Executive Functioning (EF) is the collection of skills required to get things done and get along with others. This includes things like organizing, time management, regulating your emotions, task initiation and persistence, planning, cognitive flexibility, prioritizing, and memory. Most people have some strands of EF that are stronger than others.
Kids with prioritizing issues often seem like they cannot
get anything important done. They may wander from task to task without
completing things, only do the easy things, habitually miss deadlines, delay
tasks, or be frozen so that they cannot complete anything. Prioritizing impact
writing and reading where a person needs to identify the most important
evidence and locate main ideas. “Prioritizing is what takes place when the
brain distinguishes main ideas from low-relevance details. It is also at work
when students plan how to invest their time and effort. (Willis)” If you have
issues with prioritizing, you might become victim of the urgency effect- do
whatever is in front of you. You might experience this when you are trying to
pick up a space: find something for another room, take it there, see something
to do there, do that, and never get back to picking up the room.
Having a weakness does not mean you cannot get better at
something. It means you need to work harder to develop skills in an area. Some
ways to develop prioritizing skills include:
1.
Recognize skills someone already has: Everyone
has some skills in prioritization. You might be good at prioritizing the
bedtime book, TV show to watch, or music to listen to. You might be good at
prioritizing which friends you want to hang out with. When eating, does the
individual eat the thing they like best or worst first and why? Someone might
be good at knowing that something needs to be done, but not have the emotional
wherewithal to do it. Compliment kids when they show off a prioritizing skill,
even it if seems really small. Baby steps will get you across the finish line.
2.
Clarify goals: What are you trying to do? Clean
the house/room/backpack? Pass all your classes? Sometimes these goals are too
big, especially if you have EF troubles. You need to identify the parts of the
big goal and work on the parts that will lead to that goal.
3.
Showcase that planning is productive: At home
you do this all the time. When you make a grocery list, you go to the store
less often and, probably, spend less money. If you are going on vacation, you
need to plan- who will water the plants, where will you stay, what will you do?
To clean the house for company, do you start in the bathroom, kitchen or living
room? Let kids help plan and carry out the plan. It gives value to the hard
work of planning. Make lists and cross things off. This makes it seem like you
are getting somewhere.
4.
Practice with no fear of being wrong: Some of
the above things fall into this category. It doesn’t matter where you start
cleaning, as long as everything gets done. If organizing your photos, it
doesn’t matter if beach pictures or Christmas comes first. If you are sending a
note to Grandma, do you include one picture or a link to a Facebook post?
5.
Practice identifying best: Sometimes there is a
best, but this might be a personal choice. If I am prioritizing snacks, my go
to will be something sweet and chocolaty whereas my husband has something
salty. When buying a used car will it be the 2018 Honda Odyssey ($29,833) or
the 2014 Chrysler Town &Country ($15,590)? Is the thing that is most
important, the cost, quality or number of seats or cup holders?
6.
List assignments and due dates: Oftentimes kids
with EF concerns end up behind in their assignments because they cannot choose
which to start on. List out what is due and when it is due. For bigger projects
and papers, identify the parts that need to be done to complete the task. Put
these on a calendar or just a list and do them in order. Cross things off for
the sense of accomplishment.
7.
Help manage the late work pile up. Look at how
much each thing on the overdue list is worth and do the things worth the most:
If they are really behind, do the assignments with the most bang for the buck.
A quick write that takes 5 minutes or a page of math problems that are worth
the same number points or percentages? Do the quick write because it is faster
and probably easier. A paper that is worth 40% of the grade or a homework
assignment that will be 1/20th of 20% of the grade? Pick the paper
because even though it takes longer to complete, you will likely fail without
it being done and a 50 on it will have more positive impact than a 100 on the
homework. An EdPuzzle that will take 10 minutes or answering questions based on
the reading that will take 10 minutes, both are worth the same amount? Which is
easier for the student to complete?
Walk children through these decision-making activities.
Start with the simpler and smaller activities and work towards bigger goals.
For someone with an EF weakness it can easily take 3 or 4 times as long as
someone with these weaknesses to reach the same proficiency with prioritizing.
Stick with it.
Susan Brown
Awards and Education Chair
Resources
Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities https://www.smartkidswithld.org/getting-help/executive-function-disorder/ef-skills-planning-prioritizing/
Marydee Sklar https://executivefunctioningsuccess.com/how-to-prioritize-tasks-with-an-executive-function-challenged-brain/
Colleen Beck https://www.theottoolbox.com/executive-functioning-skills-planning-prioritization/
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