Move the Body, Support the Brain: An Honest Guide to Exercise and ADHD

Structured exercise may offer a small symptom or short attention benefit for some people with ADHD. This guide separates that evidence from general health gains and builds a safe, flexible starter plan.

This is Part 5 of a five-part series on nonmedication strategies for ADHD. The other parts cover behavioral parent training, classroom and organization systems, CBT for teens and adults, and a practical sleep plan.

Exercise can feel like one more demand, especially when starting is hard. Do not train harder. Pick movement you can repeat, start below your limit, and track one part of daily life.

A planned workout may bring a small symptom change for some children, and one session may help on a few short thinking tasks. The clearest reasons to move are health, fitness, mood, fun, and a break from sitting. There is a key limit: ADHD trials are often small and short. Most use a group with no added program, so grades, work, lasting change, and harm are rarely measured well. Movement can be one part of personal ADHD care. It is not a test of effort or a replacement for prescribed care.

Key takeaways

• One workout may give a small, brief boost on some thinking tasks, and that is not the same as treating ADHD over time.
• Multiweek programs show a small average symptom signal in children, but ratings do not always agree. Trust in this result is low.
• We know much less about adults, and one recent program helped self-rated symptoms when added to usual care. The trial was small and had much missing data.
• There is no proven ADHD dose; U.S. movement goals are for general health, and they do not promise symptom relief.
• Fun, access, safe steps, and showing up matter, and there is no perfect workout.

Zoom

What structured aerobic exercise is

Aerobic movement makes the heart beat faster, and it also makes breathing deeper for a time. Examples include brisk walking, wheeling, biking, swimming, dance, running, and active games.

In ADHD trials, structured means a planned program, not “go exercise.” It sets the activity, days, time, effort, weeks, and sometimes the leader. Many child trials used two or three guided sessions weekly for 4 to 12 weeks.

Trials used running, biking, sports, active video games, or movement mixed with rules and memory tasks. These are not the same. A steady treadmill is a closed-skill task. A changing ball game is an open-skill task. A thinking-and-movement plan adds rules that require stopping, recall, or switching.

Broad reviews sometimes include yoga, strength work, or horse-based care, which are not the same as aerobic exercise. An app or rare walk is not a tested program. Never use movement to “burn off energy” or as punishment.

What this can and cannot do

The evidence, without the sales pitch

Multiweek plans in children and teens

A 2022 clinical-symptom review found 11 randomized trials: 448 youth were randomized and 416 were analyzed.

Plans met two or three times weekly for 4 to 12 weeks. Five were stand-alone, and six were added to medication or other care. Only two used active controls, a stronger test than no added program. Only three used raters likely unaware of the group.1

Participants had diagnosed ADHD; most controls received no new program or usual care. At program end, total symptoms favored exercise: Hedges’ g = -0.33, 95% CI -0.63 to -0.02. The review rated this small difference low certainty.

Inattention and hyperactivity subscales were each nonsignificant, as was the stand-alone subgroup.1

A small-to-moderate social-problem signal became nonsignificant after a small-study check. No academic functional outcome was available, adverse-event data were too sparse to summarize, and only one trial followed participants after treatment.1

A broader 2023 Pediatrics review pooled 22 trials across mixed modes. Total symptoms favored exercise, SMD = -0.39, 95% CI -0.64 to -0.14. Parent ratings favored exercise, but teacher ratings and hyperactivity-impulsivity did not. Thinking-task changes were moderate, but they did not measure daily function.2

The review did not explain the rater split. A parent may see a child soon after exercise, while a teacher may see them hours later and elsewhere. Both may know treatment, which can shape scores, yet both may report real change. The mismatch matters; neither rater is automatically wrong.

A 2023 clinical review gave needed context, and it found 11 trials of physical activity. Most were very small, and few measured ADHD symptoms or another result that mattered in daily life.3

What newer work adds

A 2026 network review gathered 39 randomized youth studies with 1,836 people; this method can compare plans through shared control groups, but it does not turn those links into direct tests.

The review gave predictable closed-skill exercise the largest core-symptom signal, and it also modeled a possible line near 660 MET-minutes each week. MET-minutes join effort and time.4

That number looks exact, but it must not become a home dose. Most links had low or very-low trust; symptom results varied a lot, parts of the network did not agree, and small studies seemed to shape the result.

Medicine use and other health needs were often unclear, and the review did not split results by rater type. Most studies gave a planned dose, and they did not prove the dose was done. MET values came from tables for youth without ADHD, and the authors called these models exploratory.4

A newer trial took place at three sites, and it assigned 107 children ages 6 to 10 to one of three groups. The groups got a thinking-and-movement plan, matched aerobic exercise, or waitlist.

Both active groups had like-sized gains in parent-rated symptoms after 12 weeks, and the thinking-and-movement group did better on select stopping and short memory tasks. The abstract reported no adverse events, but it did not show how harms were collected.5

The limits still matter, and the symptom control was a waitlist. Parents knew the group, and there was no long-term result. Selected task gains do not prove better daily life.

One workout is a different question

A review joined 14 youth studies of one workout, and the average change on thinking tasks was small. It was SMD = 0.18, and the 95% confidence interval was 0.12 to 0.25.

Small signals appeared for attention, mental flexibility, and stopping, and memory did not show a clear gain.6

This can support a personal test; try safe movement before one hard task. Then see if task start or follow-through changes, and it cannot support the claim that one workout treats ADHD for the day.

Adults and older adults

Adult studies are sparse, and a 2026 review found a few early signals from single workouts. These included small symptom gains and mid-sized gains on stopping tasks, yet it found only four reports of plans that ran for weeks, and those results were mixed.7

Only the abstract and publisher summary were available for that review, so no hidden method details were used.

One adult trial assigned 63 Swedish adults to two groups. One continued usual care. The other added a 12-week plan that mixed endurance, strength, and flexibility. About two thirds used ADHD medicine.

At 12 weeks, self-rated symptoms favored the exercise group, and the gap was 6.98 points on the ASRS. The 95% confidence interval was 1.65 to 12.30 points in the helpful direction.8

This trial had major limits. Only 41 adults were in the main test, and 35% of week 12 data were missing. People knew their group, usual care varied, and 11 people in the exercise group got thinking-skills care. This is a favorable but very uncertain add-on signal, not proof of stand-alone care.

There is no useful trial base for older adults with ADHD, and broad advice for older adults can help health, strength, and balance. An ADHD effect would be a guess from other groups.

Who was actually studied

Most multiweek evidence comes from school-age boys with diagnosed ADHD, and many groups had poor or no coverage.

We know less about girls and gender-diverse youth, and we know less about preschool children and older adults. People facing poverty, long travel, or unsafe streets were not well seen, and reports often left out race, ethnic group, home setup, and language.

Trials often left out people with serious medical illness, and many also left out complex mental health needs. Direct ADHD proof is too sparse for some groups, and these include people with an intellectual disability, major limits in movement, an eating disorder, severe mood illness, or autism.

Movement can still be changed for health and fun, and the ADHD symptom effect is not known for these groups.

Essential ingredients

The “must keep” steps match the shape of tested plans, and the “may adapt” steps help the plan fit a life. Most were not tested alone, and they are fair changes, not proven treatment parts.

Your first seven days

This is a setup week, and it is not a full treatment dose. Pick one clear problem, and one example is, “It takes over 30 minutes to start homework.” Do not use “fix ADHD” as the goal.

Day 1: Pick one target and a baseline. Write what happens today, and you might track task-start time, one class, evening conflict, morning steps, or mood. Use paper or a phone note, and this takes about two minutes.

Day 2: Pick two forms of movement. Choose one main plan and one backup, and both must fit your money, travel, space, weather, and body. A child or teen should help choose; do not buy gear yet.

Day 3: Do a short test. Try 10 minutes at an easy-to-moderate pace, and you should be able to speak in short lines. Stop for chest pain, fainting, serious trouble breathing, or a new symptom that worries you; mark fun, pain, and the daily target.

Day 4: Remove one step. Put shoes by the door or charge mobility gear. Find an indoor route, pack the asthma plan, or pick a safer time. A screen may help you start, but if it traps focus, move it away once the timer starts.

Day 5: Repeat once. Keep the same dose, and this makes it easier to compare. A healthy person can often repeat an easy-to-moderate session; ask for help before new hard training. Do the same after an injury or with key medical symptoms.

Day 6: Test the time. If safe, move 10 to 30 minutes before one hard task; mark how long it takes to start; mark if the task gets done, and this is your own test. It is not a proven schedule.

Day 7: Review. Keep going if the plan fit and caused no harm; make it simpler if setup got in the way. Change it if it was dull, painful, too intense, or hard to reach; get help if health risk, symptoms, or conflict make a home plan unsafe.

On a low-capacity day, do two minutes of easy movement; then mark “showed up.” Missed days do not create debt; say, “The plan gave us facts. We restart with the smallest step today.”

A gradual four-week starter plan

This plan is a fair home change, and it is not a tested ADHD plan. Use it only if light-to-moderate movement is safe for you; hold at any week if the next step feels wrong.

U.S. health goals are larger than this start, and children ages 6 to 17 should get at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous movement each day. On at least three days each week, it should include vigorous, muscle-building, and bone-building work.

Adults should aim for 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic movement each week, or they can aim for 75 to 150 vigorous minutes. They should also do muscle work on two days.9

These are broad health goals, and they are not an ADHD dose. You do not need to reach them in week one, and moving less than the full goal can still help health.

How to measure real-life progress

Pick one result that matters outside the workout; mark it before the plan. Mark it on the same days each week.

You could track minutes until homework starts, and you could count work blocks or morning steps done. You could track family conflict, class use, mood, sleep, fun, pain, or injury; keep the note short.

Use more than one view when it helps, and a teen can rate task start and fun. A parent can mark conflict; with consent, a teacher can report class change. A count of finished work adds a more direct measure.

Scores may get better while work does not; do not hide that mismatch in one average. Ask what changed; ask where it changed. Then name what still needs care.

Access at three levels

Start today: Take a five-to-ten-minute walk or roll; dance to two songs; try a safe form of seated aerobic movement; pick a free choice that fits the space.

Low-cost plan: Use paper to track the plan; try a school track, local center, library video, low-cost pool, or walking partner; ask about private feedback and less noise; ask about adaptive gear, a ride, or lower fees.

Formal program: The right guide depends on health and disability needs, and it may be an exercise physiologist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, adaptive movement expert, skilled trainer, or guided local program.

Ask about work with ADHD; ask how staff handle urgent events. Ask how they build up the plan; ask how they include people with different needs. Ask how they record pain and harm.

Cost and wait lists can block care; so can travel, unsafe streets, crowded homes, and changing work hours. Some programs fit only one body type, which is a program flaw, not a person flaw.

For shift work, plan by wake time, not clock time; for shared custody, each home may use its own movement. Both can use the same short log; in rural areas, try indoor loops, video support, or active chores.

For sensory needs, change noise, light, clothes, group size, or the type of move; for mobility needs, try wheeling, arm biking, water support, seated dance, or short aided blocks.

CDC tells adults with disabilities to move within their ability, and it also says to avoid being still all day. Ask for personal advice when needed.10

Safety without fear

Start below the level that proves anything; change one thing at a time. Add days, minutes, or effort; warm up before new or hard work. Use the right shoes, helmets, lights, road plan, and adult help.

Heat and dirty air can change the plan; on hot days, use a cooler time. Cut the effort; use shade or move inside. Drink fluids that fit your health needs; CDC says to stop if heat makes you faint or weak.11

Check AirNow when smoke, ozone, or small particles may be high, and you may need to make the workout shorter or easier, and you may need to move inside or change the day.12

Ask a clinician about a new vigorous plan if you have symptoms, a relevant medical history, a disability that affects safe movement, or a long period of inactivity and you are unsure how to start.

Get clinical advice before starting when there is known heart disease, poorly controlled asthma, repeat injury, or a worrying family history. Stop activity and use urgent or emergency care for chest pain, fainting, or serious breathing trouble during movement, as described below.

An eating disorder can make unsupervised training unsafe; so can exercise dependence or movement that feels out of control. Track distress on rest days. Watch for hidden exercise, harm, and crowding out food, sleep, school, work, relationships, or care. Stop the plan and seek skilled help if this pattern starts.

ADHD medicine and exercise can both affect heart rate, and they may affect appetite, sleep, or heat tolerance for some people. Do not change medicine on your own; ask the prescriber how timing, fluids, heat, and health history should shape the plan.

Exercise and the rest of ADHD care

ADHD care may include behavior supports, therapy, school or work changes, medicine, or a mix, and the choice depends on age and the main goal. It also depends on level of harm, preference, health limits, access, and response.

For fast change in core ADHD symptoms, nonmedication care has less steady proof than approved medicine, and its clearest gains often involve parenting, conduct, sleep, order, routines, and daily life. Exercise also brings broad health gains.

Do not start, stop, cut, delay, or replace prescribed care from this article.

When to get more help

Emergency help now: Call 911 for chest pain, fainting, or serious trouble breathing during movement; call for a severe injury. Call for immediate danger to self or others, and the same applies to suicidal intent with no way to stay safe, severe violence, or a fast-worsening crisis; in the United States, call or text 988, or use 988 chat, for crisis support.13

Prompt clinical evaluation: Get timely care for thoughts of self-harm without current intent; seek care for a severe mood change, signs of mania, or seeing or hearing things others do not. Other signs include unsafe sleepiness, rising violence, school refusal, repeat injury, or worse asthma, and get care for dark urine with severe muscle pain, forced exercise, a sharp drop in daily function, or any new and worrying symptom during exercise.

Routine troubleshooting: Ask for help if goals are vague or the plan keeps causing fights; ask if cost, access, or sensory needs are not met; get help if gains do not carry into daily life; do the same if there is no change after a fair and steady trial. No response does not prove poor effort.

The honest bottom line

Exercise is worth offering as a fun, health-based part of care, and some people may notice a brief change on a thinking task. Some may have a small symptom change. The best plan is not the hardest plan. It can be repeated safely, fits the person, and guards their dignity. Judge it by real life, not sweat.

Words readers can use

A parent offering activity choices: “Movement is not a punishment. Would you rather walk with music for 10 minutes or play an active game with me?”

An adolescent choosing a realistic plan: “I can try 15 minutes after school on Monday and Thursday. If I miss one, I will restart with five minutes. I do not want daily reminders.”

An adult asking for accountability: “Could you text me at 6 p.m. on Tuesday and Saturday? Please ask whether I started. I do not need advice or a report afterward.”

Asking a clinician about pre-exercise evaluation: “I want to start this activity at this effort level. My health history includes these symptoms and medicines. Do I need an exam, testing, or a modified starting plan?”

Asking a school to preserve movement: “Movement helps this student regulate and also supports health. Can we discuss a plan that keeps recess, physical education, sensory breaks, and established supports available rather than using them as consequences?”

Troubleshooting

Copy-ready tools

Activity menus

Children: family walk or roll, dance game, swimming with supervision, playground circuit, cycling with a helmet, active tag with clear boundaries, or an adapted movement video.

Adolescents: brisk walk with music, cycling, swimming, dance, running intervals, a no-cut team or club activity, active gaming, or a private school fitness plan.

Adults: walking meeting, commute segment, stationary cycling, water exercise, dance, jogging, recreational sport, arm cycling, seated aerobic movement, or several short activity blocks.

Low-sensory choices: quiet indoor route, predictable solo cycling, water walking at a low-use time, headphones where safe, dimmer lighting, repeated movement, or a small group.

Adaptive choices: wheelchair rolling, hand cycling, seated dance, supported stepping, pool-based movement, resistance-band intervals, activity with a guide, or a therapist-designed option. Adapt the equipment, rules, pace, communication, and rest. Do not assume walking is the default.

Barrier-solving worksheet

Target activity: ______________________________

Planned day and time: _________________________

What could get in the way: ____________________

Name the main barrier: time, starting, money, transport, safety, pain, sensory load, weather, childcare, privacy, or something else. ____________________

One smaller version: __________________________

One indoor or accessible backup: ______________

Person or tool that can help, with consent: _____

What I want that help to look like: ____________

What I do not want: ___________________________

Restart sentence: “I missed a session. My next small step is ____________________.”

Progress tracker

For each session, record one line with:

1. Date
2. Activity and minutes
3. Effort: easy, moderate, or hard
4. Enjoyment, 0 to 5
5. Sleep or mood
6. One real-life target
7. Pain or injury

Review whether the activity happened often enough to judge: Yes / No

Decision: Continue / Simplify / Adapt / Get more help

One-page start and safety checklist

Prepare

• One functional target is written in observable terms.
• The person chose from at least two acceptable activities.
• The starting dose fits current ability and health.
• Equipment, route, weather, air quality, supervision, and transport are checked.
• A backup and a minimum version are ready.
• Medical advice is arranged if symptoms, history, disability, or vigorous intensity make it appropriate.

Each session

• Begin easier than the planned peak effort.
• Stop for chest pain, fainting, serious breathing trouble, severe pain, or another concerning symptom.
• Record attendance, enjoyment, one target, pain, and injury.
• Keep food, medication, rest, and basic care separate from earning activity points.

Weekly review

• Compare the same real-life outcome with baseline.
• Check sleep, mood, conflict, soreness, and access burden.
• Ask the participant what to keep and what to change.
• Increase only one part of the plan, if any.

Escalate

• Use emergency help for immediate danger or serious activity symptoms.
• Seek prompt care for red flags, repeated injury, compulsive exercise, or a sharp functional decline.
• Seek routine help when the plan is unclear, inaccessible, conflict-heavy, or ineffective after a fair trial.

One-page coordination plan

1. Functional goal, no more than three: __________________________________
2. Baseline and date: __________________________________
3. Exact activity, starting minutes, and effort: __________________________
4. Person responsible for setup and safety: ______________________________
5. Frequency and setting: ______________________________________________
6. Review date: ________________________________________________________
7. Stop, safety, or escalation criteria: _________________________________

Information to share: only what the person, family, clinician, school, or program needs to carry out the plan. Use age-appropriate assent and required consent. Ask before sending health information. A school, employer, insurer, or clinician may have its own eligibility and documentation rules; this plan does not promise a service.

Frequently asked questions

Is running better than a team sport for ADHD?

No reliable head-to-head evidence establishes one winner. A 2026 network analysis ranked predictable exercise for symptoms and open-skill exercise for executive tasks, but the certainty was low or very low and small-study bias was present. Choose for safety, access, enjoyment, and the outcome you want to track.4

Should I exercise right before work or homework?

A single bout may briefly help selected attention or inhibition tasks. You can test timing against one observable task. Do not assume the effect will last all day or improve every kind of work.6

Can exercise replace ADHD medication?

Current evidence does not support that general claim. Most child studies are small, and adult repeated-program evidence is sparse. Exercise may be used with other care or when someone chooses it after an individualized discussion. Do not change prescribed medication without the prescriber.17

How long should I try the plan?

Many trials lasted 4 to 12 weeks, but no single duration is proven for every person. Review feasibility and safety after one week, then judge a consistent program at a planned date. Continue for health or enjoyment even if ADHD symptoms do not change, provided the plan is safe and worthwhile.19

Related reading on NP FADY

• Change the Pattern, Not the Child: A Parent’s Guide to Behavioral Training for ADHD (Part 1)
• Build the Rails: Classroom and Organization Systems for ADHD (Part 2)
• Skills, Not Willpower: How CBT Helps Teens and Adults With ADHD (Part 3)
• When Sleep Steals Focus: A Practical ADHD Sleep Plan (Part 4)
• Mood in Motion: When Exercise Becomes the Best Medicine
• ADHD Medication and Appetite Loss: What Parents Can Do
• Caffeine, Energy Drinks, and ADHD: Help or Harm?

References

1. Seiffer B, Hautzinger M, Ulrich R, Wolf S. The efficacy of physical exercise for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Attention Disorders. 2022;26(5):656-673. DOI 10.1177/10870547211017982. PMID: 34041952.

2. Huang H, Jin Z, He C, Zhang M, Quan M. Chronic exercise for core symptoms and executive functions in ADHD: a meta-analysis. Pediatrics. 2023;151(1):e2022057745. DOI 10.1542/peds.2022-057745. PMID: 36510746.

3. Sibley MH, Bruton AM, Zhao X, Johnstone JM, Mitchell J, Hatsu I, et al. Nonpharmacological treatments for ADHD in children and adolescents. Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. 2023;7(6):415-428. DOI 10.1016/S2352-4642(22)00381-9. PMID: 36907194. PMCID: PMC10370370.

4. Zhang M, He C, Gao X, Fan Z, Pan K, Huang H, et al. Exercise for core ADHD symptoms and executive functions in children and adolescents with ADHD: a network and dose-response meta-analysis. Journal of Sport and Health Science. 2026; article 101157. DOI 10.1016/j.jshs.2026.101157. PMID: 42480697.

5. Zhu FL, Dong ZH, Lu HY, Kuang DQ, Xu BH, Yang L, et al. Integrated cognitive-motor exercise for core symptoms and executive functions in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a randomized clinical trial. World Journal of Pediatrics. 2026;22(4):435-450. DOI 10.1007/s12519-026-01019-4. PMID: 41673260.

6. Sibbick E, Boat R, Sarkar M, Groom M, Cooper SB. Acute effects of physical activity on cognitive function in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Mental Health and Physical Activity. 2022;23:100469. DOI 10.1016/j.mhpa.2022.100469.

7. Xu S, Zhao C, Hu L. The effects of acute and chronic exercise on executive functions and core symptoms in adults with ADHD: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychology of Sport and Exercise. 2026;84:103088. DOI 10.1016/j.psychsport.2026.103088. PMID: 41638541.

8. Svedell LA, et al. Physical exercise as add-on treatment in adults with ADHD: the START study, a randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2025;16:1690216. DOI 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1690216. PMID: 41244864. Trial: NCT05049239.

9. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition. Washington, DC: HHS; 2018. Official PDF. Current guidance page, accessed August 30, 2026.

10. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Increasing physical activity among adults with disabilities. Official page accessed August 30, 2026. CDC source.

11. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heat and athletes. Updated June 25, 2024. Accessed August 30, 2026. CDC source.

12. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Air Quality and Outdoor Activity Guidance for Schools. Accessed August 30, 2026. AirNow source.

13. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Updated September 26, 2025. Accessed August 30, 2026. SAMHSA source. See also 988 Lifeline emergency guidance.

If there is immediate danger or a medical emergency, call 911. In the United States, call or text 988 or use 988 chat for crisis support.

---

This article is for education and is not a diagnosis or an individual treatment plan. Reading it does not create a clinician-patient relationship. ADHD care may include behavioral supports, therapy, school or workplace accommodations, medication, or a combination. Discuss major treatment changes with a qualified clinician. Evidence and U.S. guidance were checked on August 30, 2026.

If you or someone you know is in crisis

• Call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room for any life-threatening emergency.
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988, available 24/7. En español: marque 988 y oprima 2. Veterans: 988 and press 1, or text 838255.
• Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741.
• The Trevor Project (crisis support for LGBTQ+ young people) — call 1-866-488-7386, or text START to 678-678.
• National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN) — call 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or text HOPE to 64673; free, confidential, 24/7. Online chat at RAINN.org/hotline.
• National Domestic Violence Hotline — call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788; 24/7, help in 200+ languages. Online chat at TheHotline.org. If your phone or computer may be monitored, calling from a safer device is an option.
• Riverside County — Inland SoCal Crisis Helpline 951-686-HELP (4357), 24/7 (Inland SoCal United Way / 211+, in partnership with RUHS-BH); Community Access, Referral, Evaluation and Support (CARES) Line 800-499-3008, 24/7.
• San Bernardino County — Access Unit (Behavioral Health Helpline) 888-743-1478, 24/7; Mobile Crisis/CCRT 800-398-0018 (24/7, all ages) or text 909-420-0560. Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) has a dedicated walk-in adolescent psychiatric ER (ages 13–17).
• Children under 13 — call 911 for immediate danger, contact your county's mobile crisis team (they respond to all ages), or go to the nearest pediatric emergency room.
• California Peer-Run Warm Line (non-crisis — someone to talk to) — call or text 1-855-600-WARM (9276); daytime and evening hours, not a 24/7 line.
• NP Fady (non-emergency) — for routine scheduling or questions, call (909) 707-6261. This line is not monitored for emergencies.