Executive Function Toolkit- summer slide

 

We’ve heard of it, the summer slide. Research shows that over the summer students lose reading and math skills, sometimes by as much of 20% pf a year’s skills in reading and nearly 30% in math. This is super concerning especially when students in low income households tend to lose the most. What we often don’t hear about are the executive function slides that happen over the summer, particularly for students with disabilities like ADHD and ASD.

Executive function includes skills like time management, planning and task initiation. We work hard over the school year to develop these skills, and we can do things over the summer to help our children build and maintain them.

Here are some simple things you can do to help your summer go more smoothly for your children who are struggling. They also reinforce planning and time management skills that are essential for life success.

1.      Balance structure and flexibility. Have some routines that you continue: weekly religious service attendance, Sunday family dinners or lunches, weekly room cleaning, Friday game night, chores and exercise. These routines provide structure but do not prevent essential free time.

2.      Establish an expected bedtime and wake time. Yes, kids want to sleep in and stay up late, but it takes up to two weeks to allow your internal clock to reset. These routines help children have the daytime for family, human interaction and friends and limit doom scrolling. Set bedtime and wake times also help maximize a child’s ability to learn and control their emotions and behaviors. Routines help build executive functions.

3.      Map out daily and weekly plans. What are you doing today or this week? Especially younger kids still benefit from schedules that you plan. Children can help plan vacations, even if it is a choice: horseback riding or swimming, roasting s’mores or going for ice cream. Have them think about what is on the schedule for the week. Include things like doctor appointments, chores and summer reading requirements. Plan how to read at least three books over the summer. Make it a contest between them and you on who can read the most interesting book or read a book together. Every week, share progress as you read.

4.      Manage screen time. We are finishing up our first school year without cell phones in school. Prevent bounce back addiction by maintaining limits that exist during the school year. When I was a kid it was TV, now it is social media and YouTube. Kids being bored is important because it provides time to build creativity. Don’t buy in to the “I don’t have anything other than the screen to keep me busy” complaint. They have plenty, if they use their minds.

5.      Sign your child up for activities. Send kids out to play. Send them to rec centers, library programs, summer camps, book clubs, volunteer opportunities, classes to learn new skills or jobs. This helps structure their time, facilitates social interactions and gives them structure that all kids benefit from.

6.      Tackle a big project together. Summer is a great time to work on a project with your child. It could be growing a garden, refinishing a piece of furniture, cleaning out the basement, building a Lego robot or a soapbox derby car, or learn a new skill like knitting or baking together. Even going through each closet and dresser. Donating or disposing of things that don’t fit or you don’t want any more is a great together task. Have them plan how to complete the task, predict how long each step will take and evaluate how they are moving toward success.

7.      Establish parent check ins. How are things going over the summer? Are they accomplishing the things they want? Are they troubled by a relationship with a friend? Are they frustrated because they cannot do something their friend can? What is the most interesting thing they did this week? What is something nice they did for someone each day? What do they need help with? What do they think they can begin to tackle that they could not before? Are they excited that they accomplished a goal? Are they anxious about the new school year or move to a new school? Can you plan a trip to check out the new school or talk to a teacher about how to prepare children for the year ahead? Talk about what is working or not and how to adjust the routines they have.

By helping your child plan activities and goals and track progress toward them, you are helping them use those executive skill muscles that we want every child to develop. You are also helping them be ready for the fall when it comes around. Good luck and happy summer.

Executive Functions by Barkley

 Russell A. Barkley, a well known expert on ADHD, wrote Executive Functions: What They Are, How They Work, and Why They Evolved, to answer four questions:

What is the definition of Executive Function (EF)?

Barkley examines EF as an evolutionary set of processes that assist humans with survival. Because there are so many humans with a large variety of settings, different skills are preferred throughout the populace. Through a examination he describes EF as a series of levels  of skills. Overall he defines the skills set as  "the use of self-directed actions so as to choose goals and to select, enact, and sustain actions across time toward those goals usually in the context of others often relying on social and cultural means for the maximization of one's longer-tern=m welfare as the person defines it to be."(p. 176)

How are existing theories of EF inadequate?

Current theories often lump EF or as he goes on to describe it self-reliance (SR) into one pool of skills. In practice it appears they develop and are seen in a series of steps of skills.

Pre-executive	Attention, memory, spatial and motor functions, primary emotions and motivations
Instrumental self-directed	Self-directed attention (self-awareness), restraint, sensory-motor action, private speech, appraisal (emotion-motivation), play (innovation and problem solving)
Methodical-self-reliant	Use of methods to achieve goals, self-management across time, self-organization and problem solving, self restraint, self-motivation, regulation of emotions, social independence and predation , and social self-defense
Tactical-reciprocal	Use of tactics- nested sets of methods- to attain goals Daily social exchanges Group living, beginning of economics Social interdependence
Strategic-cooperation	Use of strategies- nested sets of tactics to achieve long term goals Arrangement of social cooperatives with division of labor Acting in unison to achieve a common goal Origin of larger settlements
Extended-utilitarian	Use of principles Pursuit of long-term self-interests with the ability to put others needs/interests first Preference for delayed long term consequences Origin of cities, states, countries

 Barkley 2012, p 63

As people develop a sense of time, something people with ADHD tend to have difficulty with, they are able to attain higher levels of complexity along the spectrum of EF/SR skills. As such it is irrational to expect people to be able to develop higher order skills like using strategies when they do not have robust foundations of lower level skills like attention. To combat this, Barkley feels the only rational treatment is medication.

What are the purposes of EF?

Barkley sees the major function of EF as solving the problems of group living with unrelated people.

How to assess EF?

Barkley acknowledges that current tools used to measure EF are inadequate since often the problem is not one of knowing how to, but one of implementing the how to in the context of everyday life. Far too often tools used to measure EF do not really measure EF, or they measure it completely out of context. As Barkley notes, "Just knowing about self-regulation will not automatically translate into actual self-regulation." (p. 200)

People need to assess the skills in the context in which they need to be utilized. 

Barkley indicates that this is not a book for interventions but does offer some guidance. First, in order to intervene, medication needs to be utilized. This remedies innate neurological issues that cause problems. The he suggests that people look at recognizing the temporal unawareness of people with EF weaknesses and provide short, small and immediate reinforcers for motivation. Further, skills need to be taught at the point of performance. Teaching a discrete skill in a therapy room is all well and good, but without environmental modifications and practice in the relevant environment, training will have little benefit.

This book is not an easy read. It is written for practitioners, coming in between grade 13 and 16 for readability. It demands an understand of a basic level of neurophysiology. That said, it does create a structure for understanding EF skills that is important.

Stop coddling our neurodivergent kids

Seth Perler's TEFOS was absolutely wonderful at introducing me to people who are making things happen in the executive function universe. One of the people that I really enjoyed was Shane Thrapp of Creating Order out of Chaos. His recent posts about coddling hit a nerve with me. "The hidden dangers of overprotecting your neurodivergent child" and "Age-appropriate independence building for neurodivergent children" both help define the challenge and offer strategies for overcoming coddling. As a teacher I have seen coddling for all students, not just the neurodivergent ones. Since the pandemic there has been a rash of grade inflation to "help" our kids adjust. Some schools prevent seniors from receiving a failing grade. Parents step in at every opportunity to make the way easier for their children. 

 For kids with ADHD and ASD these behaviors can be worse. Parents want to help their kids, but sometimes this takes the stance of insulating our children from all challenges. True, finding the balance between accommodations and doing it all is a fine line at times. When parents are tired their ability to handle the chaos an unregulated child might cause is limited and doing it yourself seems like the easy way out. But when we do this, we actually hamper our children's opportunity to develop life skills and independence. I love the way Thrapp puts it:

Coddling in families with ADHD and autistic children often disguises itself as necessary support. It's doing your child's homework because they're having a sensory meltdown rather than teaching them to identify their overwhelm signals and take breaks. It's constantly speaking for them in social situations instead of helping them develop scripts and communication strategies. It's removing all unexpected changes from their routine rather than gradually building their tolerance for flexibility within structured frameworks."

With my son, we used to call it "girding our loins" as we waded in to challenging situations that we needed to get through. When we noticed that he had never given his order at a fast food restaurant, but had done so at sit down restaurants, we had our chance. We were on a road trip. My husband and I placed our order, our daughter was required to do so and then it was his turn. Yes, he spent 45 minutes avoiding ordering. There were tears, loud statements that he would go hungry and pleading. We stood firm and, eventually, he was able to use the skills he had to place the order and enjoy his meal. It was not comfortable as a parent. We were stared at by other customers. But in the long run, he learned a valuable skill that he uses to this day. 

 When working on executive function skills or sensory tolerance, it will take longer to develop than with the neurotypical. Habits can take between about 3 weeks to months to form for neurotypical people depending on the complexity of the habit and amount of ingrained training/experience the habit is trying to overcome. Think up to 3 times as long to form habits for our ADHD children. For example, for average students it takes them 2-3 years to develop proficiency with a planner. This includes monitoring, guidance and reinforcement. For our neurodivergent folks it might take 6-9 years to learn. When our instruction in school ends, our neurodivergent folks are still just beginning to learn the new skill and are no where near ready for independence. This works for other skills as well. It can take a long time to get there with lots of frustration along the way. Celebrate the small wins. It is worth it. Thrapp notes, "Remember, your job as a parent isn't to make your child's life perfect, it's to prepare them for independence in a world that won't always accommodate their needs automatically. "

The Incredible Teenage Brain: scaffolding to support teen brain development

 Bettina Hohnen, Jan Gilmour and Tara Murphy's book, The Incredible Teenage Brain: Everything You Need to Know to Unlock Your Teen's Potential, is a a great read. The book discusses the neurology around teen brains and how they are different from both children and adults brains. Further, it provides advice on how to help your teen deal with the challenging social and educational landscape they see on a daily basis. They discuss how to help teens care for their brain and optimize performance (see my previous post).

Much of what they do that is different than other tomes I have read is to provide guidance on how to talk with your teen to optimize their thinking and feeling brains. The final chapter wraps it up in a great mnemonic to help adults keep in mind how to approach their young people when they are in a highly emotional state: May the force be with you Luke.

Maybe this situation pushed your buttons. When your buttons are pushed you react in a suboptimal manner. Be aware of your buttons and work to reduce your emotion. If you approach something in a state of emotional arousal, it will only feed it in your child.

the behavior needs decoding, what are they really saying. Just like with toddlers, teens' behavior is communication. Try to read what is beneath the behavior. What is the message they are sending?

force yourself to wait while the emotions settle. My children had a principal who was awesome with this. There was a bench and his therapy dog in the main office. Children sent down would wait there to speak with them. He kept an eye on them and only pulled them in to conversation when their bodies were calm. Emotional brains are not thinking brains. Do not try to use logic, they won't hear it. Wait for them to come down, then you can talk.

be alongside, be with them. Co-regulation is a thing. If you can sit next to them and be calm, it will help them calm. Depending on your child, holding their hand or rubbing their back may be helpful. Sharing emotional experiences is a good thing and you share it with them. This is not a time to talk, just be with them in a calm state.

withhold your advice form now and just listen. Just listen, no advice, no problem solving. You can demonstrate active listening ( paraphrase back to see if you understand the situation). 

you describe the emotion if they can't. Help them to label their emotions. This is especially useful for kids with ADHD or ASD. Surprisingly naming emotions is a very challenging task for many people. They may not have the vocabulary or understanding of what the emotion looks and feels like. Use a soft approach, "It seems like you are -----." Strong denials may mean you nailed it or that you have it wrong. Puzzle it out after a break.

Luke (look) for a suitable time to talk it out later, think about solutions and learning points. Later, on their schedule talk about the situation. Different situations need different cooling off periods. At a later non-emotionally charged time talk about what happened and problem solve how to deal better with the situation. Let them identify possible ideas, do not feed them solutions. Becoming an adult means you need to have space to try and figure it out. Your job is to provide support and understanding.

New skills take time to learn. You will backslide and mess it up but keep trying and you will get better.

A great book to help adults understand and support teens.

The incredible teenage brain: optimal leaning and mental health

 Bettina Hohnen, Jan Gilmour and Tara Murphy's book, The Incredible Teenage Brain: Everything You Need to Know to Unlock Your Teen's Potential, is a a great read. Although I'm not through it all, the last two chapters spoke to me. As parents we want to optimize our children's health and learning potential. In order to do that, certain things need to be done. This book addresses them and discusses how to go about achieving them; making changes and dealing with challenges that occur as children reach adolescence. I have written about these before, the needs are not newly understood, but this text's add is suggestions for helping your teen make the changes necessary to achieve the best results possible.

First, nutrition. We all know that children need a varied diet. Vegetables, although not often favorites, are a must in a health diet. Fast food is not good for us or our kids. Caffeine is particularly  not good for children. It is associated with sleep disruptions, increased heart rate, acid reflux, nervousness, dental issues, obesity, decreased bone density, increased mental health concerns, challenges with emotional regulation, poor growth, and over 5000 cases a year toxicity. Teens should have at most 1 coffee in a day (about 100mg) and that not every day (Sun Pediatrics). Teens will do what you do. The same impacts are seen on adults. Curbing caffeine, especially in energy drinks is important. We know all this, how do we make the change? Model it, model it, model it. Family dinners help kids eats better, especially if the adults eat better. Rules can be that they need to be present at the table and must try a little of the vegetable matter. Limit sweets. Drinks can be water or milk. Protein in the morning is important for the body to have the components to build the neurotransmitters related to sleep- melatonin. Magnesium may help with relaxation. Talk your child's doctor and or a nutritionist to get guidance.

AN ADHD caveat. Evidence exists that shows caffeine can reduce some symptoms of ADHD. Properly supervised medication is a better choice, but something might be better than nothing. That said, all caffeine should be stopped at least 6 hours before bedtime to limit sleep issues.

Second, sleep. Teens need sleep. The whole circadian rhythm change in teens is real but minor. The bigger issue is social jet lag. Teens stay up to socialize on social media, play video games, accomplish homework and ruminate on life challenges. They are allowed to radically swing their sleep schedules on weekends and vacations which cause huge jet lag issues. Imagine flying across the country  with a three hour, or more, time difference, every week. Just about the time your body gets used to the new time, you change it up. You will not feel rested or well. Small changes (ex. bed time at 11 not 10 on weekends and awake by 9 not 7) will help keep them from being too off track. To make it work, they need to talk about how they feel Monday when they were up late all weekend and sleeping in versus Thursday when they have had a consistent schedule for a few days. Keep all screens out of bedrooms at night. They are an attractive nuisance. Buy an alarm clock, they are remarkably affordable). If they need white noise, get a separate device. Inadequate sleep will mimic ADHD or make it harder for people with it to manage their symptoms. 

If your children are too busy to get homework done before crazy late, cut things out. Talk with teachers about additional support or the homework problem. (Rule of thumb- 10 minutes per grade. If it is more than this, it is too much for the child.)  They don't need that extra club, honors class, sport or volunteer activity. They will still be able to establish a college application that is quality without sacrificing their mental health or their actual learning of material.

Rumination is a particular challenge. As adults we are familiar with this challenge of minds being too busy to sleep. Try to minimize conflict in the evening. Try to keep communications open so that you can help with social concerns before bed. Teach that teens see things more negatively at night. Keep the screens away at night. They just add social drama, mental stimulation, and heightened concerns of all sorts.

Third exercise. All kids should get 60 minutes of exercise every day. Studies have shown that this helps children with ADHD manage their behavior, especially if it is outside. Exercise helps kids deal with energy and negative emotions. Anxiety is a huge concern that can be addressed, in part, through exercise. When students put this kind of work in on a daily basis it raises their grades. Exercise also helps kids manage their weight and reduces rates of heart issues both as children and when they grow up as adults.

Finally feeling loved, safe and secure. One of the basic needs for humans is love. Show kids you love them, even when they are being pesky, nasty, disrespectful beasts. Do not stoop to their level. Love them in spite of it all. When they get loud, get quiet. Learn to disengage when they want to fight. Give them kudos for the things they do well- all kids, even when they are at their worst, do good. Essure their environment is safe. Work with social services and school if you are having trouble with housing, medical care or food. People are there to help and not judge. Kids do need more than love, but that is indeed a big part of the puzzle.

Executive function toolkit: getting things done and scheduling

 

Executive functioning (EF) is the ability to plan and manage one’s life. It includes things like time management, task initiation, problem solving, verbal reasoning, persistence, attention and emotional regulation. Many people with EF challenges struggle to get things done.

 

1. The "Non-Negotiable" Schedule Trick 📅
   Just like basketball practice or doctor appointments, study time goes directly into their calendar. Here's why this works: When study time is treated as important as other activities, it's no longer optional. No more "I'll do it later" excuses!

 

2.      Time robbers “The concept of “time robbers” can be a fun way to call to attention all the little (or maybe not so little) things we do that take away from our goal. “ (Van Zandt). Identify your time robbers and think up ways to prevent them. If you get up to get a drink repeatedly, have a bottle of water on standby. If you look out the window and get distracted, do not face the window. Silence notifications on your phone and set it out of reach.

 

 

 

3.      https://gpsparentseries.org/events/sarah-ward-kristen-jacobsen/

4.      Checklists are a marvelous tool for getting things done. They help surgeons perform their work successfully and pilots fly their planes. Make a list, you might have parts of a job listed (clean your room might include- dishes to dishwasher, dirty clothes to hamper, clean clothes to dresser/closet, school supplies on desk, bed made) and cross things off as you go.

5.      Establish routines. Bedtime might include pick up your toys, get backpack ready for school tomorrow, put electronic devices on charger, brush teeth, wash face, put on PJs, put dirty clothes in the hamper, read a story with an adult, go to bed. Coming home from school might be: have snack, go to the bathroom, do your homework, complete your chores. A checklist or picture schedule could be used to help ensure each step gets done. Once the child is very successful with the routine, you can wean them from the routine list. If they get off track, ask, “What is the next step?” Having routines for daily/ weekly tasks saves mental energy and ensures things get done.

6.      Get things Done (GTD) system- David Allen’s strategy is described by Rebekah Pierce is good for older children and adults and will require lots of training and support.

1.      Capture- write down all the things that need to be done. Electronics might be useful, or might be a distraction, you have to experiment to see what works for you. Photos or event reminders might be used. Todoist is an app that might be useful for older children and adults. Google calendar might be useful for some.

2.      Clarify-

1.      anything that needs 2 minutes or less, do now.

2.      Delegate what can/should be delegated

3.      Give it a due date

4.      Delete unimportant things

5.      Be specific as possible

3.      Organize- Categorize items (homework, chores, recreation,…) and determine the time needed to complete them

4.      Engage- do it

1.      Context- what can be done now (riding in the car you cannot compose a paper, but you might be able to listen to an audiobook)

2.      Time- how much time is available now. Match required time with available time

3.      Energy- how much energy do you have to complete the tasks. Put hard/demanding tasks when you have energy

4.      Priority- what is most important

5.      reflect

Source: https://lifesuccessforteenswebinar.com/training?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email+marketing&utm_campaign=Back+By+Popular+Demand:+Straight-A+Student+Tips+for+the+New+School+Year+%F0%9F%93%9A+(12-07-2025)

https://lunchbuddiesplus.wordpress.com/2018/04/19/time-robbers/

Van Zandt, L. (2017) https://eastersealsdfvr.wordpress.com/2017/06/13/executive-functioning-skills-co-op-model-part-3-time-robbers/

Executive function toolkit: Reading comprehension

 

Executive function skills are a set of skills that include working memory, flexible thinking and self-control. When reading, people must utilize both working memory and self-control to maintain focus. “Executive function challenges can interfere with reading comprehension as students struggle to maintain attention for engaged, active reading, formulate informational gestalts, make inferences, and organize details. “ (Cognitive Connections)

Regardless of their age or grade, children read better when they utilize active reading strategies. These strategies involve thinking about what you read and writing something down. Children often resist them because they “take more time,” failing to appreciate that when you read for information (fiction or nonfiction), it takes more time. These strategies help students to slow down and benefit from what they read. It creates a written document to remind them of the information that can be used to review, study or quickly reference details. The graphic organizers below are samples of those readily available on the web. Encourage your child to use strategies to develop their reading

1.      Somebody, wanted, but so/and, then summarization.

This strategy can be used in everyday life to practice. Ask your child to summarize a trip to the store, the park or a movie. The resulting summary can be only one or two sentences. Children could compete to provide the shortest version or the version with the most details or the one with the most interesting adjectives. They could tell made up stories using the format as well.

2.      Story maps range from simple to more complex. Children who are not adept at writing could draw pictures. When chapter books are encountered they can keep a running document to indicate the rising action (things that happen leading to the climax) to the climax (point of highest action, tension, or conflict; the turning point in a story) to the falling action (wrap up the end). These are great tools for older students who are going to have a test on a book that they read over a period of time because it keeps track of what happened. Students often forget story elements when they read longer books because it takes too long to read them or they read without paying attention  and fail to recognize the breakdown of comprehension.

 

 

3.      Summarization steps

1. Look for and list the key words and main ideas in each sentence or paragraph.
2. Draw a line under the main idea statements and most important ideas in the text.
3. Combine any ideas that can go into one sentence.
4. Number the ideas in order.
5. Write a summary in one or two sentences or one paragraph.
6. Read through and edit the summary.

 

4.      RAP 

1.      Read the passage

2.      Answer the questions. If there are no questions, turn subtitles into questions.

3.      Prove you are right

5.      Summarizing nonfiction:

1.      Text: what type of text is it

2.      Action and about: what is the purpose of the text

3.      Main idea: state the main idea (what is this passage about)

4.      Supporting Details: Back up your main idea with details

 

Executive Function Toolkit: Resiliency

 Executive function, more than IQ or education, determines how successful a person will be. It is the capacity to get things done effectively, efficiently, and in the presence of others. In school we often talk about a student’s resiliency or ability to persevere when things go badly.

The American Psychological Association defines resilience as,

“the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.

 A number of factors contribute to how well people adapt to adversities, including the ways in which individuals view and engage with the world, the availability and quality of social resources, and specific coping strategies.

Psychological research demonstrates that the resources and skills associated with resilience can be cultivated and practiced.”

Parents and teachers can help build resiliency in youths. Some things to work on include:

·         Break down big tasks into smaller ones. This could be anything from an essay in school, to learning to pitch a baseball, or cleaning a bedroom. Identify components, putting them into writing or pictures for young children, and note each component when complete. Include plenty of praise for each step.

·         Model resiliency. When things go wrong, show children how to handle the problem, get back up and try again.

·         Use positive self-talk and affirmations. This can be phrases such as, “This is hard, but I can do it,” or “I don’t know that, yet, and I can learn it,” can be paired with, “It didn’t work this time, but I can try again” messages.

·         Build connections between learning and dreams. The Lexile Career Database, shows reading levels needed for jobs. The average actor needs a reading level of 1130 L (7^th grade level) and an average farm owner 1250L (12^th grade level). It is true that there are options. Wally Amos of Famous Amos Cookies is known for saying that he could hire people to read for him (he had a significant reading disability), but in order to get there he struggled long and hard. In order to become a musician, you must practice. The Beetles spent 2 years playing and practicing 10 hours a day in Hamburg clubs, earning practically nothing, before going back to Britain and becoming famous. This builds purpose behind the struggle.

·         Establish a hassle-free zone. Parents can have a no nagging Saturday. A safe zone can be established where children can have a few minutes to calm and self-regulate before going back to the frustrating task. (This should be limited by time- for example, you can opt out for 5 minutes, but then you have to try again/more.) Giving children some control helps them build the ability to regulate and counter frustration.

·         Adequate sleep, nutrition and exercise. These things make everything better. Refer to your doctor for recommendations on what is appropriate for your child.

·         Help others. Put children in positions to help others. Collect mail for a neighbor who is out of town for a day, read to a younger child, listen to a younger child read or help practice math facts, or volunteer at a food bank. Getting your mind off your problems and seeing other people productively struggle can help build capacity for picking up and trying again.

·         Put things in perspective. Everyone struggles at times. Highlight the struggles of people, both in your child’s life and those of important others. Henry Winkler, Thomas Edison, Milton Hershey, Walt Disney, Colonel Sanders and Michael Jordan are just a few people who failed before becoming successful. A failure at a time does not mean a failure forever.

·         Develop circles of support. Everyone needs support sometimes. Show your child how others help you and help them recognize people who can help them. This could be parents, coaches, teachers, clergy, neighbors, therapists, peers or others.

Help your child build resilience and help them to become more successful.

Sources

Cathleen Beachboard, https://www.edutopia.org/article/strategies-build-students-resilience (2025)

Ng, R., Ang, R.P. & Ho, MH.R. Coping with Anxiety, Depression, Anger and Aggression: The Mediational Role of Resilience in Adolescents. Child Youth Care Forum 41, 529–546 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-012-9182-x  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10566-012-9182-x

Mary K. Alvord, PhD, Robin Gurwitch, PhD, Jana Martin, PhD, and Ronald S. Palomares, PhD https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience/bounce-teens

Executive function Toolkit: Study Space

 

Merriam-Webster defines executive function as the group of complex mental processes and cognitive abilities (such as working memory, impulse inhibition, and reasoning) that control the skills (such as organizing tasks, remembering details, managing time, and solving problems) required for goal-directed behavior. When students try to study or do homework in spaces that are not conducive to focusing (like bed or the couch) and have multiple distractions, they are often unproductive. One way parents can significantly help their children is to establish a study space for their children.

Help your child set up a space. They need to be involved. If you lack organizational skills, perhaps you need to engage someone else to help you and your child in this. If you do it all, then your child will not learn the skill of doing this on their own. If they are going to college, they MUST be able to do this on their own.

1.      Dedicate a space. This could be a desk or a table with comfortable seating, proper lighting, and limited clutter.

2.      Include only essential items. Pens/pencils, paper, computer, calculator, white board/cork board, earplugs, chargers, reference materials, computer. A phone is NOT an essential item. Have a place for everything. If they have a separate individual desk this is easy. If they must use a shared space like the kitchen table, a box or crate or set of shelves can work.

3.      No music with words. Students will constantly tell you they can multitask. They cannot when doing thought heavy work. Studying and homework are thought heavy work and need your brain’s attention. TV, movies, and radio are designed to grab your attention. They need to NOT be on in the space when working.

4.      Set up a visual calendar. Yes, in paper that can be viewed by everyone. This can include activities like Scouts’ meetings, sports activities, and family events as well as long term project deadlines.

5.      Have a to-do list. This could be a planner, electronic agenda or index card. Find a system that works for the child.

6.      A timer should be available. Students can say I will work on this for 10-25 minutes and then take a break. The Pomodoro method is a formal way of managing time when working. The timer helps students stay accountable, identify how long it takes to do things and stay focused. (People with EF concerns are often time blind- they are not good at determining how long it takes to do things. Using a timer helps them to better plan in the future.)

7.      Set ground rules. Children cannot interrupt each other when they are in their study space. Materials in the space cannot be “borrowed” because all too often they go missing. When someone is studying others should not intrude with noise, teasing, changing lighting…

8.      At least once a week the space should be formally picked up. (When I was in college, everything had to be picked up before I started to work. Because I had to work regularly, my space never got too out of hand.) Students may need help with this part.

You can help your child to focus and study better, but they are likely to resist because these are hard skills and require giving up more preferred tasks. Persist and highlight how dedication helps them to be successful.

Sources

Seth Perler and the Sacred Study Space

Creating the Perfect Study Space for Your Teen

Healthline, Music and studying

Executive Function Toolkit: Prioritizing

 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 1/20^th 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.

Resources

Willis, J.. Prioritizing: A Critical Executive Function https://www.edutopia.org/blog/prioritizing-a-critical-executive-function-judy-willis

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/

Kris Pathway 2 Success https://www.thepathway2success.com/10-executive-functioning-skills-the-ultimate-guide/

Executive Function Toolkit: Morning routines to get off to a great start

 

Getting out the door can be especially challenging for people with executive function (EF) challenges. There are, however, some steps that can be taken to establish routines that make this easier.

Getting out the door on time starts the night before with a couple activities:

·         Put the backpack and everything needed for the next day together and by the door ready to go. If a lunch needs to be made, make it the night ahead of time and leave it in the fridge. Put a sticky note on the door or backpack to remind someone it is ready to go.

·         Plan what will be worn the next day. There should be no searching for anything, no wavering on which outfit, no finding out that the special x needs to washed in the morning. Check the weather and pick the clothes out.

·         Turn off devices. Phones should be kept out of bedrooms. Parental controls can keep notifications and interactions from being a problem. (If you need help to do this just google the particular device and parental controls.) Use an alarm clock rather than a phone. Cheap alarms (less than $15) are available at Amazon.

·         Set a bedtime and stick to it. Yes, teenagers often have difficulty getting to bed early, but with consistent routines it can work. Preschoolers need 10-13 hours and teenagers need 8-10 hours of sleep per night. If children do not get enough sleep, they will struggle with waking up, maintaining control of their attention and behavior, maintaining a healthy weight and performing well in school.

In the morning

·         Leave off the TV, computer and phone. These distractions are time suckers. They grab attention and then either things don’t get done or time escapes you and you leave late.

·         Identify the tasks that need to be done (ex. feed the dog or wake another sibling). Make sure there is enough time in the routine to those tasks. You can dry run your routine on a weekend to see how long it really takes to complete all the activities. People with EF challenges are often terribly bad at judging how long it takes to do things. Make a schedule- pictures for young kids, bulleted list for older ones. It can be laminated or copied and things can be checked off every day for those with really impulsive and distracted natures.

·         Use timers. Visual timers, like those to the side can help people really understand time. There are phone apps and timers available from Amazon that can be used. Digital clocks blur an understanding of time. The visual timers help people understand what 30 minutes means.

·         Provide protein rich breakfasts. Proteins metabolize more slowly that carbs so energy is maintained throughout the morning. Also proteins in the morning help your brain create melatonin at night to assist with sleeping.

·         Provide rewards for making it work. A week of out the door on time with no yelling from a parent might mean extra screen time, selecting a favorite dinner/breakfast cereal, or a trip to the dollar store.

This does require that parents lead the way and if your EF skills are not excellent it can be a challenge for parents too, but these strategies work for everyone. Routines can make the morning easier for everyone.

Susan Brown, MSE

ptasusanb@gmail.com

 

Resources

ADDitude, Use This Sample Schedule With Kids with ADHD / ADD (additudemag.com)

ADDitude, Morning Routines for ADHD Families: Schedules to Wake Up and Go (additudemag.com)

Caring for kids, https://caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/pregnancy-and-babies/healthy_sleep_for_your_baby_and_child

Time Timer, https://www.timetimer.com/blogs/news/4-tips-for-getting-out-the-door-on-time