Many bright students with ADHD know the material and still fall behind. The hard part isn’t understanding the lesson. It’s starting the assignment, keeping track of what’s due, estimating how long things will take and staying with a task long enough to finish it. Those are skills, and with the right support they get stronger.
Tell us about your student. We’ll help you find a Stanford tutor who fits.
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Structure that comes from outside
Students with ADHD often do their best work when some of the structure comes from outside their own heads. That’s what a coach provides. Each week, the student and coach look at what’s coming up, break big assignments into small first steps, put real time on the calendar and review how the last week went. Over time, students take on more of the planning themselves.
Sessions also make room for the subject work itself. Our coaches are Stanford students who can sit down with a student’s math homework or essay draft, so getting started on the hardest assignment of the week can happen right there in the session.
A coach close in age
A lot of teenagers with ADHD are tired of being reminded by parents and teachers. A coach who is only a few years older, and who has handled a heavy workload recently, is often easier to hear. Students tend to be honest with them about what isn’t working, which is where progress starts.
Finding the right tutor, in parents’ own words
All reviewsFind a Tutor“Our tutor is truly amazing! He is so patient, explains things well, asks great questions, and checks for understanding. Owen really enjoyed working with him and they accomplished so much. This is really a game changer for us! I had high hopes and he exceeded them.”
Find a Tutor“Our tutor was a senior at Stanford who tutored my son in English, and also SAT preparation. My son received great marks on the SAT exam and also improved his grade in AP English from B to A.”
Find a Tutor“The girls have loved their time with her, and it showed: Clara's CAASPP score was excellent and Ruby has done tremendous improvement in her reading from below grade level to at grade level!”
“Thanks for your tremendous partnership over many years!”
Find a Tutor“Your program really helped us. Henry pulled up his English last year to an A, and his next tutor helped him pull up his math and bio.”
“Everyone is looking for tutors and I said you're the best.”
Find a Tutor“Fantastic tutoring service. The tutor (who was a Stanford junior) really connected with my son and inspired him to learn. He had some great study tips and was able to help my son raise his grades by quite a bit.”
Find a Tutor“She found a perfect match for my son… He is stellar. My son has grown leaps and bounds in math. Our tutor is not only a subject matter expert but teaches very well, highly prompt, flexible when needed.”
Find a Tutor“My daughter went from a C in Algebra II to an A- in one semester. The tutor was great, she really related to my daughter and made learning fun for her.”
Find a Tutor“We had an incredible experience with our daughter's previous tutor from Cardinal for a couple of years!… She is doing really well with her reading and comprehension and I think our tutor put her at two grade levels ahead.”
Find a Tutor“Their response time is outstanding. Neil responded quickly to my tutoring request for my 15-year-old. Love knowing that I have access to these high-quality services for my children. And, we use them via Zoom since we live in Tennessee. I cannot say enough great things about this business:)”
Find a Tutor“Very professional service with excellent teachers. My son loved his teacher, called him the best he ever had! I can very highly recommend it.”
Find a Tutor“I am usually not one to write a review, but I wanted to communicate how great Cardinal Tutors was for my child. They had a very flexible plan which helped accommodate my child's needs and I saw a tremendous return (grade-wise) from their services. Could not recommend more highly.”
Find a Tutor“The tutors themselves have been great: well-prepared, thoughtful and on-time. At each level of math needed, we found these Stanford students to be not just helpful tutors but great mentors as well.”
Find a Tutor“I have been absolutely impressed by her lessons over the past few months. Lily also loves working with her. She has been making great progress with her programming and writing.”
“I find your tutor quality to be excellent and a perfect fit!”
Find a Tutor“The subsequent long term tutor that we had for pre calc and for ACT tutoring was amazing. She was completely professional, organized, thorough and easy to work with.”
Find a Tutor“You have been a wonderful inspiration for Eli and we are very grateful for having you in the past half-year!”
Find a Tutor“My son had a wonderful experience with Cardinal Tutors when he needed help with his High School math and science classes. It turns out my son also needed help staying organized with all his assignments, something that the tutor helped with as well.”
Find a Tutor“The program has been awesome for us. Theo loves working with our tutor and has learned so much.”
“Our tutor is just outstanding — great with Theo and very communicative with me. Super helpful!”
Find a Tutor“I reached out to Cardinal Tutors and was lucky enough to find the most amazing tutor. I wish I had found him earlier.”
Find a Tutor“We used Cardinal Tutoring again in the Spring 2018 for precalculus. Once again, she had a great tutor she really liked and who really helped her this year. My daughter is a senior so we won't need Cardinal Tutoring again, but I highly recommend them!”
Find a Tutor“I wanted to thank you for finding our tutor who tremendously helped Sam with his math.”
Middle school, high school and college
We work with middle and high school students, and with college students, too. The first year of college can be especially hard for students with ADHD, because the structure of home and high school disappears all at once. Weekly online sessions with a Stanford student who has made the same transition can help a freshman build a system that works on their own.
Alongside your student’s care team
Our coaches are tutors, not clinicians. We don’t diagnose or treat ADHD, and coaching works alongside, never in place of, the care your student gets from doctors, therapists, learning specialists or their school. Many families also use our executive function coaching, which covers the same skills for students without an ADHD diagnosis, and some students fit the picture of twice-exceptional learners.
Coaching is one-on-one, at your home in the Bay Area or online anywhere in the country, usually at a regular time each week. Sessions at home help a student set up routines right where they’ll use them.
Tell us about your student, and we’ll match them with a Stanford tutor who fits.












