The Executive Function Playbook: Building Independence in Kids with ADHD

by Michael McLeod

A practical and contemporary toolkit based on the latest reliable evidence for the parents and professionals helping youth with ADHD navigate the challenges it presents

In The Executive Function Playbook, ADHD and Executive Function Specialist Mike McLeod, delivers an evidence-based, effective toolkit for parents, teachers, therapists, counselors, principals, directors, and superintendents who work with and care for youth with ADHD. It's a playbook for success that equips you with the knowledge, acceptance, understanding, and info you need to dramatically improve the lives of young people who work every day to manage the challenges and struggles associated with ADHD.

The book is filled with real, practical strategies that work in the classroom, at home, in workplaces, and online. It demolishes the myths and pseudoscience served up by social media algorithms and draws on the author's extensive experience living with ADHD and treating youth with this diagnosis, as well as the latest research conducted by reputable academics and practitioners.

Inside the

Candid, accurate discussions about the realities of living with ADHD and how to assist young people with the disorder to capitalize on their strengths and mitigate their weakness Specific, actionable strategies to deal with the most disruptive symptoms of ADHD, including impulsivity, inattention, time management deficits, and more A comprehensive exploration of the root causes of the executive function deficits caused by ADHD and the techniques you can use to help address them ADHD is a complex and poorly understood disorder that is difficult to treat effectively. This does not mean that the parents and professionals who are responsible for youth with ADHD are doomed to a lifetime of frustration and futility. The Executive Function Playbook contains a powerful and complete collection of tools, strategies, case studies, success stories, and frameworks for significantly improving the lives of young people with ADHD. Readers will benefit from the latest research, information, and best practices as they confront the significant – but manageable – challenges that ADHD presents.

Genres: Parenting, Adhd, Nonfiction, Education

224 pages, Paperback

Published January 13, 2026

Reviews

[Sarah Margaret]

This has been the best ADHD book I have ever read and highly encourage anyone to read it because I really think it pertains to so many of our children today. It helps us learn how to build executive functions for children that are lacking today and simple easy strategies to implement. I had so many takeaways and if I went back to the classroom to teach would do things differently for my students with ADHD. This gave me more understanding to what ADHD actually is which is a lack of executive functioning. We as a society have to work with kids to grow these and always helping them do everything or micromanaging everything is not going to help these kids later in life. Also screens have messed up so much and mentioned how Edtech has changed our students for the worst. Also mentions helicopter parenting and that parents don’t just let their kids go outside and play freely and how that is negatively affecting our youth especially those with ADHD because they need chances to practice these important decision making and relationship building skills before they are thrown into the real world at age 18. Overall I could talk about this book forever and felt like so many of my questions for why are punishments not working or this therapy not working were answered and so excited to implement these practices into our household. He also has a workbook if parents need more to go along with the book.

[Charity]

Looking forward to using this information!

[Sarah]

Marked up quite a bit that I want to remember — lots of talk on screens and parents.

[Nate Balcom]

Book #12 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! The Executive Function Playbook: Building Independence in Kids with ADHD by Michael McLeod. Great brain science into ADHD and some strategies to overcome it. Will need to get a physical copy of this one. BUT took a couple of ‘trendy’ tangents at the end that I can ignore and could do without.

[Alexandra Rentz]

Amazing book! Mike provides a guide for understanding and improving executive functioning skills. He breaks down complex concepts into actionable strategies for managing time, tasks, and emotions. His approach is encouraging and understand normalizes challenges without judgement. The book is full of tools that are easy to implement in everyday life, whether you’re a student, parent, or educator.
It reminds us the important things, less about perfection and more about sustainable growth. A great resource and guide for anyone looking to strengthen their skills!!!

[Andrea Vidal]

We have been lucky enough to have Mike and his coaches as part of our family’s neurodiverse support team. And it’s really felt like a team. Mike truly aims for kids with ADHD to do more than survive school, peer relationships, family dynamics, etc. He wants them to thrive. That is so very apparent in this playbook. Reading this book is like being taken by the hand and led to a toolbox that helps you, your family, and, most all, your amazing kiddo with executive functioning challenges. You’ll feel seen and your child will, too.
Best of all, you can return to it again and again. It’s a treasure trove of tools and strategies and comfort that you’re doing all right - just keep going.

[Megan Uy]

A worthy addition to my clinical library with great tips for parents and teachers for supporting kids with ADHD. The current conceptualization of ADHD as a developmental delay in executive function highlighting challenges in self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation, and self-evaluation is so much more helpful to parents, educators, and clinicians than the old labels of inattention and hyperactivity. The diatribes against screens got kind of tiresome, but I understand McLeod’s passion in helping parents understand how, for many kids and especially neurodivergent kids, excessive screen use can negatively impact their quality of life and the quality of family life as well.

[Rachael Woodall]

Read this book if you're parenting a child who has trouble focusing or getting tasks done. Love the info on the four pillars of executive function development and the actual tip on how to help your child grow in weak areas.

[Brooke]

*I initially posted this review on the workbook, but I meant to write it here 🤦‍♀️

This book is a must read for anyone with an ADHD child, or around a child with ADHD. I really love the practical, real-world tips for moving a child from dependent to independent.

Only reason I didn’t give this books 5 stars is because I feel that not everyone is in the brick-and-mortar style of school, and sometimes it felt like there wasn’t a solution easily provided for those that homeschool. I was able to see the broader point, but sometimes a parent IS also the teacher and the lines between home and school can get blurred.

[Alisa Minkin]

I am a pediatrician and mother of a neurodivergent adult. I am really passionate about neurodivergent issues including "ADHD". I put that in quotation marks because Michael McLeod explains in this book that this is a poor name for this neuro developmental disorder. it is really a disorder of executive functions which he breaks down into the four pillars of lack of self-awareness lack of self-regulation lack of self-motivation and lack of self-evaluation. he says the foundations of these pillars are nonverbal and verbal working memory.
This may sound technical but the book is clear concise and practical. I believe there is a role for medication for kids with "ADHD", but not in isolation of skill building.
I think this book is tremendously useful and very much needed and I highly recommend it!

[Shannon LaBuda]

So grateful for a book focusing on executive functioning and its direct relationship to ADHD. When we are being constantly flooded with misinformation about adhd, and social media influencers downplaying the intensity of how adhd actually impacts, a voice of reason is key. I highly recommend this book as a one stop shop for anyone looking for a book on ADHD executive functioning.

[Karen S.]

This was a really eye opening read. I saw so many similarities to to my Grandson’s and the struggle their parents have gone through. The damage that screens have done to all children is very evident, especially ADHD children. Some of the suggestions seemed unrealistic, but he does preference it by saying it is not a “one size fits all” book. Would highly recommended to anyone struggling with the effects of ADHD.

[AnnMarie Harriger]

Practical, actionable, and easy to implement—this book stands out from so many others on ADHD. It focuses on building real-life skills and independence, not just managing behavior in the moment. A great resource I’ll definitely revisit over time.

[Andrea welsh]

This book brings to light exactly what it’s like to parent an ADHD kid - the emotional outbursts, the power struggles, and the rinse and repeat cycle of it all. Highly recommend for an ADHD parent struggling with finding balance.

[Tim Smith]

Really good book that balances out research information, stories, and application. Helpful for parents & teachers. While it is about ADHD the skills are skills all kids need to learn and so it helpful for anyone interacting with kids ADHD or not.

[Carrie]

This book is clear and helpful. The research-backed strategies really support kids to develop independence by strengthening kids skills. This is a must for your toolkit!

[Katie Browning]

A great read for any parent of a child that struggles with executive function! I feel like it broke it down better than a lot of other books.

[Nadia Rivas]

eye opener

We need to address the screen situation at home. It’s important that we as parents take that uncomfortable step. The consequences are huge.

[Amanda Gray]

Life changing 🙌

[Rachel De Jong]

Very helpful. Looking forward to reading the workbook and its exercises.

[Taylor]

5 stars! Michael McLeod's framework in Thea Executive Function Playbook is fully grounded in the peer-reviewed executive function models of Dr. Russell Barkley and Dr. George McCloskey. Parent-training is the #1 clinical recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics for ADHD.

[Zak Cline-Egri]

I am a pediatrician and regularly deal with ADHD in the office. This was a great read and will serve as a supplement recommendation to my families in the future

[Courtney Pruitt]

A must-read for families dealing with ADHD

[Kaley Barlow]

This book deepened my understanding of ADHD. Reading about the four pillars of Executive Functioning helped me to understand behaviors and strategies for skill building. This book is powerful. I highly recommend this book to everyone!

[Erika Fecteau]

Must read for any parent, or anyone who deals with, neruodivergent kids!

[Nicholas]

As a parent, books on brain development and executive functioning land differently, and The Executive Function Playbook absolutely delivered. Michael McLeod brings a serious, science-backed perspective to ADHD that cuts through the noise and social media misconceptions. He clearly explains how ADHD is a developmental delay in executive functioning, not just a matter of distraction or hyperactivity. His breakdown of self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation, and self-evaluation helped me understand why certain behaviors show up and how they can be strengthened over time. The writing is direct, practical, and rooted in real-world application.

What I appreciated most is that this book is not only for parents of kids with ADHD. The insights about delayed gratification, screen time, outdoor play, and building internal regulation apply to every family. Even if your child never receives a diagnosis, understanding executive function feels like essential parenting knowledge. This is a strong recommendation for any parent navigating ADHD and a valuable resource for anyone who wants to raise resilient, self-aware kids. Really well done.

[Michael Brzezowski]

As a public school teacher in a PreK–8 school, we see many students struggling with executive function. We’ve tried social groups and other supports, but they often don’t transfer beyond that setting—and sometimes even create dependence on adult support.

I found these books after listening to Mike McLeod and Ryan Wexelblatt on the ADHD Parenting Podcast. What started as a quick recommendation turned into an 8-teacher book club at our school.
These books are the bridge between research and real classroom practice. The Executive Function Playbook builds understanding, while The Executive Function Playbook in Action delivers practical, ready-to-use strategies. We’ve already implemented activities from the “In Action” book and are seeing real results with students.

We still have work to do—especially around parent education—but this has been a strong and actionable starting point.

Highly recommend for teachers, administrators, and parents.

[Scott]

This is HANDS DOWN the best book about EF & ADHD. As a 5th grade teacher, and a father to an ADHD teenager, I cannot recommend this book enough. Michael McLeod knows his stuff! This, along with the Playbook In Action companion book, is everything you need to build independence in children with ADHD!

[Ginny Yurich]

Fantastic and so timely! I learned a tremendous amount. Mike speaks from a wealth of knowledge accumulated over working with families and school for many years - as well as his personal experience. Highly recommend!

[Thomas Kowalski]

Very repetitive. Screens are from the devil. Very few examples that actually applied helpful advice.