A specialty focus
Understanding ADHD & Executive Functioning
When a bright kid keeps losing homework, getting stuck on tasks, or running out of steam, it's easy to wonder what's wrong. It's one of the profiles I look at most closely: attention, focus, and the planning-and-follow-through skills underneath — so you can see what's really driving the struggle, and how to help.
The signs parents notice
The homework loses its way between class and home. A task that should take twenty minutes stretches to an hour, and another hour. A student who clearly understands the material runs out of steam before the test, or before the essay is done.
These aren't signs of a careless kid. They're signs that something about how attention, planning, and follow-through are working — or aren't — deserves a closer look. ADHD testing is the way to get there: a structured assessment of attention and executive functioning skills that names what's actually happening, not just that something is.
ADHD assessment is available in person at my Pasadena office, in-home in the Los Angeles area for an additional fee, or remotely over a secure telehealth platform for any student in California.
The bigger picture
It's rarely just about focus
Executive functioning is the set of skills we use to plan, start, organize, remember, and finish — the behind-the-scenes system for getting things done. When it's uneven, a capable kid can look "lazy" or "careless" when they're really working overtime to keep up.
And attention problems don't always mean ADHD. Anxiety, a learning difference, or giftedness that leaves a student understimulated can all look like inattention. Testing for one label in isolation misses that.
So I assess the whole picture — attention, learning, and emotional regulation together — to name what's actually going on. The recommendations target the specific executive functions that are impacted, whether that's cognitive flexibility, working memory, planning, or organization — not a one-size-fits-all list.
How I assess for it
How the assessment looks at ADHD
Because attention and follow-through have so many possible sources, I don't test for ADHD on its own. A comprehensive psychoeducational assessment measures the pieces underneath, and sorts ADHD from the things that resemble it:
Attention & focus
Sustained and selective attention, and how it holds up under real demands.
Working memory & speed
How much your child holds in mind at once, and how quickly they process it.
Executive function
Planning, task initiation, organization, and following through to the end.
Emotional regulation
Anxiety and self-regulation, so we don't mistake one for the other.
This goes well beyond a rating-scale checklist: clinical observation, in-depth interviews with your child, you, teachers, and outside providers like therapists or tutors, standardized scales from multiple informants, and objective, performance-based measures — including virtual-reality environments that simulate real-world settings, so I can see how attention and executive functioning hold up in something close to everyday life.
It's all one evaluation, not a separate ADHD test.See how the comprehensive assessment works
Common questions about ADHD
What are executive functioning skills, and why do they affect school so much?
Executive functioning is the set of mental skills we use to plan, start, organize, remember, and finish a task — the behind-the-scenes management system for getting things done. When those skills are uneven, a capable student can look careless or unmotivated when they're actually working overtime to keep up. School leans on these skills constantly, which is why they matter so much.
Could it be anxiety instead of ADHD?
It could — and it often overlaps. Anxiety, a learning difference, and even giftedness that leaves a student understimulated can all look like inattention. That's exactly why I assess the whole picture rather than testing for one label, so we can name what's really driving the struggle.
My child can focus for hours on video games or Legos — can they still have ADHD?
Yes — this is one of the most common misconceptions I correct. ADHD isn't a lack of attention; it's difficulty regulating attention. Intense hyper-focus on highly stimulating, preferred activities is actually a hallmark feature of the ADHD brain. The question isn't whether your child can ever focus — it's whether they can direct and sustain attention when the task isn't intrinsically rewarding.
Teachers say my daughter is doing fine — could she still have ADHD?
She could. Students with the predominantly inattentive presentation — especially girls — are routinely missed, because they're quiet, polite, and earning passing grades. What's often happening underneath is masking: using intelligence to constantly overcompensate for focus and executive-functioning challenges. That effort is invisible in the classroom, but it comes at a real cost — often revealed only when school intensifies, or when the student gets home and collapses from holding it together all day.
What does an ADHD diagnosis actually change — and what doesn't it?
A diagnosis is a powerful tool for securing formal accommodations — a 504 plan or IEP at school, plus accommodations on college-entrance exams and into university. What it doesn't do: it doesn't automatically guarantee special-education services (schools must see a negative educational impact — my reports provide the objective data that bridges that gap), and it doesn't mean your child must take medication. I don't make medication recommendations; those decisions belong with a medical professional, though my evaluation gives them detailed cognitive and behavioral information to work from.
Do you test for ADHD accommodations for college?
Yes. I assess students for the documentation needed to request accommodations at school, in college, and for college-entrance exams.
What ages do you assess?
I work with students of any age, as long as they're currently in school — from about age 6 on through K-12, college, and beyond. If you're not sure whether your student is a fit, reach out and we'll talk it through.
Other areas the assessment covers
Twice-Exceptional & Gifted
For gifted students who also have a learning, attention, or developmental difference — assessed for both, so nothing is missed.
Autism
A careful, strength-based autism evaluation set within the whole-child picture.
Learning Differences
Assessment for dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia — the differences behind reading, writing, and math struggles.
Let's find out what's really going on.
A free 20-minute consultation is enough to understand your concerns and decide whether an ADHD and executive-functioning assessment is the right next step.
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