ADHD Help Without Medication in Irvine
Building the skills underneath attention, one to one.
For children with or without an ADHD diagnosis, and with or without medication, at our Irvine center.
Tired of Saying “Pay Attention”?
Homework that should take 20 minutes takes two hours. The notes from school keep coming. Someone has mentioned ADHD, or your child already has the diagnosis, and you want to know what else can help.
In our experience, attention is usually the first thing to break down when the underlying skills a child depends on aren’t strong enough to do the job. Those skills include listening, seeing the page clearly, memory and the early movement reflexes that let a child sit still. When they are weak, the child spends so much energy keeping up that there is nothing left to focus with.
At our Irvine center, we look underneath the attention problem, build the skills that are weak, and teach attention itself, one to one.
Where We Stand on ADHD and Medication
What We Believe
- ADHD is real. True ADHD is a genuine medical condition, and some children need medication to manage it.
- We don’t diagnose ADHD, and we never claim to cure it.
- Decisions about medication belong with you and your child’s physician.
What We Do
- Look for weak learning skills that may be causing or adding to the attention problem
- Build those skills directly, one to one
- Teach attention: how to notice drifting, what pulled you off, and how to get back
We work with children who take medication and children who don’t.
Same Symptom, Different Causes
The same attention behavior can come from very different places. This is a guide for asking better questions, not a diagnosis.
| What you see | What may be underneath |
|---|---|
| Wiggles constantly, can’t stay seated, slumps or has poor posture | Retained primitive reflexes and weak Core Learning Skills |
| Drifts off when listening, asks “What were we supposed to do?”, gets lost in noisy rooms | Auditory processing |
| Avoids reading and writing, rushes, makes “careless” mistakes | Visual processing |
| Focuses fine on play but drifts the moment reading starts | Dyslexia (weak processing of the sounds in words) |
| Loses assignments, incomplete planner, can’t find finished homework | Visual memory and executive function |
| Restless and impulsive in every setting, noticed since early childhood | Possibly ADHD; worth a medical evaluation, along with a look at the underlying skills |
Read Jill Stowell’s full guide: Is It Really ADHD? What’s Underneath Your Child’s Attention Problem
How We Help
Free Call
A 30-minute conversation with a Learning Specialist about what you are seeing at home and at school.
Functional Evaluation
About half a day of one-to-one testing, including attention, processing, memory, reflexes and executive function. At our Irvine center or remotely.
A Plan, Not a Label
We explain what is driving the attention problem and what we recommend, with clear costs.
Build and Train
We build the weak skills first, then train attention directly. Every program is reviewed weekly by our clinical team.
Why Medication Alone Isn’t the Whole Answer
Medication does important work for many children. But it doesn’t teach a child how to manage their own attention, and it can’t build processing skills. If dyslexia, an auditory processing problem or a retained reflex is underneath, those skills still have to be built.
Accommodations like preferential seating and extra time help a child get through the day. Reteaching the content gives more of the same material. Neither changes the skills underneath.
That’s the work we do. For many of our students, when the underlying skills are built, the attention symptoms fade. For children who truly have ADHD, we teach the techniques and skills they need to manage their own attention.
“He’s calmer, not as nervous and fidgety as he used to be… Overall, Stowell has taught him to be successful… More kids with ADHD should have the benefits of Stowell.”
Diane, Matt’s mom
What It Costs
Functional Evaluation
One-time fee, required for new students
Signature Program
Per month, sessions three to five times a week
Intensive Program
An accelerated version of the Signature Program
These are starting prices. The exact price depends on the hours and length of your child’s plan. See Services and Financing.
Stowell Learning Center, Irvine
1150 Main Street, Suite B
Irvine, CA 92614
Monday to Thursday, 9 am to 7 pm
Friday, 8 am to 7 pm
Serving Families Across Orange County
Families come to our Irvine center from Irvine, Tustin, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Hills, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana and Orange. We work with students from early elementary through high school and college.
Too far to come in regularly? Ask about our online learning programs.
ADHD and Attention Questions
Do you diagnose ADHD?
No. A formal ADHD diagnosis is made by a pediatrician, psychologist or psychiatrist. Our evaluation looks at the learning skills underneath attention, which a typical ADHD evaluation doesn’t test.
Will you tell us to stop medication?
No. Decisions about medication belong with you and your child’s physician. We work with children who take medication and children who don’t.
My child has an ADHD diagnosis. Can you still help?
Yes. We check whether weak learning skills are adding to the load, and we teach the attention skills that medication doesn’t teach, like noticing when you’ve drifted and getting back on track.
How is this different from tutoring?
Tutoring reteaches schoolwork. We build the underlying skills, such as listening, visual processing, memory and attention, that make schoolwork hard in the first place.
Can the evaluation be done remotely?
Yes. The Functional Evaluation can be done at our Irvine center or remotely. Your Learning Specialist will talk through the options with you.
Talk With a Learning Specialist
The call is free, takes about 30 minutes, and there is no obligation.
Or call our Irvine center at 949-477-4133