Executive Functioning Questions
Answered by Susan Schenk co-founder of Shift Your Thinking
Question #1
This is a great question.
Since we are now in a school at home setting this is an opportunity to work on developing some of the executive function skills and strategies that will help him in the classroom setting.
Let’s start with organization
This is a skill you will be using to support your son when he’s home for his schooling, so this is a great time to start developing his organization skills so it can be eventually moved into the classroom setting. You will set up a strategy, show him, ask him to use the strategy, give his input, adjust it and then guide him until he is independent (this will take time!)
You will find out what strategies work best for him as you use this approach, so when he heads back to the classroom setting he will have some of these strategies to fall back on.
Remember skills take time to develop, so take your time and work on one area at a time :)
What can help him get organized?
Use of colour
Colour is great strategy for school as he can use different colours to identify different subjects, such as math is red and science is green.
Create a schedule at home that uses these colours throughout the day. You can use coloured sticky notes for your schedule and also place a sticky note on the worksheets, binder and workbook so he can easily identify what he needs next for his school day.
Ask him what colours make sense for each subject - then make template for your schedule and add colour to the workbooks/textbooks.
Same location
It’s always easier to find something when it’s in the same place and this works for school as well.
Set up a ‘home’ for his schoolwork and model how to place the items in the same place each day. This is like setting up a ‘mini’ desk organization plan so your son will know where to get and put away his items each day. You could use small trays on top of a table or baskets. Label them if that helps using your colour system but think about how this system can then be used at school as well.
Start by modelling where to get and put away his work. Then ask him to get his work and eventually put it away. Putting away will be the hardest step so don’t push for all three from the start! Just one step at a time then add in more as he is successful.
Once this system is in place and working well. Ask him how he can use this approach in school and problem solve around this. Then talk about how this system can be used in his backpack.
Eventually he will see how easy it is for him to find (the colour coded items when they are in the same place) This will take time but you are working on him gaining this habit so when he returns to school he can use this approach for his desk, locker and backpack.
Plan it out in advance
It’s important to plan out the day in advance so he’s aware of what is coming. Each day looks slightly and this is a good time to see how making a clear plan with subjects and what needs to be done helps him to move from one task to another. Just having Math listed is not enough. It’s too vague. Have Math page 3 questions 2-4 is specific and when he’s done he knows the next task is _________. This may be a movement break, getting outside or moving onto another subject. It will depend on his skills and needs.
Again watch and see what he needs — this is important information for when he returns to the classroom.
Getting started to complete his work
How do you support him so he will start his work?
Getting started is tricky. As quoted in an article in ADDitude Magazine: “Sometimes a person thinks of a particular task as important, honestly believing that he wants to give it immediate attention and sustained effort, yet he does not act accordingly. He may continue to procrastinate, busying himself with work on other tasks that are not as urgent, or he may actively seek out distractions by getting in touch with friends, surfing the Internet, getting high, or going to sleep. Such contradictions make sense only when we realize that the emotions that guide our motivations often are not fully conscious or conflicting.”
If your child finds the tasks in front of them trigger emotions from the past when it comes to school, you may be faced with emotions they are not even aware of. I have experienced this myself and with my children.
This is when you know they have the skills but they are resistant to start even when they are sitting at the table with you. They are there with the books but they will NOT start.
We have to be aware of this emotional response and the awareness that the task in front of them is not engaging to them which makes initiating the task even harder.
So if you child seems to need more support than you think they need — consider the emotions around the school task they are asked to do. Once they gain momentum through your support, they may continue to work with your support — and eventually independently.
Now with that said, you also need to ask is this something our son has done before or if he understands what he needs to do. If the answer is NO, then he will need your support to understand the new task and information.
Find out how you can review the information with him so he is engaged (a video, how the subject relates to something he loves - like when I connected % to sales on clothes…that was a big one!!.
Break down the steps to start and complete his work. ( use a whiteboard, use colours etc)
Ask him to start with the first task - if he’s resistant - this could be an emotional response, this could be I don’t understand and I’m overwhelmed. So now model what he can do and complete the first 1, 2…3 steps. Whatever is needed to stop the emotion and overwhelmed experience to step into a place of learning.
Ask him to step into one part of the task. If he is successful, ask him to complete another part as you move onto supporting him in another way.
The goal is to eventually have him working on the task with you there to support him when he needs it.
The next time he is working on a similar task that you supported him through, review the steps ( write them down) and see what he needs to begin this time.
You are working through these steps each time:
Observe: Consider how you are breaking down the task for your child right now.
Support by Showing, Telling, and Visual Breakdown: If you are verbally telling him each step and modelling what to do, particularly with a new task, make a note of how long you are doing this until he can move to the next step of breaking down the steps into a visual image checklist and/or a step by step break down on the page using a written word or sentence for each step.
Note: you want to take note of what is need for a NEW TASK vs a familiar task when it comes to offering strategies for breaking down a task
Here’s an app that can offer different ways to break down tasks:
Click here to review an app that can be used for various skill levels — from first and next approach to scheduling to a full month calendar
Or you can just use a whiteboard, a list on a piece of paper. It will depend on your child and their skill level.
Stay focused on the task
This goes back to the step above. If he has the skills and the emotion is not overriding (so he’s not in a fight, flight and freeze mode) then you know he can start the task and stay there until he has a question.
However, there are other ways to help stay on task.
Movement breaks. If your child is needed something to help them attend during this period of time you might want to change up your schedule to help him stay focused and regulated. Make sure there are times he is moving or allow him to stand while completing his school work.
Show the time. Set a visual timer that shows the passing of time so he can see how long he will be working on his school work. This type of timer allows him to stay aware of time so that he can use it to get what he can done within this period of time.
If there is resistance still return to these questions:
Is it broken down enough? If your child is overwhelmed they may not be able to start. You may even need to help them in areas you ‘FEEL’ they have the skills until you see them starting to step out of the overwhelm and help to complete some of the school tasks. As they gain momentum they will take on more of the task and you can step away.
Does your child have the skills or knows what to do? You will figure this out as you watch what they are doing and not doing. If you child can’t start, they could be overwhelmed which makes it look like they are ‘lazy’ because you know they have the skills to do what is in front of them or you may watch and they can’t start because they don’t know what to do. Of course, it could be combination of both.
Focus on the highest priority. To also minimize the overwhelm talk through how to identify what is the most important task and complete that first. Do not show other work at this time. Just focus on the one subject until completed.
Set up the right accommodations - staying on task is when you have the skills and the right tools to help your child. They will also be overwhelmed if they are asked to complete work in a way that requires more effort than results - that’s when accommodations come into place. This is a great time to watch and see what your child needs to support them.
Use a visual timer - chunk the time! Start with a small amount of time is there is resistance (similar to what Seth mentioned in our call) Using a visual timer that shows the time moving is a better support than a digital clock. It gives the true movement of time. Here’s one of my favourites.
Handing in Homework
Recalling to hand in your homework can be an issue particularly when many things are happening around you. Your son has issues with auditory and visual processing which means he will need additional strategies and support when there are a lot of auditory and visual demands.
Technology reminders. Using technology as an alarm to help him recall what to hand in at lunch time is a possible solution.
Visual checklist. Try using a visual strategy such as a checklist when you are at home as well but having him check off each step he completes such as 1. Complete the paragraph, 2. answer the questions two and three 3. hand in the paper into the grey folder on the table.
Flexible thinking. Your son may find it difficult to move onto the next task so he is more apt to push his work aside and jump into the next activity than complete the final step of handing it in. Try a 5 min verbal cue before he’s done and say complete the last step in 5 mins. Look at if the visual image or checklist helps to clarify what he is needed to do next?
Of course, it’s important to keep in mind that not one size fits all, these suggestions are just the start. Your child may have difficulties organizing or initiating a task but they may be incredible at problem solving. So find what works for them and find tune these strategies with your child — then move than into the classroom with the support of their teacher.
Question #2
The steps are similar to the Question #1 find out what he needs to organize himself.
Room System: Work on using colours, same location, baskets, etc in the house and his room. Set his room up like a mini dorm room and ask how he can use this room for his living space and work on his school work.
Technology support: Add in using google calendars with colour codes for each subject to allow him to see when his classes are and what homework is due. He can put a reminder on the calendar to him recall when something is due a days before and 10 mins before. So he can get started on his assignment and hand it in.
Work on putting appointments in his phone right now so this becomes a habit eventually to avoid missing important meetings etc.
Whiteboard Magic: Setup a whiteboard in his room now and ask him to write out his day the night before and check off his tasks as his day progresses (this is a lifesaver when used well) Information can get stuck in your phone and you forget about it as well so information needs to be front and centre to help move through the day and stay on task vs being side tracked by other activities and you soon forget about that assignment that just dinged on our phone. So look at helping him set up both systems.
School Staff Support: Ask for support through the school. They most likely have staff available to support your son for additional planning and completing work.
Team up for other Peers — when he has peers that will work on the homework or assignment the same time he is this helps to keep his focus on the task. You can try this at home, by completing work beside him as he is working on his homework. Talked to him about why this strategy works.
Question #3
Another great question!
There is resistance when it comes to planning and schooling at home schedules particularly with teenage kids. I believe this has to be a team approach, however, with that said if he doesn’t follow up with what HE plans then the dance begins!
It’s a dance of you get to navigate this school at home schedule as long as you show you are doing YOUR PLAN.
Now with that said, we have to acknowledge this is all new for everyone. We are stepping into a NEW normal. And to shift from going to school, having friends around to not going to school, not seeing the teacher (in some cases) and not having your friends is a shook. So it’s true our kids mindset is along the lines of if I’m not going to school — there is no school.
So here are some ideas to support him and move through this resistance together.
Plan outloud the night before — then move to a whiteboard/paper:
Ask your son the night before what his day looks like tomorrow (when is school happening) and what needs to be done at school? (priorities)
If the answer is “I don’t know” then state that the schedule can be flexible but when there is no plan there is limited or no school work being done. You don’t mind him having his schedule but there has to be a plan.
State this is true to you or all of us. If we have. no idea what we are doing we usually don’t get around to doing too much! Ask him to use a whiteboard or paper schedule to write out what he is doing tomorrow and at what time. If he doesn’t write it out — you can so he can recall what he said.
Follow up the next day and see if the plan happened. If it didn’t state that his system is not working and if it continues to not work that you will have to support him more. Would he like that?
Ask him to follow up with his teachers to see what his grades are right now and what he needs to get done.
This step allows him to see where he is in his new school life. Ask him what the teachers have told him and what he needs to get done.
You can reach out to the Resource Teacher particularly if your son has an IEP
You can ask them to check in with each teacher to find out how he is doing and if there needs to be changes made to support him more at home. This gives you an open door to find out how he’s doing and to get the teachers to reach out to him directly. Problem solve with them to figure out how to support your son in this new school setting.
question 4
Question 5
There were a few questions about gaming and executive functioning and school!!
We have to go back to the emotional state of your child. If school was not positive, did not relate to what they love or want to do then they are not engaged.
Back to the GETTING STARTED ON A TASK IN THE FIRST QUESTION AND THIS QUOTE:
“Sometimes a person thinks of a particular task as important, honestly believing that he wants to give it immediate attention and sustained effort, yet he does not act accordingly. He may continue to procrastinate, busying himself with work on other tasks that are not as urgent, or he may actively seek out distractions by getting in touch with friends, surfing the Internet, getting high, or going to sleep. Such contradictions make sense only when we realize that the emotions that guide our motivations often are not fully conscious or conflicting.”
Gaming is offering a reward. Your son may be successful at the games. He is able to focus and interact with friends. There are parts of the gaming he really wants to return to. Acknowledge these parts and what it offers him.
Then talk about what completing his school work will offer and how you can work as a team to figure out what he needs to complete — and what can be done to help him get it done so he can return to what he loves to do.
As I mentioned above this is a dance — depending on the age of your child. Your child wants to be successful. Focus first on your relationship with them and then how school will fit into their day but also the other parts they enjoy whether that’s tik-tok, gaming or netflix shows.
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