Designed for parents, caregivers, and teachers, this conference offers practical guidance for understanding and supporting children with ADHD. Sessions will cover how ADHD affects executive function, emotional regulation, and social skills, as well as how co-existing conditions can complicate diagnosis and treatment. Attendees will leave with strategies for fostering positive relationships and creating supportive learning environments.

The Churchill School & Center: Live & Recorded Options
$200 - In-Person & Recording
$100 - Live Webinar & Recording

$0 - Churchill Families

Thank You to Our Co-Sponsors!

ADDitude is the world’s most trusted resource for families and adults living with ADHD and learning differences, and for the professionals who work with them. Live event attendees will receive a free copy of ADDitude magazine's annual Success @ School issue, and all registrants will receive a 20% discount on ADDitude magazine subscriptions.

Understood.org is the leading nonprofit for people navigating neurodivergence. We translate trusted knowledge into resources, practical tools, and community support. Our work is built by 90+ world-class experts and researchers across education, health, and medicine, including the four experts you'll meet at this event.

Speakers & Sessions

The Better You Understand Executive Functions,
the Better You Can Manage ADHD

with Dr. Ari Tuckman

9:15-10:30 AM

You’ve probably heard of the executive functions and how they are involved with ADHD, but what exactly are they? And what do they really do? And why is ADHD sometimes so confusing and frustrating?

The better you understand how ADHD affects how someone processes information and handles tasks, the more effective you will be in choosing the interventions with the best chance of setting these students up for success. We will discuss the different executive functions, what they do, and how ADHD impacts a student’s ability to apply them consistently. This will set a foundation for a discussion about how to help students with ADHD handle responsibilities at school and home, as well as how teachers and parents can balance providing support with promoting independence. This presentation will be practical, user-friendly, and loaded with strategies.

Ari Tuckman, PsyD, MBA, is a psychologist, international presenter, author, and ADHD thought leader. He has given more than 850 presentations and podcast interviews and routinely earns excellent reviews for his ability to make complicated information understandable and useful. He is the author of five books, including his newest, The ADHD Productivity Manual. He is a co-chair of CHADD’s conference committee and was awarded the 2023 Hall of Fame award for his significant contributions to the field. A popular expert and advocate, he has been widely quoted in national media and serves as an expert for Understood.org. He is in private practice in West Chester, PA.

Understanding ADHD, Learning Disabilities, and Student Self-Advocacy in Education

with Dr. Roberto Olivardia

10:45 AM - 12:00 PM

Students with ADHD and learning disabilities are often misunderstood through narrow academic or behavioral lenses, leading to frustration, shame, misidentification, and missed potential. This presentation explores the relationship between ADHD and specific learning disorders—including dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia—and examines how these conditions can overlap, be mistaken for the other, amplify one another, and uniquely impact learning, emotions, executive functioning, classroom performance, and self-esteem.
The talk emphasizes the importance of accurate framing and language surrounding diagnosis for students to move away from deficit-based narratives and toward informed, strengths-oriented understanding.

The development of assertiveness and self-advocacy skills, as well as the therapeutic role of humor, will be highlighted in promoting engagement in needed accommodations, coping, and identity development without minimizing student struggles.

Dr. Roberto Olivardia is a Clinical Psychologist and Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He maintains a private practice in Lexington, MA, where he specializes in the treatment of ADHD, executive functioning issues, and issues that face students with learning differences. He is a recognized expert in the treatment of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), eating disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). He is on the Professional Advisory Boards for Children and Adults with ADHD (CHADD) and The Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA), and sits on the Scientific Advisory Board for ADDitude and the Expert Network for Understood. He has appeared in publications such as Time, GQ, and Rolling Stone, and has been featured on Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, and CNN. He conducts advocacy work for Decoding Dyslexia-Massachusetts. He also has lived experience as someone with ADHD and learning differences and a parent of two young adults with ADHD and Dyslexia.

ADHD, Anxiety, and Emotional Regulation

with Dr. Mark Bertin

1:00-2:15 PM

Anxiety and emotional dysregulation are two of the most common and most under-addressed challenges that travel with ADHD. They're not coincidental comorbidities; they're woven into the neurobiology of ADHD itself, shaped by years of general overload and a nervous system that struggles to modulate its own intensity. Left unaddressed, they can derail even the best treatment plan, eroding confidence, straining relationships, and making it harder to put other ADHD strategies into practice. Why are anxiety and emotional reactivity so tightly linked to ADHD, and what actually helps? When do we reach for executive function supports, when is CBT the right fit, and when can mindfulness shift the underlying emotional landscape? This presentation offers an integrated framework for understanding anxiety and emotional regulation in ADHD across the lifespan, drawing on the science of executive function, cognitive-behavioral approaches, mindfulness-based practices, and medical options used alone and in combination, helping children flourish across childhood.

Dr. Bertin is a developmental pediatrician and author of How Children Thrive, Mindful Parenting for ADHD, Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for Teen ADHD, and The Family ADHD Solution, all of which integrate mindfulness into evidence-based pediatric care, and is a contributing author for the book Teaching Mindfulness Skills to Kids and Teens. Dr. Bertin is a faculty member at New York Medical College and the Windward Teacher Training Institute and has served on advisory boards for APSARD, Additude Magazine, The Screen Time Action Network, Common Sense Media, and Reach Out and Read. His blog is available through Psychology Today and elsewhere. For more information, please visit his website at www.developmentaldoctor.com.

ADHD Treatment That Works: Evidence-Based Support for Home and School

with Dr. Stephanie Sarkis

2:30-3:45 PM

This session explores the social and communication challenges faced by students with ADHD. We’ll discuss how ADHD can affect peer relationships, classroom dynamics, and self-expression, often in ways that are misunderstood. Educators will leave with a deeper understanding of how executive functioning, impulsivity, and emotional regulation shape communication—and practical strategies to foster stronger connections, reduce conflict, and support positive social development in students with ADHD.

Stephanie Moulton Sarkis, PhD, is a psychotherapist specializing in ADHD, anxiety, and narcissistic abuse. She is the author of eight books and three workbooks, including 10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD and Healing From Toxic Relationships: 10 Essential Steps to Recover from Gaslighting, Narcissism, and Emotional Abuse. Dr. Sarkis is a National Certified Counselor, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, American Mental Health Counselors Association Diplomate, and a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family and Circuit Mediator. She has been in private practice for over 20 years, is an online contributor to Psychology Today, and hosts the Talking Brains podcast. She is based in Tampa, Florida. You can visit her website at www.stephaniesarkis.com.

Schedule:

8:30-9:00 AM — Check In

9:00 AM — Welcome

9:15-10:30 AM — The Better You Understand Executive Functions, the Better You Can Manage ADHD with Dr. Ari Tuckman

10:45 AM-12:00 PM — Understanding ADHD, Learning Disabilities, and Student Self-Advocacy in Education with Dr. Roberto Olivardia

12:00-1:00 PM — Lunch

1:00-2:15 PM — ADHD, Anxiety, and Emotional Regulation with Dr. Mark Bertin

2:30-3:45 PM — ADHD Treatment That Works: Evidence-Based Support for Home and School with Dr. Stephanie Sarkis

3:45-4:45 PM — Q & A