ADHD Therapy for Children & Teens
CHILD, ADOLESCENT & FAMILY PSYCHOLOGY · CALGARY
Your child knows what to do. Why is doing it so hard?
You have explained the routine a hundred times, yet the backpack still sits empty by the door. At Koru, we understand that ADHD isn’t a knowing problem—it is a doing problem, representing the painful gap between what your child knows and what they can consistently put into action.
We help reduce the friction between intention and follow-through by building practical, brain-friendly executive-functioning scaffolds.
How It Works
Pick a Convenient Time
1. Choose Your Slot
Share Your Family's Story
2. Connect with Warmth
Co-Design Your Path Forward
3. Build a Collaborative Plan
We will hand-match your child to the right specialist and secure your spot. You walk away with absolute clarity and an immediate plan of support.
DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR?
What ADHD looks like in everyday life
ADHD rarely shows up as “not paying attention.” More often it’s the daily gap between what your child means to do and what actually gets done.
You’ve explained the routine, again, and an hour later, nothing has happened.
They can lose themselves in something fascinating for three hours, then can’t stay with something routine for three minutes. They promise to remember. They forget. They feel terrible — and tomorrow looks the same.
“You could do so well if you’d just apply yourself.”
Starting is the hardest part
It slips their mind
Fast reactions
Time doesn’t add up
Too many steps at once
The cost
None of this means your child isn’t trying.
AN IMPORTANT REFRAME
ADHD is not a motivation diagnosis
Kids with ADHD can be deeply motivated. What changes is whether their brain can mobilize the attention and executive functions a particular task needs — and that depends heavily on the task.
Interest helps. Novelty helps. Urgency, immediate feedback, and outside structure all help. That’s exactly why a child can concentrate intensely on an engaging project and still can’t begin an ordinary worksheet.
The real question isn’t “Can they focus?” It’s “Can they regulate attention, effort, and action when the task itself isn’t doing that work for them?”
OUR APPROACH
How ADHD therapy helps
Therapy is tailored to your child’s developmental level and executive-function profile. Depending on what’s getting in the way, it may include:
Task initiation
Organization & planning
Working-memory supports
Rather than expecting your child to “just remember,” we build external systems that lower the memory load.
Time awareness
We make time visible and help young people anticipate more accurately how long things really take.
Emotional regulation
Regulation work widens the gap between feeling and acting, so quick frustration and impulsive reactions have room to settle.
Self-monitoring
Children get better at noticing what they’re doing, comparing it with what they intended, and adjusting.
Parent coaching
You learn how to provide healthy environmental structure to help — without becoming your child’s permanent, exhausting executive-function system.
SUPPORT ISN’T THE SAME AS DEPENDENCE
We don’t remove support. We grow it well.
Executive functions develop over years. A child who needs support is still developing. Our aim is developmentally appropriate scaffolding that steadily hands more back to your child as they’re ready.
In practice, that might mean:
Your child may already be working harder than it looks.
WHAT PROGRESS REALLY LOOKS LIKE
Growth you can actually see
Over time, your child may…
- Begin tasks with fewer prompts.
- Use a planning system more consistently.
- Remember more, because supports are in place.
- Complete routines with growing independence.
- Replace “I’m lazy” with a truer understanding of ADHD.
- Recover more quickly from frustration.
- Notice when their attention has drifted.
- Ask for help before becoming overwhelmed.
- Understand what helps their own brain work.
- Build confidence — without pretending ADHD is gone.
Confidence comes from your child learning how their brain works and finding that the right supports make them capable.
Meet Our Calgary Child & Teen ADHD Specialists
Our team consists of Registered Psychologists who specialize in supporting children and teens through evidence-based, compassionate, and somatic-relational approaches.
Jacqueline Stowkowy
Registered Psychologist
Through her genuine care and compassion for others, Jacqueline fosters a supportive environment that she believes helps her clients to achieve their full potential.
Dave McPherson
Registered Psychologist
Dave collaborates with clients to develop a support plan that suits each one’s unique needs using a strengths-based and positive approach. I
Fiona Steedman
Registered Psychologist
Fiona is passionate about fostering school and home environments that promote positive mental health, skill development, and overall well-being.
Dr. Caroline Buzanko
Registered Psychologist
Dr. Caroline focuses on practical, real-life strategies to build confidence, resilience, and connection. As a mom, she understands how hard it is to “do the right thing,” so she makes sure her advice is realistic and doable.
Nick Yasinchuk
Registered Provisional Psychologist
More info soon!
Kaycie Hartley
Registered Provisional Psychologist
Kaycie is dedicated to supporting children and their families by providing guidance and practical strategies to help build confidence and resiliency together.
Kristina
Registered Psychologist
More Info coming soon
Ready to match your child with one of our specialized clinicians?
Our team consists of Registered Psychologists who specialize in supporting children and teens through evidence-based, compassionate, and somatic-relational approaches.
QUESTIONS PARENTS ASK US
Frequently asked questions
Medication can be an important option for many children, but it isn’t the only form of support. Psychological and behavioural intervention, parent strategies, school supports, and executive-function scaffolding all play meaningful roles — often alongside each other.
Yes. ADHD doesn’t mean an inability to pay attention. Attention can vary dramatically with interest, novelty, reward, urgency, and stimulation — so intense focus on a favourite game and real difficulty starting a worksheet can absolutely coexist.
Some children benefit from the greater external structure at school, or spend significant effort holding it together during the day and release that built-up effort once they’re somewhere safe — home. The pattern is worth understanding rather than reading as your child choosing where to behave.
Yes, where organization is a real area of difficulty. We also check that the system actually fits your child’s executive-functioning profile, rather than teaching increasingly elaborate methods they can’t keep up.
For younger children, parent involvement is often substantial. With teens, therapy tends to work more directly with the young person while parents keep supporting environmental changes and routines.
ADHD can contribute to impulsive responding, quick frustration, and difficulty regulating emotion for some children. We also consider other possible contributors rather than attributing every emotional difficulty to ADHD.
Yes. We look at what actually makes homework hard — initiation, attention, working memory, learning differences, fatigue, anxiety, unclear expectations, or family interaction patterns — and intervene accordingly, rather than just adding more pressure.
ADHD and anxiety often occur together. Treatment needs to account for both, because a strategy that helps one can miss — or even aggravate — the other.
When it’s clinically appropriate and you’ve given consent, school consultation can be very useful. Availability and any fees for additional consultation can be discussed with your clinician.
Many extended health plans provide some coverage for psychological services, though coverage and eligible providers vary. It’s best to confirm directly with your insurer, and our team can walk you through fees and receipts.
LET’S WORK WITH YOUR CHILD’S BRAIN
The goal isn’t more reminders, more pressure, or more shame.
Your child may already be working harder than it looks. Let’s build an environment and a set of skills that work with their brain — not against it. Tell us what you’re seeing at home and at school, and we’ll help you figure out the next right step.