What We Assess/Treat
ADHD
You know your child better than anyone. If something feels off at school (homework that never ends, directions that don’t stick, or meetings that go nowhere), trust your instincts.
Crescent helps families get real answers about attention and follow-through, and a next step you can act on.
In a crisis? Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), or call 911. This website is not monitored for emergencies.
Does this sound like your child?
A hard-working kid, stuck in the same places.
You may be watching a hard-working kid whose day still falls apart in the same places.
Homework that should be short stretches into the night.
Teachers say your child is bright, but the work does not show it.
Directions seem to vanish between the classroom and the backpack.
After school, the feelings are bigger than the day seemed to call for.
You leave another meeting still unsure what would actually help.
You have been told your child would do better if they tried harder. That story does not sit right with you.
These patterns can have more than one cause. No single pattern settles whether your child has ADHD. What it does tell you is that the question is worth asking, and you are in the right place to ask it.
How Crescent thinks about ADHD
Understanding what is getting in the way.
ADHD can affect a child’s ability to focus, manage impulses, regulate activity, organize tasks, and follow through—even when they are trying their best. But attention and behavior do not tell the whole story. Anxiety, sleep difficulties, learning differences, and the demands of the school environment can sometimes look similar.
A careful evaluation considers how your child functions across settings, when difficulties arise, and what may be contributing to them. The goal is not simply to arrive at a diagnosis. It is to understand your child more clearly and identify support that can make daily life and learning feel more manageable.
How we help with ADHD
Answers, a plan, and support that follows.
For ADHD questions, the work often starts with evaluation. From there it can include counseling focused on organization, follow-through, and the frustration that builds when effort does not show, and coaching for you on what to try at home.
When you need a fuller picture of learning and attention
Psychoeducational assessment
That page is where the evaluation itself lives. Start here if you need a fuller picture of learning and attention.
See the assessment pageWhen the school’s picture does not match
Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE)
An evaluation done outside the school, so you have another set of answers to work with. May be the right conversation when the school already evaluated and the picture still does not match.
See the IEE pageWhen your child needs support day to day
Counseling
Goal-focused counseling on planning, organization, focus, and follow-through, and on the frustration that builds when effort does not show on the page.
See counseling
Questions about medication belong with your child’s physician. An evaluation can give that conversation better information.
Who you’ll work with
Who you’ll work with.
Crescent is led by Marcia Miller, a Licensed Educational Psychologist. With more than twenty years in special education, and experience on both sides of the table, including leading district programs, Crescent understands both your child and the school system.
You’ll work directly with the person handling your child’s evaluation.
Meet Marcia on the About page
What to expect
You don’t need the right label.
Tell us what’s happening, in general terms. Keep school records, health details, and your child’s full story off the public form. Crescent will help you sort whether a psychoeducational assessment, an IEE, counseling, or parent coaching is the useful next conversation.
How an evaluation actually runs is covered on the evaluation pages. Start here with the question, and go there when you are ready for the work.
Common questions
Questions parents ask.
Does noticing these things mean my child has ADHD?
Not on its own. Trust what you are seeing. A diagnosis comes from a careful look at your child rather than from a list, and that is what an evaluation is for.
Should we start with testing?
Not always. Some families need a psychoeducational assessment. Some need an IEE after a school evaluation. Some need consultation to sort the question first. Tell us what’s happening. Crescent will help you choose a path.
Will this get my child an IEP or a 504 plan?
An Individualized Education Program (IEP) and a Section 504 plan are school decisions. Crescent can help you understand your child’s profile so those conversations have better information. Crescent does not decide school eligibility and does not promise a particular plan.
Do you offer ADHD counseling or coaching?
Yes. Counseling for your child focuses on the practical side of ADHD: planning routines, breaking down tasks, setting priorities, and building the habits that support independence. Parent coaching supports you in what to try at home. Medical care, including medication, comes from your child’s physician.
Signs by age
How ADHD shows up at different ages
Early childhood
difficulty sitting still or staying engaged
frequent movement, climbing, or running when it is not appropriate
a short attention span for non-preferred tasks
impulsive behavior such as grabbing, interrupting, or darting away
emotional outbursts that feel intense or sudden.
Elementary school age
trouble sustaining attention during instruction
frequent distraction or daydreaming
difficulty following multi-step directions
disorganization such as lost papers and forgotten homework
impulsivity such as blurting out or difficulty waiting a turn
emotional reactivity or low frustration tolerance.
Adolescence
chronic procrastination or avoidance of schoolwork
difficulty managing time, deadlines, and long-term projects
internal restlessness or mental overdrive
inconsistent academic performance
emotional overwhelm, anxiety, or low self-esteem.
Over time
How ADHD changes as your child grows
ADHD often evolves as children grow. Visible hyperactivity may decrease, while attention, organization, and emotional regulation become the harder parts. Young children can seem constantly in motion. School-age children struggle with focus, organization, and impulse control. Adolescents more often carry it inward as restlessness, anxiety, burnout, or academic avoidance. It also looks different in girls, where it shows up as inattention, daydreaming, perfectionism, and quiet struggles that do not disrupt the classroom, which is part of why it is missed.
Alongside
What ADHD often occurs alongside
ADHD frequently occurs with anxiety, learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia, autism, and emotional-regulation challenges.
At school
How ADHD affects school
Without support, ADHD affects academic performance and consistency, homework completion and organization, emotional regulation and stress tolerance, peer relationships, and confidence and self-image. Repeated experiences of struggle or correction can turn into anxiety, school avoidance, or a sense of failure.
Myth and reality
Myth and reality
Myth
Poor parenting causes ADHD.
Reality
ADHD is neurodevelopmental and has a strong genetic component.
Myth
Children with ADHD are lazy.
Reality
Many children with ADHD spend more effort than their peers to reach the same result.
Myth
ADHD only affects behavior.
Reality
It affects executive functioning, emotional regulation, learning, and self-esteem.
Myth
Smart children cannot have ADHD.
Reality
ADHD occurs across all intelligence levels and is often missed in high-achieving students.
Where we work
By appointment, serving California’s Central Valley and Central Coast.
In person in Fresno, Madera, Merced, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito Counties. Virtual throughout California.
Related questions
Patterns that sit next to ADHD.
ADHD questions sometimes sit next to other patterns. These pages are conditions, not services.
Back to What We Assess/TreatReviewed by Marcia Miller, Licensed Educational Psychologist, Crescent Psychological Services.
Last reviewed August 28, 2026.
This page is general information for families. It is not a diagnosis, medical advice, or a substitute for a professional evaluation. Reading it does not create a client relationship.
988: If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988, or call 911. This website is not monitored and is not for emergencies.
Start with a conversation
Restore your peace.
You do not have to carry this by yourself. Tell us what’s happening, and let’s figure it out together.
Marcia Lynn Miller, LEP #3015 · Independent practice
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