When we think about ADHD, we often think about the symptoms we can see from the outside. But many of the challenges that come with ADHD are happening internally. Someone may be dealing with racing thoughts, difficulty filtering information, problems regulating attention, or trouble creating structure for themselves even when those challenges aren’t obvious to…
Author: kldudek1980
EP 270: Why Lowering School Expectations Makes Demand Avoidance Worse (And What To Do Instead)
Have you ever had a student spend 45 minutes avoiding an assignment that would have taken them five minutes to finish? They argue about why they shouldn’t have to do it, negotiate over how much they need to complete, ask to go to the bathroom, or decide they need a drink before they can get…
EP 269: Using Math Play to Build Language and Executive Functioning (with Clarence Ames)
We tend to think about math, literacy, language, and executive functioning as separate areas of development. But the research shows they’re much more connected than we might think. Early math skills are associated with later academic outcomes, and developing those skills draws heavily on language, vocabulary, and executive functioning. And supporting early math doesn’t have…
EP 268: Five Executive Functioning Skills That Define Your Intervention Framework
People often say to me, “I get why executive functioning is important, but when are you going to tell me how to work on it”? I wish I could jump right to the lesson plans and “here’s what you do in a perfect hierarchy to work on these skills”. But brains don’t work that way….
EP 267: Executive Functioning Defined, Beyond Just “Being Organized”
Many people think they’re working on executive functioning, but aren’t ACTUALLY working on executive functioning. If you have students who have access to planners, visuals, lists, and other organizing tools, but still seem unorganized, this may be the case for your students. Especially if you have students who flat out refuse to use organizers, or…
EP 266: Five External Signs of Executive Dysfunction That Show Up At School
“Demand avoidance”, poor generalization, prompt-dependence, and social skills challenges seem like isolated issues. But often they’re not. Many times they’re tied to executive functioning challenges. That’s why when I describe “executive dysfunction”, I cluster it into five broad areas: Attention, Learning Challenges, Behavioral Issues, Organization, and Social Skills Usually, this is the point that the…
EP 265: You don’t need “buy in” from teachers to get executive functioning support into classrooms.
Many school clinicians know executive functioning is important. They also know that their entire team should be supporting it across general and special education settings. But they don’t always know what exactly that looks like in practice… And if they do, they don’t know HOW they can change the practices of classroom teachers. There are…
EP 264: Working on “regulation”, but seeing students get more dysregulated? Here’s why that’s happening.
Many school teams AREN’T actually working on executive functioning when they think they are. As a result, they’re being more flexible and accommodating than ever, giving students a chance to process after behavioral escalations… Yet they’re seeing students continue to be dysregulated. In some cases, it’s getting worse. The same thing goes for helping kids…
EP 263: Still trying to do social skills intervention with a 20-minute social skills group? Do this instead.
You’ve been told that social skills interventions are ableist. But you’ve also been told that we need to prepare students for real-world expectations. You have teachers and administrators coming to you with concerns about behavior, participation, and social interaction, and you’re expected to address it. Then you’re told to make your intervention more “functional.” To…
EP 262: The Impact of Overaccommodation in K–12 on Independence in College and Beyond (with Jill Fahy)
“Accommodation” is a loaded word. On one hand, we want to provide reasonable accommodations in K-12 so kids can access their education. But determining what is “reasonable” accommodation or modification can be messy. Both parents and educators can unintentionally “overaccommodate” in the moment without realizing it, which over time can impede a child’s ability to…