Child psychology for kids with ADHD

What "ADHD therapy" usually means

We don't do ADHD-coaching skills training (that's typically an OT-led piece). What we do is the psychological cost of ADHD:

• The child who's been told they're "lazy" for ten years and starts to believe it
• The kid whose anxiety is now bigger than the ADHD it grew out of
• The rejection-sensitive dysphoria that turns a small criticism into a 90-minute meltdown
• The school-refusal cycle that started when academics outpaced the child's executive function
• The sibling and family-system fracture that follows a delayed diagnosis

These are psychology's lane, and the evidence base for treating them in ADHD kids is good — better than for treating ADHD itself with talk therapy.

How we think about diagnosis

Hey Sprout's psychologists don't diagnose ADHD — that's typically a paediatrician's or psychiatrist's call in Australia, and accessing stimulants requires their letter. We can do:

• Pre-diagnostic screening that helps your GP decide whether to refer
• Post-diagnostic support and identity work
• Differential-diagnosis screening where autism, anxiety, or trauma might also be present

If you suspect ADHD but haven't been seen by a paediatrician, the first step is usually a GP referral — we can write a letter supporting that referral after one screening session.

Cross-discipline plans

The most effective plans for ADHD kids combine:

• OT for executive function and routines
• Psychology for the emotional and self-esteem layer
• (Sometimes) Speech pathology for the language and literacy gaps that often co-occur

Hey Sprout's whole reason for existing is to make this kind of multi-discipline plan painless. One intake, three disciplines, shared notes — your child's therapists actually talk to each other.