Home › What Is ADHD Family Consulting?
Understanding the Model

Not therapy. Not tutoring. Not a generic ADHD coach.

ADHD family consulting is something more specific -- and for a lot of families, it is the thing they have been missing. Here is what it actually is, who it is for, and why it works.

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The Short Version

The whole family has ADHD. Only one person got the diagnosis.

When a child or teen has ADHD, it does not just affect them. It affects every morning, every homework session, every dinner table, every sibling relationship, every parenting decision. The family system is the thing that needs support -- not just the kid.

ADHD family consulting works with that whole system. It combines deep knowledge of how ADHD actually works with practical strategies for parents, direct coaching for teens, and help navigating the school and evaluation landscape that most families find completely overwhelming.

It is not therapy -- we are not processing the past. It is not tutoring -- we are not doing homework together. It is not a generic productivity coach -- we are not making you download another app. It is someone who understands ADHD from the inside, working with your specific family to make daily life more functional and less exhausting.

The goal is not a perfect family. The goal is a family that understands what they are actually dealing with and has real tools to work with it.

How It Compares

What makes it different

Most families try several things before finding consulting. Here is how the options actually compare.

Option A
Therapy

Addresses the emotional and psychological effects of ADHD -- anxiety, depression, shame, low self-esteem. Looks inward. Essential when those issues are present. Does not typically focus on building practical systems or changing family dynamics.

Option B
Tutoring

Helps with academic content. Useful for falling behind in a subject. Does not address why the homework never gets started, why the assignment gets done but never submitted, or why every evening turns into a battle.

This
ADHD Family Consulting

Works on the daily systems and dynamics that make life with ADHD hard. Practical, forward-focused, and specific to your family. Bridges the gap between a diagnosis and knowing what to actually do.

Who It Is For

This works best for families who are...

😢
Exhausted by the same battles every day

Mornings, homework, transitions, bedtime -- the fights that happen on a loop and nobody wins. Consulting breaks the loop by changing how the system is set up, not just how people feel about it.

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Navigating a diagnosis or evaluation

Just got a diagnosis and do not know what to do with it. Waiting months for an evaluation. Wondering what accommodations to ask for, or what IEP vs. 504 even means. This is the translation layer.

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Watching a smart kid fall behind

Your kid clearly has the ability. The grades, the organization, the follow-through just are not matching. Consulting identifies where ADHD is getting in the way -- and builds specific systems around it.

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Parenting a resistant teen

Teens with ADHD often shut down with adults who do not get it. A consultant who has been that kid -- who knows what it actually feels like -- gets further, faster.

What Sessions Look Like

Practical. Specific. No homework you will never do.

Sessions are 50 minutes by video. No intake paperwork the length of a novel. No 12-week curriculum you have to complete before anything gets better.

We start with what is actually happening right now -- the specific situations making daily life hard. Then we work on those, one at a time, in a way that fits how your family actually operates. Most sessions end with one or two concrete things to try. Not a list of twenty. One or two.

Most families meet weekly or every other week. Some front-load sessions when things are acute, then shift to monthly check-ins once systems are running. We figure out the right structure together.

Why Lived Experience Matters

Knowing ADHD from the outside is not the same thing.

A lot of ADHD advice sounds good on paper and does not work in real life. That is because ADHD looks very different from the outside than it feels from the inside.

When you hear "just use a planner" or "set a timer" and it still does not work, it is not because your kid is not trying. It is because whoever gave you that advice does not actually know what it is like to have a brain that works this way.

Jordan has ADHD. He grew up as the kid everyone was trying to help -- some of whom got it, most of whom did not. He built this practice specifically because families deserve support from someone who understands it from the inside, not just from a textbook.

That matters when talking to a resistant teenager. It matters when helping a parent understand why their kid is not doing the thing on purpose. It matters in every session.

About Jordan
Jordan Schatz, ADHD Family Consultant

Jordan Schatz

Jordan is an ADHD Family Consultant based in Brooklyn, NY, working with families virtually across the country. He holds a master's degree in mental health counseling and has spent years working with children, teens, and parents navigating ADHD -- in schools, in agencies, and now in private practice through Been That Kid.

He has ADHD himself. That is not a footnote -- it is the reason this practice exists and the reason it works the way it does.

MA, Mental Health Counseling ADHD Family Consultant Brooklyn, NY & Virtual
Common Questions

What families usually ask first

What is ADHD family consulting, exactly?
ADHD family consulting is specialized support that works with the whole family system -- not just the child with ADHD. It combines education about how ADHD actually works, practical strategies for parents and teens, and help navigating school systems, evaluations, and daily routines. The goal is to make daily life more workable for everyone in the household.
How is this different from therapy?
Therapy addresses the emotional and psychological effects of ADHD -- anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and the cumulative impact of years of struggling. It looks inward and processes what has happened. Consulting is forward-focused: it builds practical skills, changes the systems around your child, and helps parents communicate and respond in ways that reduce conflict. Many families benefit from both. They are not competing -- they are complementary. A good consultant knows when therapy is the right referral and makes it.
How is this different from an ADHD coach?
A standard ADHD coach typically works one-on-one with the person who has ADHD, focusing on their individual goals and accountability. Family consulting takes a wider view -- it works with parents, teens, and the family system as a whole. It also brings a deeper understanding of how ADHD intersects with school systems, IEPs, 504 plans, evaluations, and family dynamics. For families with a child or teen who has ADHD, the consulting model almost always produces faster, more lasting results than individual coaching alone.
Do you work with the child directly or with the parents?
Both, depending on what will move the needle most. For younger children, parent work almost always produces faster results -- you are in the room for every transition, every homework battle, every meltdown. Teaching you to respond differently changes the dynamic immediately. For teens, direct coaching works well when the teen feels ownership over the process. Many families do a combination. We figure out the right structure on the intro call.
Does my child need a diagnosis before starting?
No. A diagnosis is helpful for understanding what you are working with, and it is required for school accommodations like IEPs and 504 plans. But the strategies and systems that help ADHD brains work better are useful whether or not there is a formal diagnosis in hand. Many families start consulting while waiting for an evaluation -- which can take months -- because there is no reason to put daily life on hold while the process moves forward.
Is this covered by insurance?
Consulting and coaching services are not typically covered by health insurance. Sessions are private pay. Many families use HSA or FSA accounts for these services -- check with your plan administrator. If therapy is also something you are looking for, a licensed therapist who accepts insurance would be the right path, and we can help point you in the right direction.
What does a session actually look like?
Sessions are 50 minutes via video call. We start with what is actually happening day to day -- not a clinical intake, a real conversation. From there, we work on the specific situations causing the most friction: mornings, homework, emotional outbursts, school communication, whatever it is. Sessions are practical. You leave with something concrete to try, not just a framework to think about. Most families meet weekly or every other week, with flexibility as things shift.
Why does lived experience with ADHD matter?
Because ADHD looks very different from the outside than it feels from the inside. A lot of well-meaning advice -- just use a planner, set a timer, make a checklist -- misses what is actually hard about ADHD. When your consultant has lived it, they know why those strategies fail and what actually works. They can also speak to your child or teen in a way that does not feel like another adult telling them what they should be doing differently. That relationship matters a lot, especially with resistant teens.
Ready to Start

Let's figure out what your family actually needs.

A 20-minute intro call is free. No pressure, no pitch -- just a conversation about what is going on and whether this is the right fit.

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