What Is The Ladder Method In Philadelphia?

Coaching for Philadelphia students and adults who understand the work and still struggle to plan it, start it, and hand it in.

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The Ladder Method is an executive function coaching company. Our coaches teach the skills underneath schoolwork and job performance: planning a week, keeping materials organized, starting a task without a reminder, judging how long it will take, and staying steady when the plan breaks. Candice Lapin, our founder and Chief Education Officer, started the company in Los Angeles in 2008. Philadelphia clients meet their coach in virtual sessions. Program details are on our executive functioning coaching in Philadelphia page.

Child with ADHD receiving supportive treatment

Coaching is a separate service from tutoring and from therapy. Tutoring teaches subject matter, and therapy focuses on emotional processing. A Ladder Method coach teaches a student how to learn, plan, and organize, then meets with them weekly or every 2 weeks until they run those systems without help. We wrote up how coaching differs from therapy in more detail. When the gap is the subject itself, our subject tutoring team covers it.

Every coach trains in The Ladder Method framework. It pairs executive functioning instruction with evidence-based learning techniques and social-emotional development. Our coaches come from education, psychology, and learning science, and the team includes coaches with master's degrees and teaching credentials. Meet our Philadelphia team.

Why Philadelphia Families Choose The Ladder Method

Coaching is built for a specific problem. The student understands the algebra and still turns it in 3 days late, or the history project sits at step 1 until the night before it's due.

Most Ladder Method clients notice the first improvements within 4 to 8 weeks: homework that gets finished, fewer arguments about it at night, and assignments started without being told. See our student results.

By The Ladder Method's count, about 70% of our clients have ADHD, autism spectrum differences, or other executive functioning challenges. The framework is adapted for those learning profiles. It leans on structure, flexibility, and positive reinforcement.

The first step is a free consultation to assess your student's needs and goals. We then match your student with the coach who best fits their personality and those goals.

Personalized Strategies for Each Milestone

What a coach works on depends on age. Every session is set to the client's goals and developmental stage.
Elementary School Students- Foundations first: organization, emotional regulation, and starting a task on their own.
Middle & High School Students – The focus moves to managing time, studying well, and doing the work without a parent at the kitchen table. One middle school client who struggled to finish homework and stay focused switched to a color-coded planner and a visual schedule. He learned to manage his assignments on his own and went from C's to making the honor roll consistently. A high school client with ADHD used time-blocking and an accountability structure, and her late work dropped while her GPA went up.
College Students – College students build productivity systems, planning tools, and self-motivation, because nobody checks their planner anymore. One freshman overwhelmed by new independence learned to break large projects into manageable steps, and grades and self-confidence both improved.
Professionals & Adults –Adults apply the same framework to work projects and deadlines. One adult client used it to structure projects, manage deadlines, and restore a balance between work and personal life. See our Adult Executive Functioning Programs.
Building Better Teachers

Schools can license The Ladder Method curriculum and train their own staff to teach it. Our professional development prepares teachers and special education staff to teach executive functioning and study strategies from Grade 4 through university. Philadelphia schools can ask about training through our For Institutions page.
Individualized Coaching with Proven Methods
Each skill gets its own strategy, and the coach adjusts the mix to the client's goals and learning style.
- Organization: a visual planner or digital system, plus workspace management so materials stay findable.
- Time management and prioritization: time-blocking, reminders, and schedules based on how long work takes in practice.
- Task initiation: micro-goals and structured accountability to build momentum.
- Working memory and note-taking: structured note-taking and recall practice.
- Emotional regulation: mindfulness and reflection when the workload tips into overwhelm.
- Cognitive flexibility: switching study methods when one stops working, and adjusting to feedback.
- Goal setting and accountability: regular progress check-ins with the student, the parents, or the adult client.
A program runs in 4 stages. It opens with a free consultation to assess needs and goals, followed by a coach match based on personality and objectives. Sessions come next, weekly or every 2 weeks, and each skill gets applied to real assignments and deadlines, with regular check-ins along the way. The last stage is graduation, once the client shows consistent independence with the strategies.
International Scale Meets Community Insight

Established in 2008 by founder Candice Lapinin in Los Angeles, The Ladder Method delivers personalized executive function coaching Philadelphia, PA, through both in-person sessions in LA and remote online coaching globally, providing accessible support to students and working professionals across all locations.

How Coaching Fits a Pennsylvania 504 Plan or IEP

Coaching works alongside a school plan and doesn't replace one.

In Pennsylvania school districts, a 504 plan is written as a Chapter 15 service agreement. The Pennsylvania Department of Education's Chapter 15 guidance says the agreement must list the related aids, services, and accommodations the student will receive, and the dates those services begin and end. Chapter 15 covers students with a disability who aren't eligible for special education. Students who are eligible get an IEP under Chapter 14.

Both kinds of plan can grant an accommodation such as extended time on tests. Neither teaches the student to plan around it. Extra time helps the student who started studying 4 days out, and does far less for the one who opened the book the night before. That planning is the part a coach builds.

If you think your child needs a special education evaluation, ask the school. Under 22 Pa. Code § 14.123, a school district professional or administrator who receives an oral request must give you a Permission to Evaluate form within 10 calendar days. Once the district has your written consent, it has 60 calendar days to complete the evaluation, and summer break days don't count toward the 60. Our coaches don't diagnose ADHD or learning differences, so when a diagnosis is the open question, the evaluation comes first.

Timing Coaching Around the 2026-27 School Calendar

If your student attends a School District of Philadelphia school, Term 1 ends November 5, 2026, and report card conferences fall on November 16, according to the district's 2026-27 academic calendar. Bring the teacher's comments on missing and late work to your consultation, since they tell a coach more than the letter grade does. Starting the week of the conference leaves about 10 weeks before Term 2 closes on January 25, 2027, winter recess included. That window covers the 4 to 8 weeks in which most Ladder Method clients notice their first improvements.

Founded in 2008, Coaching Across the United States

The Ladder Method has coached hundreds of students and adults across the United States since 2008, in person and online. Candice Lapin is also the author of Parenting in the Age of Perfection: A Modern Guide to Nurturing a Success Mindset.

Our clients include students with ADHD and learning differences, students dealing with test anxiety or conflict with a teacher, and students who want to move ahead of their class.

Questions About The Ladder Method in Philadelphia

Is The Ladder Method tutoring or therapy?

Neither. Tutoring teaches subject content, and therapy focuses on emotional processing. The Ladder Method coaches executive function skills: planning, organization, time management, and follow-through. Subject tutoring is available as a separate service.

Do you offer in-person coaching in Philadelphia?

Philadelphia clients work with their coach in virtual sessions. The Ladder Method's in-person coaching runs in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas, and Austin.

What ages do you coach?

Students from elementary school through college, and adults. The youngest clients start with organization, emotional regulation, and getting started on a task. Teenagers add time management and study technique. College students and adults work on productivity systems, planning tools, and motivating themselves.

How long until we see results?

Most Ladder Method clients notice the first improvements within 4 to 8 weeks. Coaching continues until the client uses the strategies consistently and independently.

Does coaching replace a 504 plan or IEP?

No. In a Pennsylvania school district, a 504 plan is a Chapter 15 service agreement that lists a student's accommodations and when they begin and end. Coaching teaches the planning skills that make those accommodations useful, and it runs alongside the school plan.