Executive dysfunction

Executive Dysfunction can present itself in many different ways. Students with executive dysfunction often:

  • Have trouble starting and/or completing tasks

  • Have difficulty prioritizing tasks

  • Forget what they just heard or read

  • Have trouble following directions or a sequence of steps

  • Panic when rules or routines change

  • Have trouble switching focus from one task to another

  • Get overly emotional and fixate on things

  • Have trouble organizing their thoughts

  • Have trouble keeping track of their belongings

  • Have trouble managing their time

We offer systems and practice exercises to help students understand where they need to improve, why they need to it and then work with them on strategies.

main areas of excutive functioning

  • Working Memory

    Working Memory is a skill that allows us to work with information without losing track of what we’re doing. 

    When people have trouble with working memory, the brain may store information in a jumbled way. Or it may not store it for the long term at all. 

  • Flexible thinking

    When faced with a problem, kids who struggle with flexible thinking might freeze and do nothing. Or they might try the same strategy over and over, even if it’s not working.

    Sometimes the anxiety comes first before they even start the task. We practice strategies for settling and thinking.

  • Inhibitory Control

    Students may need to inhibit attending to stimuli such as another student fidgeting, another class walking down the hallway, and construction noise on the street, all at the same time, while also attending to the teacher’s instructions for a test.

    We work with students to build strategies to improve their self-control.