288: Getting Your Disorganized Teen on Track | Dr. Tori Cordiano

288: Getting Your Disorganized Teen on Track | Dr. Tori Cordiano

From Ask Lisa: Untangling Family Life by Dr. Lisa Damour

September 8, 2026 · 37 min

About this episode

Dr. Lisa Damour discusses strategies to help disorganized teens with guest Dr. Tori Cordiano.

You may know this scene: your kid forgot practice gear again, an assignment vanished into the void, and you're wondering if your teen is just disorganized — or is there something more serious going on? That mix of exhaustion and frustration is real. Chasing lost details, worrying that you may have dropped the ball, wondering if you're overreacting to normal middle school or high school organization struggles, or missing something bigger — you're allowed to feel all of that without it meaning you're failing anyone. Here's some good news: the part of the brain that handles executive functioning is still under construction all through high school and doesn't fully come online until your kid reaches their mid-20s. So a teen who can't stay organized, forgets homework, or misses details isn't revealing a character flaw. It's a work-in-progress brain doing exactly what a work-in-progress brain does. Today's guest, Dr. Tori Cordiano, walks us through how to lower the bar on what counts as "normal," and build a few sturdy tools for executive function instead of expecting your teen to self-manage it all. She talks through how to let natural consequences do some of the teaching, and how…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Lisa Damour

Guest: Dr. Tori Cordiano

Topics covered

  • teen organization
  • executive functioning
  • parenting strategies
  • natural consequences
  • motivation

Keywords

  • disorganized teen
  • executive function
  • parenting
  • school struggles
  • motivation

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