What’s Underneath the ADHD Behaviors
When parents hear “ADHD,” they often think of inattention, fidgeting, or impulsive behavior. These outward signs can create daily struggles in school, at home, and in relationships. But underneath the behaviors lies something deeper: differences in the way the brain develops and connects.
ADHD is not simply about a lack of discipline or motivation. It reflects how efficiently a child’s brain matures, integrates sensory information, and coordinates across regions responsible for focus, memory, movement, and emotional control. Understanding these underlying differences can help families see why certain interventions help, where traditional supports may fall short, and why a comprehensive approach to strengthening the brain matters most.
How ADHD Affects Brain Development and Connectivity
The brain develops in a predictable sequence, with different regions maturing at different times. For children to sustain attention, regulate emotions, and manage impulses at the level expected for their age, their brain development also needs to be “on track.”
Research has shown that children with ADHD often experience delayed cortical maturation, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, which is central to executive functions such as planning, organizing, and inhibiting impulses. This delay can mean that while a child is 10 years old in chronological age, their brain systems for focus or emotional control may be functioning more like those of a much younger child.
Connectivity between brain networks also plays a key role. Studies using neuroimaging have found that ADHD is associated with altered communication between the default mode network (active during rest or daydreaming) and the executive control network (active during tasks). When these systems fail to coordinate efficiently, it becomes harder for children to “switch on” their focus when needed.
With ADHD [Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder], the default mode network is active more frequently, which can result in the individual daydreaming or being distracted when they should be focused on the teacher or their assignment.
This mismatch between chronological age and brain function explains why so many children with ADHD appear “immature” in certain skills, such as:
- Attention span (losing focus faster than peers)
- Impulse control (acting without considering consequences)
- Emotional regulation (having bigger reactions to small frustrations)
- Working memory (struggling to hold instructions in mind)
Why Symptoms Look Different Across Ages and Genders
ADHD is not a one-size-fits-all condition. Symptoms shift as children grow, and they can look very different between boys and girls.
- Across ages, young children may exhibit hyperactivity—characterized by running, climbing, or constant movement—while adolescents and adults often struggle more with inattention, distractibility, or internal restlessness.
- Across genders: Boys are more likely to display disruptive hyperactive symptoms, while girls are more often present with inattentive symptoms, which can be mistaken for shyness or daydreaming. Research has found that this may lead to underdiagnosis in girls, who may not receive support until later in life.
Recognizing these differences is critical so children do not slip through the cracks.
Traditional Supports for ADHD: Helpful but Limited
Families exploring ADHD support are often presented with a list of traditional interventions. Each has value, but most focus on a narrow slice of the challenges ADHD creates.
Medication
Stimulant medications can be very effective for many children. They increase the availability of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepinephrine, which play a crucial role in attention and self-control. For some families, this provides immediate relief. However, medication does not address the root differences in brain connectivity and does not work for every child. Side effects such as sleep problems, appetite loss, or mood changes can also be difficult to manage.
Counseling and Behavioral Support
Therapy can help children learn coping skills, build routines, and strengthen emotional awareness. Parent training programs are especially effective in teaching strategies that support positive behavior at home. Still, counseling generally targets behavior at the surface level, rather than the underlying brain development driving those behaviors.
Sensory Processing Integration
Some children with ADHD also struggle with sensory processing—being overly sensitive to noise, touch, or movement, or under-responsive in certain areas. Occupational therapy and sensory integration activities can help regulate these systems. While these improvements are critical to supporting the development of attention and regulation, additional systems, including visual and cognitive functions, are typically not addressed in this approach, which can result in lingering challenges in attention, learning, or self-control.
Tutoring and Academic Support
Many parents turn to tutoring when their child struggles in school. Academic supports can help children catch up with classwork, but they do not necessarily change the brain functions that underlie attention, comprehension, or working memory. Teaching material is different than maturing the underlying development that must be present for learning to be efficient and effective.
Visual or Listening Programs
Specialized programs may target reading, auditory processing, or visual skills. These can be valuable pieces of support, but they focus on one area at a time, which is not how the brain functions in daily life. The brain is constantly synthesizing information from all aspects of sensory input, instantaneously: visual, sound, touch, smell, as well as information about your mood, emotions, body position, and motion. Any immaturity or disruption in one of these systems can disrupt the whole.
Primitive Reflex Integration Therapy
Primitive reflexes are automatic movement patterns that infants are born with. These reflexes play a crucial role in early survival and brain development. For example, the Moro reflex (startle reflex) helps newborns respond to loud sounds, and the ATNR (asymmetrical tonic neck reflex) supports early coordination. In typical development, these reflexes fade away as higher-level brain regions mature and take control.
For many children with ADHD, some primitive reflexes remain “retained” longer than expected. Retained reflexes can interfere with motor coordination, posture, sensory processing, and even emotional regulation. Imagine trying to focus on schoolwork while your body is still automatically reacting to movements or sounds—it creates an ongoing distraction that can hold back other aspects of brain function.
Primitive reflex integration therapy aims to reduce these retained reflexes through specific exercises that mimic early developmental patterns. This work is extremely important in supporting attention, focus, and self-control. However, reflex integration alone is not enough. Attempting to address reflexes in isolation will not rewire the broader network of brain connectivity. Long-term improvements in focus, impulse control, and behavior require integrating reflex work alongside sensory, motor, cognitive, and emotional development for a whole-brain impact.
Organizational Coaching
Another common support for children with ADHD is organizational or academic coaching. These programs often focus on teaching strategies to improve executive function skills—the higher-level brain processes that help us plan, organize, manage time, pay attention, remember instructions, and regulate emotions. Executive functions are sometimes called the “CEO of the brain” because they direct and coordinate other skills needed for school and daily life.
For children with ADHD, weaknesses in executive functioning make tasks like keeping track of assignments, following multi-step directions, or prioritizing responsibilities especially challenging. Coaching can provide valuable tools, such as using planners, breaking assignments into smaller steps, or creating reminders. For some students, these strategies are helpful supports in the short term.
Still, organizational coaching has limits. Coping strategies alone don’t change the underlying brain connectivity that drives executive function. Many kids with ADHD have to exert far more effort than their peers to use the tools they’ve learned, leaving them exhausted from “trying harder” day after day. While coaching may improve daily management, it often doesn’t address the developmental gaps that make these skills harder in the first place. Without targeting the root causes in brain function, children may continue to struggle to keep up with the increasing demands of middle school, high school, and beyond.
The key limitation: While each intervention has benefits, most are siloed approaches. They work on one symptom or system, but they do not account for ADHD’s broad impact across multiple brain regions and functions.
Why a Comprehensive Approach Matters
Because ADHD is rooted in how the brain develops and connects, interventions that target only one system often leave gaps. Research supports the need for multi-modal approaches—integrating sensory, motor, emotional, and cognitive training—to strengthen the brain more globally. When brain development gets back “on track,” children are better able to:
- Match their focus and attention abilities to their chronological age
- Regulate emotions in line with social expectations
- Build self-control and resilience under stress
- Engage more successfully in academic and social settings
This whole-brain view reframes ADHD not just as a set of behaviors to manage but as a developmental challenge that can be improved when the underlying brain functions mature and connect more effectively.
The Brain Balance Whole-Brain Approach
At Brain Balance, our program is designed to address the full range of functions impacted by ADHD. Instead of focusing on one narrow symptom, we integrate activities that support:
- Sensory-motor development
- Primitive reflex integration
- Executive function skill-building
- Emotional regulation strategies
- Nutritional support to fuel brain performance
This whole-brain approach aims to strengthen connectivity and help the brain mature in the areas that are lagging. Families often report improvements not just in attention, but also in mood, self-regulation, social interactions, and academic engagement.
Research has shown that programs using a multimodal approach can lead to significant improvements in ADHD-related symptoms and executive functions. By targeting multiple systems at once, we can help children move closer to where they should be developmentally, allowing their focus, attention, and emotional control to align with their age.
ADHD is more than a collection of disruptive behaviors. It reflects how the brain develops and how well different regions connect and communicate. Traditional supports like medication, counseling, or tutoring can each play an important role, but they often focus too narrowly to address the full scope of ADHD’s impact.
When brain development is delayed, a child’s ability to focus, regulate emotions, and control impulses will also lag behind their age. A comprehensive, whole-brain approach offers a pathway forward—helping children not just cope with ADHD but build the foundational brain functions they need to thrive.
Learn More
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Want to dive deeper? Check out Dr. Jackson’s book Back on Track for parent-friendly insights into development and at-home strategies.
