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In Congress Workshops

Child and adolescent mental health

Empirically-Supported Assessment and Treatment of Functional Impairments in Executive Function and Organizational Skills in ADHD and Related Disorders in Children and Teens

In-Congress Workshop 18 - Empirically-supported Assessment and Treatment of Functional Impairments in Executive Function and Organizational Skills in ADHD and Related Disorders in Children and Teens

Saturday, June 27, 2026
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT
Location: Pacific J, 4th Floor
Earn 3 Credit
Keywords: ADHD, Evidence-Based Practice, Treatment
Recommended Readings: Abikoff H, Gallagher R, Wells KC, et al. (2013). Remediating organizational functioning in children with ADHD: Immediate and long-term effects from a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 81, 113-128. doi: 10.1037/a0029648,   Jenelle Nissley-Tsiopinis, Thomas J. Power, Phylicia F. Fleming, Katie L. Tremont,
Bridget Poznanski, Shannon Ryan1, Jaclyn Cacia, Theresa Egan, Cristin Montalbano, Alex Holdaway, Ami Patel, Richard Gallagher, Howard Abikoff, A. Russell Localio, and Jennifer A. Mautone (2024) School-Based Organizational Skills Training for
Students in Grades 3–5: A Cluster Randomized Trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 92, 674-691. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000909,   Steven W. Evans, Julie Sarno Owens, Brian T. Wymbs & A. Raisa Ray (2018)
Evidence-Based Psychosocial Treatments for Children and Adolescents With Attention Deficit/
Hyperactivity Disorder, Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 47:2, 157-198, DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2017.1390757,   ,  
Many youth with ADHD and related problems have impairing deficits in executive functioning (EF) and related deficits in organization, time management, and planning (OTMP). OTMP deficits reduce school performance, create homework problems, cause family conflict, hinder emotional adjustment and life success. Parents and teachers see these practical executive function deficits as a critical concern.
From 2 decades of development, pilot testing, and randomized controlled trials, Organizational Skills Training (OST) has been found to significantly change the behavioral, academic, family, and emotional lives of children that struggle with deficits in practical executive functions. The method is efficacious with children that meet the diagnostic criteria for ADHD and for children with OTMP skills deficits that do not necessarily have ADHD.
OST is a well-established treatment for children with ADHD (Evans et al., 2018). It has impact in improving OTMP skills which contributes to improved achievement and to reduced homework problems and family conflict (Abikoff et al., 2012). OST has been fully tested for elementary school children in clinical settings and in school settings delivered by school personnel. The main components of the manualized treatment, both what is done in session and how it is done effectively, will be reviewed through lectures, examples, brief videos and short, interactive exercises. The presentation will review the full protocols with emphasis on child, parent, and teacher orientation and skills building in five areas: supportive parent behavior management and teacher involvement, tracking assignments, managing materials, time management, and planning. Extensions to pre-teens and teens will be presented as well.
The foundations for both the clinical and school-delivered versions of OST will be presented. The options for delivery of the clinical version for in-person contact and telehealth participation will be discussed. The session will also present the modification for efficacious implementation in small groups by school personnel. The workshop is presented by developers of the protocols who have extensive experience in training therapists and school personnel in providing the program with fidelity.

Learning Objectives:

  • Name the main skill deficits that over half of children with ADHD demonstrate in organization, time management, and planning.
  • Evaluate treatment candidates using rating scales and interviews through lecture and demonstration of methods.
  • Describe the treatment targets of tracking assignments, managing materials, time management and planning.
  • List methods to build parent behavior management skills, and, for youth, practical EF skills for managing home and school tasks.
  • Describe the methods used to fully engage parents and youth in treatment sessions and to collaborate with teachers.
  • Create a plan for in-person delivery, combined in-person and telehealth delivery, or full telehealth delivery.
  • Describe how treatment can be provided for delivery in school by school personnel.