Adults: ADHD-adapted cognitive-behavioural work targets planning, organisation, coping and daily functioning. The Australian guideline makes a strong recommendation to offer it, while rating the evidence as low certainty. Trials support specific clinician-delivered programs; evidence for digital programs is promising but does not establish the effectiveness of this website.

Adolescents: combine age-appropriate skills with parent/family support and a negotiated role for adults. Targeted school-based organisation programs have shown benefits, while findings across school interventions and community delivery are mixed.

Children and parents: positive caregiver support, predictable routines, environmental adjustments and behavioural parent training are central. Direct child activities are tailored to developmental capacity. Learning about a strategy here is not the same as completing a clinician-delivered parent-training program.

Agree the goals and fit with a treating clinician. Consider communication and literacy, culture, disability, co-occurring autism or learning difficulties, anxiety, mood, sleep, health and family circumstances. Provide visuals, movement breaks, shorter instructions, reminders or a support person when helpful.

Use actual daily functioning and the effort involved to review progress. If practice repeatedly increases distress, conflict or overload, pause and review the task, environment and support with your clinician. Do not assume every difficulty is caused by ADHD.

These resources do not diagnose ADHD and are one part of care. Medication assessment and changes belong with the prescribing clinician. Skills practice can accompany medication and other supports; it should not delay an indicated assessment or treatment.

Extra treatment or safeguarding needs require individual assessment. Between-session practice includes planned clinician review; for children, caregivers help arrange and use the supports.

Evidence checked 2 October 2026. Linked studies examine their own interventions, not this OWL program.

• Australian ADHD Clinical Practice Guideline (AADPA)

  See sections 2.3, 3 and 4.2, particularly recommendations 4.2.8–4.2.13: psychoeducation, parent/family training, developmentally appropriate cognitive-behavioural work, environmental support and individualised care. Adult CBT has a strong recommendation with low-certainty evidence. Individual and group options are recommended by circumstances and preference; this does not show they are equally effective.

• NICE NG87: ADHD recommendations

  See 1.4.9 and 1.5.7–1.5.18 for parent support, age-specific treatment and adult structured ADHD-focused psychological care with follow-up. NICE’s youth CBT recommendation concerns persisting impairment despite medication benefit; it is narrower than the Australian recommendation. Neither guideline evaluates OWL.

• AADPA: parent and family training

  Supports helping caregivers meet additional support needs; training does not imply that poor parenting caused ADHD. Benefits vary by outcome and reporter. A website lesson is not equivalent to a complete, clinician-delivered parent-training intervention.

• Safren et al. (2010): individual CBT trial

  In 86 medication-treated adults with persistent symptoms, 12-session CBT outperformed relaxation plus educational support on symptom outcomes. This supports the studied treatment package; it does not validate each OWL exercise, an eight-module schedule, or effectiveness without medication.

• Solanto et al. (2010): group organisational-skills trial

  An active-control trial in 88 adults supported a 12-week group approach to time management, organisation and planning. The selected sample and short-term assessment limit generalisation. This CBT-based program is distinct from Wells’s metacognitive therapy.

• Nasri et al. (2023): guided internet CBT trial

  In 104 adults, guided internet CBT and internet relaxation both improved ADHD symptoms relative to usual care. CBT did not outperform relaxation on the primary symptom outcome. Digital findings therefore need cautious interpretation; they do not establish this site’s effectiveness.

• Kenter et al. (2023): self-guided digital intervention trial

  A 120-person adult trial reported better self-rated symptoms and quality of life than online psychoeducation. Diagnosis and outcomes were self-reported, most participants were women and used medication, and only 29% completed all seven modules. This is evidence for that particular intervention, not equivalence to clinician-led care.

• Langberg et al. (2018): HOPS/CHIEF school trial

  A trial in 280 middle-school students supported brief school-provider interventions for parent-rated organisation and homework problems; HOPS improved some teacher-rated organisation outcomes. It does not establish that an unsupported website improves grades or core ADHD symptoms. The broader Australian school-intervention review found insufficient evidence for a general recommendation.

• Sibley et al.: STAND community trial

  In 278 adolescents aged 11–17, the parent–teen intervention did not outperform usual care overall on primary outcomes, despite promising earlier trials. Collaborative goals and parent support inform these original activities; community effectiveness findings are mixed. The trial excluded autism and intellectual disability, limiting direct generalisation.

• W3C cognitive accessibility: clear steps and support for focus

  The presentation uses short steps, visible position, optional detail and saved work informed by cognitive-accessibility guidance. This is design guidance, not an ADHD treatment trial. Improved completion of this program has not been demonstrated.