Executive Function Skills;  Accommodations For Your Child At School

Executive Function Skills  Accommodations For Your Child At School

Is it possible for a student to have a high IQ and still fail school classes? The answer, sadly, is yes. You may have a student who is able to learn and retain new concepts and apply them, but maintaining school materials, remembering to write down homework assignments and turn them in, managing time, prioritizing assignments are all skills known as executive functioning skills that our kids are not born with, nor are these specific skills taught specifically to our children.

According to Dr. Russell Barkley, an ADHD guru, executive function (or EF) refers to the cognitive or mental abilities that people need to actively pursue goals. In other words, it’s about how we behave toward our future goals and what mental abilities we need to accomplish them.

EF is made up of seven skills:
1. Self-awareness
2. Inhibition
3. Non-Verbal Working Memory
4. Verbal Working Memory
5. Emotional Self-Regulation
6. Self-motivation
7. Planning and Problem Solving

When a student has a deficit in one or more of the EFs, they may experience some difficulty in school with planning, organizing, motivation and problem-solving.

So how do we help our children at school? If you have a child diagnosed with ADHD, you may be eligible for a 504 Accommodation Plan or Individualized Education Plan (IEP) if you child requires a special education program and other services.

If your child doesn’t have a 504 Accommodation Plan, reach out to your child’s Guidance Counselor and request one along with a diagnosis provided by your Pediatrician, Neurologist or Psychologist.  If you feel that your child requires an IEP, prepare a written request for a CST meeting for your child.

If your child already has a 504 Accommodation Plan or IEP, you may want to consider adding any or all of the following accommodations to help build and maintain your child’s EF skills on a daily basis:

 

  • Teach students the importance of “future thinking”. Help students envision having a start, mid and endpoint to a task. Having a well-defined target helps to focus students’ efforts. Some questions to consider, for example: What do I need to start? How will I start? Where will I start?  How long will each step take? How much time should I work on the assignment each night? What will it look like when it’s completed? How will I feel when I complete the assignment?

 

  • Use a calendar or daily assignment pad/planner to help students schedule and pace the tasks that lead to completion of the assignment.

 

  • Provide multi-sensory instruction and methods of assessing what the student has learned

 

  • Practice estimating how long a task might take to complete. Compare the actual length of the activity and the estimation.

 

  • Break down assignments into smaller steps

 

  • Break down long term assignments into smaller assignments with short-term deadlines

 

  • Provide daily repetition, rehearsal, and review to move information from working to long-term memory. 10-20 minutes daily.

 

  • Help students develop checklists for daily routines, homework completion and turning in assignments on time.

 

Next time you encounter a student that turns in all their assignments late or can’t seem to get to class on time, they could have lagging executive function skills. Remember, our children don’t wake up with the intent to forget to hand in their homework, or leave their books at school.  Dr. Ross W. Greene says, “They would if they could.”

When our children haven’t yet developed their EF skills, it doesn’t make sense to be punitive. Instead, when a child is struggling with a particular EF skill, help them build it up instead of breaking them down.

For more information on EF, you can look up Dr. Thomas Brown or Dr. Russell Barkley, both gurus on executive functioning.
by Chrissy Sunberg, M.Ed., AAC
"The various psycho-educational testing Dr. Liz conducted on our son gave us critical clues about where his learning strengths and weaknesses lie so that his needs could be better addressed at home and school. Moreover, because of their warm, kindhearted personalities, both Dr. Liz and her associate, Stephanie, formed an immediate bond with my son. He eagerly looks forward to his weekly therapy sessions. We are so lucky Dr. Liz came into our family's lives when she did! For stressed-out families trying to help their children as best they can, she is a calming voice of reason!"
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"My teenage son had been seeing Dr. Matheis through his senior year of high school, as he was only diagnosed with ADHD at 16 years old.  Dr. Matheis came highly recommended from our pediatrician and she has done wonders for our son as well as our family, navigating new ways for him to deal with his diagnosis without the use of medication.  She taught him ways to organize himself and even when something did not work for him, she patiently continued teaching him new ways to keep himself on track.  She has also helped us as parents to understand how his mind works so that we did not continue to blame his lack of focus on him, rather on his unique way of thinking.  Thank you Dr. Matheis!!!!"
- LG
"Dr. Liz is the best! Our family was directed to her by our Pediatrician to assist with figuring out severe mood changes, severe anxiety, strange new fears and food aversion that had come onto one of our children literally overnight. After just a couple of visits, she suggested that the issues may actually be rooted in a physical issue and suggested we immediately take our child to be swabbed for strep, because Dr. Liz suspected PANDAS (a pediatric autoimmune disorder brought on by strep). The same Pediatrician that suggested Dr. Liz would not do the swab (they do not believe in PANDAS and we no longer go there) but I took my child to my doctor who did the swab and it was positive for strep. When our child went on antibiotics, within 24 hours all symptoms went away and our child was back :-) Dr. Liz then recommended a PANDAS specialist who helped us and our child is in complete remission and is happy and healthy. We are incredibly grateful to Dr. Liz for her knowledge of all things, even the most remote and unusual and for helping us so much! Thank you!"
- Anonymous
"The various psycho-educational testing Dr. Liz conducted on our son gave us critical clues about where his learning strengths and weaknesses lie so that his needs could be better addressed at home and school. Moreover, because of their warm, kindhearted personalities, both Dr. Liz and her associate, Stephanie, formed an immediate bond with my son. He eagerly looks forward to his weekly therapy sessions. We are so lucky Dr. Liz came into our family's lives when she did! For stressed-out families trying to help their children as best they can, she is a calming voice of reason!"
- Anonymous
"Thank you, Dr. Liz. Although we have told you countless times, it will never feel enough. You have listened when J could barely speak and continued to listen when he was sad, angry and confused. You've challenged him and directed us in our roles as parents. You've helped J face his fears while the list evolved and changed, and yet you've stayed committed to 'the course.' We pray that your children realize that time away from them is spent helping children learn and that vulnerability is a sign of strength and bravery."
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"My son was admitted to an Ivy League school when only 2 years ago, you assessed him and saw his struggles, his Dyslexia. We are grateful that he no longer has to carry that deep feeling of inadequacy or shame that must have kept him so self conscious and from reaching his potential. He has the PERFECT program for him. He has A's in high math and economics. He became a Merit Scholar, a Boys State legislature, the HEAD captain of the football team and help a job ALL while studying and managing his classes and disability. I am PROUD of you, a young doctor, who knows and sees the vulnerability of children and helps them recognize "it's NO big deal" God bless."
- Anonymous

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