Executive Function and Organization: Strategies to Start the School Year.
Are you a parent or caregiver who struggles to help your child stay organized? Are they often forgetting what tasks they need to complete or constantly looking for something they have lost? Do you notice that their distractibility makes it difficult for them to follow through with daily routines? We have worked with many children and their families that struggle with executive function and organization and want to provide some information and strategies as back to school routines have started back up!
Let’s start with: What is Executive Function?
According to Psychology Today, “Executive function describes a set of cognitive processes and mental skills that help an individual plan, monitor, and successfully execute their goals. The “executive functions,” as they’re known, include attentional control, working memory, inhibition, and problem-solving, many of which are thought to originate in the brain’s prefrontal cortex”.
It’s important to note that your child may be identified with an Executive Function (EF) challenge but this is not a diagnosis of a disability in of itself. Instead, they may have a diagnosis of a disability where executive function, organization and memory are impacted (like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or Autism). For many neurodiverse children, executive function and organization pose challenges both in school and out of school and skills and strategies need to be taught explicitly to help them navigate!
So what does a challenge with executive function and organization look like?
An executive function challenge might look like:
Difficulty with managing daily life tasks (picking out clothes for school, keeping a tidy room or work space, remembering to brush teeth in the morning, etc.).
Difficulty with time management or shifting from one task or activity to another.
Distractibility (can look like not paying attention or wandering mind while someone is talking to them).
Difficulty remembering directions or expectations.
Often losing materials for school (bag, homework, writing utensils, Chromebook charger, etc.)
Difficulty assessing how long a task will take or having a hard time getting started (i.e. having a month to complete a school assignment and starting the night before).
What are some strategies that you can try now to help with executive function challenges?
It's important to start by saying that for some children (and adults!) these strategies are not intuitive. They need to be explicitly taught and practiced in real life settings. It is also important that we do not overwhelm the children in our lives (as parents, caregivers, or educators) by trying every strategy at once. Start with one or two and see how it goes before adding in another one.
Reduce distractions.
Write it down. Keep a daily To Do List and break larger tasks into many smaller tasks.
Teach time explicitly. Believe it or not it may be time to bring out the old analog clock. Children (and adults with EF challenges) struggle to understand the passage of time (how much is left versus how much has passed when completing a task). A digital clock or a timer only shows them one side of the equation. Thinking of creative ways to show how much time has passed AND how much is left can help children understand the concept better than just looking at a timer run out.
Checklists and visual schedules can be tricky and work to varying degrees for children with executive function and organization challenges. One game changer could be making these schedules and checklists more tactile to give children a chance to use their mind and their body. Can you set up jars for each task and have your child put a pebble, ball, etc. in the jar each day when they complete the task? When the jar is full they can earn something if you want to add extra incentive to this.
Plan ahead when possible and have your child participate. Can you pick out clothes the night before or pack backpacks and leave them by the door? This could save a little bit of time in the morning but more importantly will avoid a scramble to find missing items.
Brain breaks! Children and adults who struggle with executive function are EXHAUSTED trying to manage their daily living tasks and stay organized. Opportunities to move their body and use their brain for fun and creative activities can offer a much needed reset.
Make time to reset the space. For younger kids: make a time to organize toys, stuffed animals etc. weekly and do it together. Categorize the organization so that you take the guesswork out of it for the child. Could you label the bins? Having a tidy space can help children and adults with EF challenges, but this can be difficult when life is busy. Having time set aside to reset the space can help explicitly teach these skills.
So as we start a new school year, what strategy will you try with your child? Do you have strategies that have worked well that you want to share? Drop us a note!
And if you are still struggling to figure out how to make sure your child’s school team is using strategies to help with their executive function and organization skills, schedule a free consultation with us to discuss!
