Abstract

Deficits in executive functioning (EF) skills, a typical characteristic of students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), negatively impacts adolescents' academic functioning and performance (Barkley, 2012). The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand the student outcomes of the Homework, Organization and Planning Skills (HOPS) program (Langberg, 2011), a 16-sessions intervention designed to improve these skills in middle-school students with ADHD, and identify the different elements that may impact the degree of success, feasibility and dissemination of the program as perceived by three middle-school students, their parents and one of their teachers. In addition, the replacement of the HOPS paper calendar by a digital equivalent for tablets was also explored. Both qualitative (interviews) and quantitative (behaviour rating scales) data were collected from each of the three participants, their parents and one teacher prior to and following the completion of the HOPS intervention. Findings suggest that the HOPS program yielded progress in the area of homework completion and planning of academic schoolwork and organization of material. Also, although both parents and teachers noted academic improvements, teachers observed more moderate progress. In addition, the length and timing of the sessions were perceived as the program's strengths, whereas the level of parent involvement and the student's level of independence at the end of the intervention were deemed a difficulty.