Returning to school. Changing careers. Completing a high school credential. Starting a trades program. Tackling a course you have been putting off for years.
There are many reasons adults decide they are ready to learn something new, and many reasons learning can feel harder than expected.
For adults with ADHD, or those who suspect they may have ADHD, challenges with time management, organization, working memory, task initiation, planning, and attention can make academic or training goals particularly difficult to navigate.
When looking for help, you may come across several options: ADHD coaching, tutoring, executive functioning support, and adult learning programs.
These services can overlap, but they are not necessarily designed to accomplish the same thing.
The right place to start depends less on whether you have an ADHD diagnosis and more on a simple question: What are you trying to accomplish?
ADHD coaching is generally focused on helping people develop strategies for managing everyday challenges associated with ADHD.
ADHD coaches typically help clients understand obstacles, establish systems, work toward goals, and develop strategies that fit their lives. They do not teach academic subjects.
Depending on the coach and the individual’s goals, ADHD coaching may address:
For someone who understands what they need to do but needs more support with starting, organizing, prioritizing, or following through, ADHD coaching may be a useful form of support.
An adult learning program focuses on helping adults build the knowledge, academic skills, and learning strategies they need to reach an educational, workplace, or training goal.
When people hear “learning support,” they often think about tutoring in a particular subject. But successful learning involves much more than understanding content.
An adult learner may need support with reading or mathematics while also learning how to organize assignments, break down complicated tasks, study effectively, remember information, or prepare for an exam.
Individualized adult learning support may include:
The key distinction is explicit instruction.
If you need to learn a skill or concept, along with developing a better system for approaching it, an adult learning program can provide direct instruction alongside strategies that make learning more manageable.
Traditional tutoring often focuses primarily on academic content.
For example, a tutor might help explain algebra, review an essay, practise reading comprehension, or prepare for an upcoming exam.
That can be exactly what some learners need.
However, tutoring services vary significantly. Some tutors incorporate study strategies and executive functioning skills, while others focus almost entirely on the subject being taught.
If your challenges involve both the academic material and the process of learning it, it is worth asking whether executive functioning skills are intentionally incorporated into the service.
One of the clearest differences between ADHD coaching and adult learning support is the role of instruction.
ADHD coaching generally helps you improve how you approach tasks and goals.
Adult learning support can help you learn the task or academic skill itself while also improving how you approach learning.
Consider this example.
You have a math assignment due on Friday, but every time you think about working on it, you put it off and do something else instead.
The issue could be task initiation, time management, or feeling overwhelmed. ADHD coaching could help you develop strategies for starting earlier, breaking the assignment into smaller steps, and staying accountable.
But there may be another challenge: you never fully understood some of the foundational math concepts required to complete the assignment.
In that situation, a better organizational system alone may not entirely solve the problem.
You may need someone to teach the missing math skills while also helping you develop strategies for approaching the assignment.
That is where integrated learning and executive functioning support can be especially valuable.
| Type of Support | ADHD Coaching | Adult Learning Support | Tutoring* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goal setting | ✓ | ✓ | Often |
| Academic instruction | Rarely | ✓ | ✓ |
| Problem-solving | ✓ | ✓ | Often |
| Time management | ✓ | ✓ | Sometimes |
| Planning and prioritizing | ✓ | ✓ | Sometimes |
| Organization | ✓ | ✓ | Sometimes |
| Task initiation | ✓ | ✓ | Sometimes |
| Working memory strategies | ✓ | ✓ | Sometimes |
| Study strategies | Sometimes | ✓ | Often |
| Progress monitoring | ✓ | ✓ | Often |
| Reading, writing, or math instruction | Rarely | ✓ | ✓ |
| Executive functioning integrated with learning | Sometimes | ✓ | Varies |
*Tutoring approaches vary considerably between providers and instructors.
The best fit depends on what is getting in the way of your goal.
ADHD coaching may be a good fit if you:
Adult learning support may be a good fit if you:
Tutoring may be a good fit if you:
For many adults, the answer is not perfectly one or the other. Academic skills and executive functioning often influence each other, so a combination of supports may be helpful.
Successful learning involves more than understanding content. Planning, organization, working memory, task initiation, and confidence can all affect how manageable learning feels.
Individualized adult learning support can address both the skills you are trying to learn and the strategies you need to learn them successfully.
Whether you are returning to school, preparing for post-secondary education or trades training, strengthening foundational skills, or pursuing a new learning goal, the right support should meet you where you are and help you move forward.
Check out these programs and services:
No. ADHD coaching generally focuses on skills such as organization, planning, time management, accountability, and task initiation. Tutoring focuses more directly on academic content.
Executive functioning support helps adults develop strategies for planning, organization, prioritization, working memory, task initiation, and time management.
Not necessarily. Executive functioning challenges can affect many adults, regardless of whether they have an ADHD diagnosis.
Yes. Some adults benefit from both, particularly when academic challenges and executive functioning challenges overlap.
– Becky Bishop, Senior Manager, Youth and Adult Programs
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