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….
Category: School Administration
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 230: Part 5: Five Skills to Create Your Executive Functioning Intervention Framework
One of my favorite “hooks” or titles to use when I’m talking about executive functioning centers around the idea that executive functioning intervention is about “more than just checklists”. I like this title so much because one of the go-to interventions or accommodations for students with executive functioning difficulties includes some type of visual strategy…
EP 229: Part 4: Five Skills to Create Your Executive Functioning Intervention Framework
Every time I give a session on executive functioning, I have clinicians and teachers ask me the same thing: “How can I motivate students who don’t seem to care or don’t want to try new things?” Or something like “How can I convince students why this (insert task) is going to be important to them…
EP 228: Part 3: Five Skills to Create Your Executive Functioning Intervention Framework
Students with executive functioning challenges often intend to complete tasks or meet expectations—but struggle to execute consistently. The reason? They aren’t mentally envisioning future scenarios, predicting the steps needed to reach a goal, and thinking about what they need to be doing NOW in order to meet that goal. This cognitive skill, called future pacing,…
EP 227: Part 2: Five Skills to Create Your Executive Functioning Intervention Framework
I’m often asked if I can create an “executive functioning lesson plan” that a clinician could do within a 20-minute therapy session with a student or group of students. I understand why people ask me for things like this. This traditional “pull-out” model of therapy is what many clinicians have been taught in our preservice…
EP 226: Part 1: Five Skills to Create Your Executive Functioning Intervention Framework
Executive function is often defined as “having good time management skills”. While this isn’t completely off-base, it’s a vast oversimplification. The REASON people are good at time management is because they have the ability to estimate and sense the passage of time. Most “textbook” definitions of executive functioning don’t fully call this out, and as…
EP 224: Orthographic Mapping & Effective Spelling Instruction (with Dr. Molly Ness)
In this episode, we’re joined by literacy expert Dr. Molly Ness, author of Making Words Stick, to unpack the science behind orthographic mapping and what truly effective spelling instruction looks like. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering whether “irregular” words really exist—or how to teach spelling in a way that actually transfers to reading and…
EP 223: How to Create a Research-Based Executive Functioning Implementation Plan for Your School Team
Ever feel like your school is trying all the “right” strategies—social skills groups, planners, behavior charts—but students still struggle with time management, motivation, and peer relationships? You’re not alone—and there’s a reason why. This episode is a clip from my free training, “Create a Research-Based Implementation Plan for your School Team.” It’s designed for school…