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

203 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 30, 2025

Reviews

[Sarah Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Alexandra Rentz · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Alisa Minkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Stephen]

When I was young, our family never went on vacations. I remember our first ever actual for real life vacation, I was in middle school. Our scouting group was doing a trip to a park a couple states away and my family decided to come along and spend the weekend camping. The embarrassment! I didn't want my family there. The first couple nights I had to stay in the hotel with them and didn't even get to camp.


Now in hindsight, my scouting group was mostly a bunch of rich white kids so who cares what they thought, but as a middle schooler I was still mortified. And worse, we left before the final night. I didn't get to spend the entire event there. Which, also in hindsight, maybe it was the camping that was more important to me than the approval of my scouting group. So hey, good job middle school me, way to stick it to the man.


I don't recall where we next went on a family vacation. But if memory serves, it was the second and last time we did so. I recall it being a long drive back, and I remember dozing off in the car and waking up, listening to Moon over Morocco on the radio. 


I would like to highly commend the Jack Flanders audio dramas to every person I meet. Except that's a weird way to say "hi, nice to meet you" and so I don't. Yet those adventures were so weird and formative for me.


I still recall random Berber sayings out of "Return to Inverness". In fact, I've got an entire note on my phone that I pulled from "The Whirlitzer of Wisdoms" before the site went down. Ask me sometime I would love to share some of these seminal works with you. Things like, "The cockroach never wins his case when the chicken is the judge". 


"Courage is fear that has said its prayers". 


"Craft must have clothes, but truth loves to go naked."


Now are they authentic to the Berber culture? I really don't know. It seems a pretty common tactic, to make things up, and pretend it's something another culture says but it's really your own attempt to pretend you're wise 


Also I really hated this book.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Erika Fecteau · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Courtney Pruitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for families dealing with ADHD