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EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING Developing the CEO within

Office of Gifted Education and Curriculum DevelopmentVirginia Beach City Public Schools

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WORKSHOP GOALS

Become familiar with the basic concepts of executive function

Identify your own and your child’s strengths and challenges with executive functions

Draft initial strategies for a plan to help your child develop executive function skills

Office of Gifted Education and Curriculum DevelopmentVirginia Beach City Public Schools

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BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION

Executive Functions: Brain-based skills that are required for humans to execute or perform tasks (Dawson and Guare 2009).

Office of Gifted Education and Curriculum DevelopmentVirginia Beach City Public Schools

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HOW THE CEO EXERTS CONTROL

Working memoryPlanning/

prioritizingOrganizationTime

managementMetacognitionShifting cognition

Response inhibition

Emotional controlSustained

attentionTask initiationGoal-directed

persistenceFlexibility

Thinking skills Behavior Skills

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COMMON CLUSTERS

1. Response inhibition and emotional control2. Flexibility and emotional control3. Response inhibition, flexibility, and

emotional control4. Task initiation and sustained attention

• Sometimes includes goal directed persistence• If goal directed persistence is a strength, can use

that to override weaknesses

5. Time management and planning/prioritization

6. Working memory and organizationOffice of Gifted Education and Curriculum Development

Virginia Beach City Public Schools

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PARENT/CHILD EVALUATION OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS

Review the list of executive functions skills.

What are your child’s strengths and weaknesses?

What are your own strengths and weaknesses?

Office of Gifted Education and Curriculum DevelopmentVirginia Beach City Public Schools

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LOOK AT YOURSELF

1. What strategies do you employ to compensate for areas that are challenging for you or develop skills in that area?

2. What types of models have you already provided for your child—what they have seen you do, NOT what you have told them to do?

3. What do they hear you say about setting priorities when you are not talking to them?

4. What conversations can you have with your child with you as the model?

Office of Gifted Education and Curriculum DevelopmentVirginia Beach City Public Schools

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CREATE A PLAN: FIRST STEPS

1. Determine how well your child is developing the different executive function skills

2. Select area of focus.3. Treat area of focus as a set of skills to be

developed 4. Establish whether your strengths and

weaknesses are a match or mismatch with those of your child.

Office of Gifted Education and Curriculum DevelopmentVirginia Beach City Public Schools

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CREATE A PLAN

5. Develop a plan for skill development6. Establish realistic goals for change.7. Determine how to monitor progress.8. Give feedback that supports effort and

progress.

Office of Gifted Education and Curriculum DevelopmentVirginia Beach City Public Schools

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BE A PATIENT COACH

Expect that results may come slowly and that you will have to be persistent—but DO NOT give up.

Try to generalize the purpose of skill development beyond school work.

Office of Gifted Education and Curriculum DevelopmentVirginia Beach City Public Schools

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GIVE SPECIFIC FEEDBACK ON PROGRESS

If you child came up with a strategy that resulted in progress (not perfection), reinforce effort and skill development as specifically as possible

If your child came up with a strategy that did not result in progress treat it as a learning process

Office of Gifted Education and Curriculum DevelopmentVirginia Beach City Public Schools

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USE RESOURCES Smart but scattered by Peg Dawson, Ed.D and

Richard Guare, Ph.D. Online resources: http://

www.studygs.net/index.htm Your GRT can help you

Individualize a plan for your child taking learning preferences and present skill level into consideration,

Coach you on giving specific feedback, Brainstorm ideas with you for monitoring progress Facilitate communication with teachers.

Your child’s teachers and counselors can also provide you with support in developing and implementing plans for skill development

Office of Gifted Education and Curriculum DevelopmentVirginia Beach City Public Schools

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ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL

As noted before, these kinds of changes take time for any child, just like losing weight or organizing your own finances does not happen all at once.

Some children will need more than a book, a website, or assistance from school staff can provide. If your child has persistent issues with executive function despite quality attempts at intervention, consider referring your child to the Student Support Team at school or to a specialist in private practice.

Office of Gifted Education and Curriculum DevelopmentVirginia Beach City Public Schools

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BRAINSTORMING STRATEGIES

Use the Brainstorming Executive Function Skill Development Strategies

Fill out the three sections

Highlight best strategies for you and your child

Office of Gifted Education and Curriculum DevelopmentVirginia Beach City Public Schools

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PRESENTATIONS FROM PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES

December 7: The executive function cluster of response inhibition, flexibility and emotional control. 

March 7: The executive function cluster of task initiation, sustained attention, and goal directed persistence.

Time and Place 7:00 till 9:00 Landstown HS

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RESOURCESBooks

Smart but Scattered by Peg Dawson & Richard Guare

Late, Lost, and Unprepared by Joyce Cooper-Kahn & Laurie Dietzel

The Organized Student: Teaching Children the Skills for Success in School and Beyond by D. Goldberg

Assessment and Intervention for Executive Function Difficulties by G. McClosky, L. Perkins, & B. Van Divner

Websites

Study Guides and Strategieswww.studygs.net/index.htm

Intervention Centralwww.interventioncentral.org/

LDonline.orgwww.ldinfo.com/

executive_functioning.htm

Office of Gifted Education and Curriculum DevelopmentVirginia Beach City Public Schools