasks into steps. The reward group had parents and teachers set daily goals and reward the child for meeting them.
What happened
Children who learned skills were more organised at home than the reward group, and the gap lasted into the next school year. At school the two treatments were about the same, and both beat the waiting group on most measures. About 6 in 10 children in each treated group no longer met the criteria, against 3 in 100 who waited.

HelpedTime management
At the end, children who learned skills were better organised at home than the reward group.
Randomised trial of 158 children with ADHD and organisation problems · vs a reward plan run by parents and teachers · they rated themselves
HelpedTime management
At the end, children who learned organisation skills were more organised at school than children who waited.
Randomised trial of 158 children with ADHD and organisation problems · vs children who were still waiting for the course · they rated themselves
HelpedGoals
Both treatments left children with fewer homework problems, compared with children who waited.
Randomised trial of 158 children with ADHD and organisation problems · vs children who were still waiting for the course · they rated themselves
HelpedGoals
Both treatments made children's classwork better and more accurate than it was for children who waited.
Randomised trial of 158 children with ADHD and organisation problems · vs children who were still waiting for the course · they rated themselves