Teen Student Support & Coaching
ADHD Coaching for K-12 Students in Columbus, OH
Helping bright students with ADHD get out from under the pile — so they can show up with more confidence, more independence, and a lot less friction at home.
Your Student Is Smart. So Why Is Everything So Hard Right Now?
It starts with a missed assignment. Then another. Then the teacher sends home a progress report and the number of missing items is — well, it’s a lot.
You try to sit down together to work through it. Maybe that goes okay. Maybe it doesn’t. Either way, the next day there’s more. And the day after that, more still.
At some point, something shifts. Your student stops trying to dig out. The pile has gotten so big that looking at it doesn’t feel like a problem to solve — it feels like proof that they can’t. So they stop looking at it.
That’s not laziness. That’s a student who has hit a wall.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not imagining it — and your child isn’t broken. But without the right support, this pattern tends to repeat. The hole gets deeper. The confidence gets quieter. And home becomes the place where the frustration lives.
It doesn’t have to stay that way.
ADHD Coaching for Students Works Differently --- Because It Has To
Many of the students I work with already know what they’re supposed to do. They know the assignment is due. They know they should start earlier. They know the system their parent set up, the checklist, the app, the color-coded binder, is supposed to help.
Knowing isn’t the problem.
The problem is that their brain makes it genuinely hard to get started, stay on task, manage time, and recover when things go sideways. That’s not a character flaw. That’s ADHD.
My job isn’t to lecture your child or give them more rules to follow. It’s to work with them, directly, to figure out what actually helps their brain move forward. Not the system that works for most students. The one that works for them.
When a student finds their own way of doing things, something changes. They start to trust themselves a little more. They start to believe that getting on top of things is actually possible for them — not just for everyone else.
And coaching isn’t only about school. ADHD shows up everywhere; in friendships, in chores that never quite get done, in sleep that won’t come, in the little lies that start to feel easier than explaining what actually happened. If it’s making life harder, it’s fair game. We work on what your child needs, not just what shows up on a report card.
What Parents Notice When Coaching Is Working
✔ Less friction at home around homework, deadlines, and school responsibilities
✔ A student who's more confident --- not just in school, but in how they see themselves
✔ More independence: your child starting to manage their own work instead of needing to be pushed through it
✔ Grades that reflect what your student is capable of
✔ Fewer meltdowns, shutdowns, and standoffs over schoolwork
Getting Started is Simple — 3 Easy Steps
1
Reach Out for a Free Conversation
We'll connect to talk about what's going on for your child, what you've already tried, and what you're hoping coaching can do.
No pressure, no commitment --- just a real conversation.
2
Complete Your Child's Foundations of Success Session
This is a dedicated session to understand your child's strengths, struggles, and how they work best. It's the foundation for everything we build together. This session includes both the parent(s) and the student.
3
Begin Weekly
Coaching Sessions
Your child meets with me regularly to build skills, work through what's getting in the way, and develop strategies that work for them. Week by week, the pile gets smaller --- and so does the weight of it.
Stories of Change
Proudly Serving Columbus and Beyond
Christine Kotik works with middle and high school students across Columbus and surrounding Central Ohio communities, including:
✔ Columbus
✔ Dublin
✔ Westerville
✔ Upper Arlington
✔ Hilliard
✔ New Albany
✔ And virtually nationwide for remote coaching clients
✔ ICF-credentialed ADHD coach
✔ Coaching students directly
✔ Serving middle – high school students, college students, and adults
✔ Virtual coaching available --- work with Christine from anywhere
You've Been Trying to Figure This Out Alone Long Enough.
Most students who find their way to coaching say the same thing: they wish they’d done it sooner. Not because they were waiting for things to get bad enough but because they kept believing they should be able to handle it on their own.
That feeling makes sense. ADHD has a way of making hard things look like character flaws. Like if you just tried harder, cared more, or finally found the right planner, it would all click.
But trying harder isn’t the missing piece. The right strategies for your brain are.
Reaching out isn’t admitting defeat. For a lot of students, it’s the first time they’ve ever really believed in themselves. And that’s where we start.
Frequently Asked Questions
My child already works with a tutor. How is coaching different?
A tutor helps your child learn the content. Coaching helps your child learn how to work — how to get started, stay on task, manage their time, and recover when things go off track.
A lot of the students I work with are smart enough to understand the material. The problem isn’t comprehension. It’s everything that has to happen before they even open the book. That’s what coaching addresses.
Does my child need a formal ADHD diagnosis to work with you?
No. I work with students whether they have a formal diagnosis or not. Many of my clients do, but some families are still in the process of getting an evaluation — and coaching can be valuable either way.
If your child is struggling with focus, organization, follow-through, or motivation — and the usual approaches aren’t working — let’s talk.
My child is resistant to getting help. Will this work?
It’s common. A lot of students who’ve been struggling for a while have also absorbed the message that they just need to try harder — and they’re exhausted from trying. Adding another adult telling them what to do can feel like more of the same.
Coaching is different because it’s not about telling your child what to do. It’s about figuring out together what works for them. Most students, once they experience that, engage more than their parents expected.
Do you work with the parents too, or just the student?
My student coaching is focused on working directly with your child. If you’re looking for support on how to navigate ADHD at home from a parent’s perspective, I offer a separate parent program for that.
Many families find it helpful to have both pieces in place — your child building their own skills, while you build yours.
My child's struggles aren't just about school. Can coaching still help?
Yes. ADHD doesn’t clock out when the school day ends. A lot of the families I work with come in focused on grades, but what’s actually making life hard is bigger than that. It’s the arguments about chores, the friendships that feel harder than they should, the sleep that won’t come, the small cover-ups that have become a habit.
Coaching can address all of it. We work on whatever is getting in the way, because when a student is less overwhelmed across the board, everything tends to go better — including school.
Do you offer virtual coaching or does my child have to be in Columbus?
Both options are available. I meet with many students virtually on Zoom, and I also work in person at my office in Columbus. We’ll figure out what works best for your child and your schedule.
The Pile Doesn't Have to Keep Growing. Let's Start Digging Out.
Most parents who reach out have already tried a lot of things. New planners. New rules. New apps. Conversations that didn’t go anywhere, or went somewhere they didn’t want to be.
It’s not that you haven’t tried hard enough. It’s that ADHD needs a different kind of support — one that works with your child’s brain instead of against it.
Your child is capable of more than the last few months have shown. Sometimes they just need someone in their corner who can help them see that — and build from there.