ADHD College Prep Checklist? (Executive Function, 2e, Neorodivergence)

The other day in Executive Function Lab, one of the parents asked me about college prep for her child with ADHD.

The situation is this: she has a junior in high school with executive function challenges. Her child is starting college prep, but is very resistant—doesn’t take responsibility, doesn’t self-start, doesn’t do anything proactively, and always waits until the last minute.

She’s anticipating that during junior and senior year, there will be many college prep tasks, and her child will procrastinate on all of them. She doesn’t want that to happen, but the child doesn’t want help and doesn’t want to be proactive.

So what should she do?

We talked about a lot of things. When I coach families, I go very deep into strategy. But as an executive function coach, I don’t approach this the same way a traditional college prep coach would (with a checklist of tasks).

Instead, I focus on the underlying challenges: resistance, lack of motivation, organization, planning, time management, focus, and the ability to break large tasks into smaller steps.

Because ultimately, this is about helping the student execute a complex set of subtasks to achieve a larger goal—in this case, getting into college (if that’s what they choose, since college isn’t right for everyone).

So what do I recommend?

The main takeaway I want to share is this:

As a parent, create your own master document—something like a Google Doc—and build a list of tasks and subtasks.

Break everything down.

For example, a big task might be “write the college essay.” Subtasks could include:

• Writing a first draft
• Revising and editing
• Asking a school counselor to review it
• Researching what makes a strong college essay
• ⁠
Do this for all major college prep areas: researching colleges, gathering resources, talking to people, etc.

Create a comprehensive master list—likely one to two pages long—so you have a clear overview of everything that needs to be done.

Then, add columns to help you organize and prioritize.

First, include a column for urgency or priority. You can use a simple system:

• A = urgent (needs to be done soon, maybe this summer)
• B = important but less urgent
• C = can wait
• ⁠
You could also use numbers (1–3), or color coding (red, yellow, green)—whatever works best for you.

If certain tasks have deadlines, include those as well.

Next, add a column for duration.

Work with your child to estimate how long each task will take. For example, if you ask, “How long will writing your college essay take?” and they say “one hour,” that’s likely unrealistic.

But this is not the moment to correct them harshly.

Instead, use it as an opportunity to build awareness and ownership:
“Oh, interesting—why do you think it will take an hour?”
“Can you walk me through the steps?”

Help them reflect and arrive at a more realistic estimate on their own.

This builds an essential executive function skill: understanding how much time and energy tasks actually require. Many students with executive function challenges are way off in their estimates—but this is a skill that can be developed.

So your key columns might include:
• Tasks and subtasks
• Priority/urgency or deadlines
• Duration
• ⁠
This master list becomes your guide.

That’s the biggest takeaway from our conversation.

If you haven’t checked out Executive Function Lab, it’s a fantastic community of like-minded parents. You can also visit ExecutiveFunctionSummit.com for our upcoming summit, or SethPerler.com for free resources to support students with executive function challenges.

I want to wish you joy, peace of mind, and—most importantly—connection with the people you care about in this precious, brief life—especially the kids in your life.

Take care. And if this was helpful, feel free to share it, give it a thumbs up, or leave a comment.

Do you have anything to add about helping a child with executive function challenges prepare for college?