1. Executive Functions what are they how do they affect a child
how can you help your child who has
vulnerable EF skills
Ask if anyone thinks they have a student with Ef
JMB 4/09

2. Let’s see what we know about EF….
What does executive functioning mean to you?
What skills are included under EF?
What signs are indicative of a child with vulnerable EF skills?
When are EF skills developed?
Can these skills be taught?
What are two broad categories of ways to help
children/students with vulnerable EF skills?
Slide in title, ask and write responses on board

3. Graphic of Brain and its Functions
EF skills

4. General Definition of Executive Function
EF…..the brain’s CEO, or the orchestra conductor of all our cognitive skills
“Executive skills allow us to organize our behavior over time and override immediate demands in favor of longer-term goals. Through the use of these skills, we can plan and organize activities, sustain attention, and persist to complete a task. Executive skills enable us to mange our emotions (referred to as “hot” EF skills vs..... the other skills referred to as “cool”) and monitor our thoughts in order to work more efficiently and effectively.
Executive skills help us select and achieve goals or to develop solutions to problems. These skills include: planning, organizing, time management, working memory, and metacognition (self-monitoring and self-evaluation). To reach a goal, we use skills to guide and modify our behavior as we move on the path towards reaching a goal. These skills include: response regulation, self-regulation or affect, task initiation, cognitive flexibility (this includes making transitions), and goal-directed persistence.”
From: Dawson and Guare, Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents

5. Developmental Tasks Requiring EF Skills
Preschool - run simple errands; tidy bedroom/playroom; perform simple chores and self-help tasks;
inhibit behaviors (don’t touch hot stove, don’t run into the street)
K-2- run errands; two/three step directions; tidy bedroom/playroom; perform simple chores;
do self-help tasks w reminders; bring papers to and from school; complete hw assignments
(20 mins max); decide how to spend money/allowance; inhibit behaviors (raise hand to
speak, keep hands to self, don’t swear) & follow safety rules
Gr run errands (may involve a time delay); tidy bedroom/playroom; perform tasks that take
15-30 mins; bring materials to and from school; keep track of belongings when away
from home; complete hw (up to 1 hour max); plan simple school project; keep track of
changing daily schedule; save money for desired objects; inhibit & self regulate-behave
when teacher leaves classroom, refrain from rude comments

6. Developmental Tasks Requiring EF Skills
Gr help w chores in home
baby sit younger siblings
use a system for organizing schoolwork (inc. planner, notebooks)
follow school schedule
plan and complete long-term projects
plan time inc. for after-school activities, homework, family responsibilities
inhibit rule- breaking when authority not visible
More Specifically…..Students in middle school are expected to:
remember to write down assignments consistently
keep track of assignments and materials (notebooks, folders, books,
know which materials need to be brought home or taken to school daily
plan and monitor long-term assignments, including breaking them down into subtasks and
creating timelines
plan how work will be organized and time will be spent, including estimating how much
time is required to complete daily assignments as well as long-term assignments
keep track of other responsibilities or belongings-sports equipment, lunch money,
permission slips, etc
manage the complexity of changing classes, inc taking different materials to different classes and having teachers with different organizational styles and expectations

7. Developmental Tasks Requiring EF Skills
High School-
manage schoolwork effectively on a day-to-day basis:
complete & hand in assignments on time,
study for tests,
create & follow timelines for long-term projects
make adjustments in effort & quality of work in response to feedback
establish & refine a long-term goal and make plans for meeting that goal (ie college)
select appropriate courses & maintain GPA for college acceptance
maintain extra curricular activities inc SAT/ACT prep
complete college apps
make good use of leisure time (employment & recreational activities)
inhibit reckless & dangerous behaviors

8. What specific skills are included in EF?
Depending on whose work one reads, the skills included in EF vary. Learning Works For Kids, a website, lists 12 executive functions that may be useful in clarifying a child’s executive strengths and weaknesses:
Planning – The ability to develop a set of strategies in order to accomplish a goal; the ability to
create a roadmap to reach a goal or to complete a task; it involves being able to make
decisions about what’s important to focus on and what’s not important to focus on.
Organization – The ability to use a systematic approach for achieving goals; the ability to arrange
or place things according to a system.
Time Management (prioritization) – The ability to respond to things in a timely fashion; the
capacity to estimate how much time one has, how to allocate it, and how
to stay within time limits and deadlines; it also involves a sense that time
is important.

9. And…..
Working Memory – The ability to remember something while performing an activity on
this memory; the ability to hold information in mind while performing
and completing a complex task; it incorporates the ability to draw on
past learning or experience to apply to the situation at hand or to
project problem-solving strategies into the future
Metacognition – The ability to self-monitor, self-evaluate, and observe oneself; the
ability to stand back and take a bird’s eye view of oneself in a situation;
the ability to observe how one’s own self problem solves
Response Inhibition (self-control) – The ability to stop or delay an action rather than display
impulsive behavior; the ability to think before one acts; this ability (to
resist the urge to say or do something) allows time to evaluate a situation
and evaluate how one’s behavior may impact the situation
Regulation of Affect – The ability to manage one’s feelings effectively for decision-making,
task-completion, achieve goals, or control and direct behavior

10. And still more…..
Task Initiation (getting started) – The ability to initiate a task without procrastination
Flexibility – The ability to be adaptable, improvise, and shift approaches to demands; the ability to revise plans in the face of obstacles, setbacks, new information, or mistakes; it involves adaptability to changing conditions
Goal-Directed Persistence -The ability to persevere on tasks that require sustained effort; the capacity or drive to follow through to the completion of a goal and not be put off by other demands or competing interests
Social Thinking– The ability to respond appropriately to social conditions
Sustained Attention – The ability to maintain one’s focus and attention in the presence of distractions
From: and Dawson and Guare, Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents

11. Two dimensions of EF skills…Thinking & Doing
EF skills involving thinking
Working memory
Planning
Prioritization
Organization
Time management
Meta-cognition
EF skills involving doing (behavior)
Response inhibition
Emotional control
Sustained attention
Task initiation
Goal-directed persistence
Flexibility

12. Behaviors Found in Students with Executive Function Issues:
Starts assignments/tasks without necessary materials
Does not leave enough time to complete tasks
Skips steps in multi-step tasks
Has difficulty relating to a story chronologically
“Jumps the Gun” socially
Wastes time doing a small project and fails to do the big project
Written work is poorly organized
Has difficulty identifying what material to record in note-taking
• When given three or more things to do…remembers only the first or the last thing to do

13. Typical Behaviors Found in Students with Executive Function Issues:
Fails to turn in completed work
Loses important papers or assignments
Has difficulty getting started on tasks, which may appear as oppositional behavior
Appears distractible and/or impulsive
Picks smaller, immediate reward over larger, delayed reward
Runs out of time before completing assignments/tasks
Has good ideas but doesn’t get the job done
Has difficulty making transitions and/or coping with the unforeseen
Doesn’t check to insure that each step is completed
Over-estimates or under-estimates time on needed tasks

14. Typical Behaviors Found in Students with Executive Function Issues:
Doesn’t check work before submitting it
Exhibits inappropriate or over-reactive responses to situations
Starts tasks but may not finish
Cannot find clothes, shoes, toys, books, pencils, etc.
Doesn’t realistically evaluate performance in school
From: Rush University Medical Center; Rush NeuroBehavioral Center

15. Two principles to consider when thinking about helping children with EF vulnerabilities
According to Kahn & Dietzel, parents and teachers have two primary roles in helping children with
EF vulnerabilities: help them be successful in their daily lives & teach the skills and strategies/
approaches that allow the children to be independent in the long run. By providing temporary
supports we may reinforce overdependence and learned helplessness.
1. Start with external changes/structures and then move to internal changes
2. Children can be supported by intervening with their environment and/or intervening with them
- think of ways to change the environment
change the physical or social environment
change the nature of the task
change the way cues are given
change the way adults interact with students
- think of ways to change children’s skills by motivating them and/or directly teaching them to develop their EF skills to perform tasks and achieve goals

16. Process to teach EF skills to children:
In collaboration with your child:
• Identify the problem or problem behavior..be specific
• Set a goal
• Create a checklist to reflect the procedure or steps to reach the goal
• Supervise your child as he/she follows the procedure
• Evaluate the process and make necessary changes
• Fade the supervision
“We must maintain a balance between support and skill building; if we only accommodate, without attempting to strengthen EF skills, we may promote dependency and helplessness”.
“Remember, the ultimate goal is to help children / students develop their own EF skills so they can function independently”.

17. How to Change a Behavior
Teach, using specific behavioral terms, what is expected of your child vs..... punishing
Collaborate with your child
Focus on the desired outcome
Raise the stakes…….use a reward system
Reward small steps in the right direction
Maintain reasonable expectations and decide when to let your child experience natural consequences for his/her behavior
Remember, change does not occur in a smooth, steady, uphill manner
It can take 6-8 weeks to teach a new skill/change a behavior
From: Late, Lost & Unprepared; Kahn & Dietzel

18. Matching your Child to the Task
When you know your child has EF vulnerabilities, pay close attention to your child’s emotional
and behavioral responses to the tasks assigned.
When your child avoids a task, consider the possibility that your child can’t do it.
Figure out what EF skills the task requires & ask yourself whether your child possesses these
skills.
E.g.. Cleaning one’s bedroom….what EF skills are required?
Task initiation…….start w/out reminders
Planning…………..plan of attack
Prioritization………what needs to be saved vs thrown out
Organization………put everything in its place

19. Matching your Child to the Task
Figure out if something in the environment is making task difficult & tweak/change the environment.
If your child can do a task sometimes but not all the time, this may simply mean you have
identified an EF vulnerability.
If your child has successfully handled the task some of the time, figure out what made the
success possible and incorporate it.
If your child has the EF skills to do a task, the problem may be that your child doesn’t believe
he/she can succeed? If so, figure out why he/she lacks confidence. (task seems too big, tried &
failed previously, previous efforts have been met with criticism, someone has always jumped in
and helped…so he/she has never learned to overcome an obstacle independently.)

20. What can teachers do to help students with vulnerable EF skills?
• Use checklists
• Use rubrics for assignments
• Create and use “how to lists ” or “tool kits” for procedures
• Use calendars
• Break up long-term assignments
• Check that students use their assignment book
• Teach study skills
• Teach highlighting/taking margin notes
• Inform students how long assignments should take
• Teach 2-column note-taking

21. What can teachers do to help students with vulnerable EF skills?
• Establish daily routines for : handing in homework, gathering necessary work materials,
planning to accomplish the day’s tasks, writing down homework, gathering necessary
materials for homework, reviewing directions for assignments (at first use a checklist each
student or pair completes, then fade by cuing students to use checklist independently)
• Make class rules, teach the rules explicitly, practice the rules, cue students, then fade
• As a problem arises during year, discuss with class, identify it, & come up with a process to
solve it. Having students help develop a plan incorporates EF skills.
• Create organizational systems; a grade-wide system possibly, to maintain consistency so
internalization occurs (hopefully)

22. What can teachers do to help students with vulnerable EF skills?
• Incorporate EF skills strategies into daily instruction--ask questions that require EF skills
e.g.. “how can you remember to …..” ; “since this is a big assignment, please write down
the steps you need to follow”; “how will you study for this quiz/test”
• Set goals…each student sets a goal (academic or behavioral) and teacher and student meet
routinely to check how student is progressing towards meeting goal. If a group goal is
established, use advisory to have each student report progress (e.g.. how to study for
quiz/test, time management)
In order for class-wide strategies to be effective….
• the strategy/process must be taught explicitly
• the strategy/process must be monitored daily for a LONG time before fading begins
• the strategy/process must be designed, described, and taught carefully
*if the strategy/process fails, redesign the strategy/process for those students

23. What can parents do to help their child who has vulnerable EF skills?
Directly teach the deficient skills rather than expecting that your child acquire the skills through observation or osmosis
Consider your child’s developmental level and make sure your expectations are developmentally appropriate
Move from the external to the internal…use cues instead of expecting your child to remember to do ____; keep tasks brief instead of expecting your child to work for an extended time period
External changes include: changes you make to the environment, changes to the task, or the way you interact with your child (rehearse what will happen, use verbal prompts)
Use your child’s innate drive for mastery & control…create routines & schedules; build in choices; practice difficult tasks in small steps & gradually increase the demands; use negotiation…the child must do the” have to” in order to do what s/he wants to do

24. What can parents do to help their child who has vulnerable EF skills?
Modify tasks to match your child’s capacity to exert effort…remember, our students have a long, challenging day, with lots of transitions (EF), so they may be tired at the end of the day
Use incentives…bribery works, but you must be consistent
Provide JUST ENOUGH support for your child to be successful
Keep supports and supervision in place until your child achieves mastery or success
When you do stop the supports, supervision, and incentives, FADE them gradually, never abruptly

25. Consider hiring a coach…. so, what is coaching?
Coaching is the process in which teachers work with students to set important school-related goals, ensure that the students’ behaviors and actions on a daily basis are consistent with those goals, and bring them closer to achieving those goals.
1. Set a goal, identify possible obstacles, write a plan to reach goal
2. Hold daily sessions (5-10 mins)
- review/evaluate the plan for previous day
- make a plan for that day

26. Through coaching and teaching children to improve their executive function skills, the children will gain knowledge of:
* efficient time-management
* improved organizational proficiency
*sustained motivation
* effective planning and scheduling practices
* development of proactive behaviors
* goal setting and clarification activities
* academic and social balance
* increased self knowledge of learning styles
* development of self-discipline
* reduction of fear of failure
* skills for coping with ADD/ADHD and other learning differences
* personal and academic growth
* renewed excitement and curiosity for learning
From: Rush University Medical Center; Rush NeuroBehavioral Center

27. Wrap Up
Do you better understand what executive functions are?
Do you have some idea of how to help your child who has vulnerable EF skills?
Please seek out various resources at school to help you help your child.
Remember, the ultimate goal is to help children develop their own EF skills so they
can function independently
Bibliography:
Cooper-Kahn, Joyce & Dietzel, Laurie; Late, Lost, and Unprepared; Woodbine House; 2008
Dawson, Peg & Guare, Richard; Smart But Scattered; Guilford Press, 2009
Dawson, Peg & Guare, Richard; Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents; Guilford Pr Meltzer, Lynn; Executive Functions in Education; Guilford Press, 2007