1. What do adults have to do with it
What do adults have to do with it? Building the core capacities that promote child self-regulation
Katie Paschall, PhD
University of Texas at Austin
Family Support Conference: May 25, 2017

2. Note
This presentation is for the attendees of the 7th Annual Family Support Conference and may contain copyrighted material – do not distribute outside of this group.
The comments, examples, and text in this powerpoint are the intellectual property of Katherine “Katie “ Wendy Paschall.
For more information, please contact Katie:

3. Purpose of this session
Consider the cogs Grease the cogs

4. Executive functions: The cognitive part of self-regulation
How do they work?
Fist – Edge – Palm
Test of your frontal lobe – attention, memory, planning, motor sequencing
Letter-Number Span Test
Test of working memory

5. Executive functions: The cognitive part of self-regulation
What did it feel like?
Physically
Emotionally
Did you get off task?
How did you respond?
How did you get yourself back on task?

6. Executive functions: The cognitive part of self-regulation
The ability to engage in deliberate, goal-directed thought and action via inhibitory control, attention shifting or cognitive flexibility, and working memory processes (Liew, 2012).
Working memory
Attention-shifting
Inhibitory control

7. Why is adult EF important?

8. What do they look like everyday for adults?
Living within a budget
Following through on new hobby
Applying previous consequences to current situation
Multitasking

9. EF in everyday life…

10. EF in everyday life

11. Deploying attention Getting and staying on task
What strategies do you use?
What about when you are stressed?

12. Directing attention: mindfulness
Reflecting on your moment-to-moment experiences.
Refrain from judging the experience.
Helps to quiet that which distract us:
Snap judgments
Big emotional reactions
Distressing chain of thoughts

13. Directing attention: mindfulness
Bringing yourself back to the present
Becoming aware of your surroundings
Focusing on what is happening now
Refraining from judgment
Breathing helps.

14. Directing attention: mindfulness
Mindfulness exercises you can incorporate into your daily life, and share with others
Mindful walking
Stroke your hands

15. Directing attention: mindfulness
When you feel frustrated, name one thing you love about yourself.
*positive self talk
Remember – no judgment necessary

16. Make a plan
Now that you’re focused, time to use those EF skills to engage in goal-directed behavior!

17. Organize, plan, follow-through

18. Make a plan Working memory Inhibitory control Attention shifting
Pull into mind necessary info.
Inhibitory control
Stay focused on task
Attention shifting
Think flexibly, respond flexibly

19. Use your words; reflect on your thoughts!
Surface the thinking process!
What am I thinking about?
How do I remember things?
What do I do best?
When am I xyz (the best friend, the best listener)
Where can I get help?
Can you do this mindfully?

20. Tying it together Intentionality… Reflection…
Mindfully engaging with families…
Creating goal-directed plans…
Ensuring the scaffolding is in place to meet those plans…

21. Everyday practice: working with staff or families
Start meetings slowly. Encourage group to take breaths, leave other obligations at the door. Remind them to be here. Remove distractions
Strengths-based approaches: having staff and families reflect on what they do and when they feel they are best at what they do.

22. Everyday practice: working with staff or families
Identify ways you can, or families can, scaffold their executive function skills so they can get from plan formation to plan execution!
Talk about how stress disrupts our thought processes, our ability to use our working memory, attention shifting, and inhibitory control.
Stress reduction is step 1!

23. Everyday practice: working with staff or families
Encourage positive self talk to calm nerves and improve focus.

24. Recognizing EF in children
Fantasy play, constraining one’s self or other into a role, abstract symbolic use, resolving cognitive dissonance
Task-related private speech, talking about your own thoughts, talking about planning, providing a rationale or evidence, monitoring current activities, verbal self-inhibition, reporting.
Uses object as symbol not during dramatic play, showing “generativity of uses” or resourcefulness, flexible understanding of uses (think: engineering).
From Moreno, Shwayder, & Friedman (2016)

25. Thank you!
I hope you found today’s session helpful. Be in touch – Katie Paschall, PhD