As parents, we work hard to ensure our children succeed in all aspects of life, from academics to social interactions. We strive to provide them with the resources and support they need to thrive in any endeavor. However, some children may struggle with skills related to executive function, which can impact their ability to organize, plan, and manage tasks effectively. For these children, executive function coaching can be a valuable resource to help them develop these essential life skills, empowering them to be more confident, capable individuals. This guide will serve to help parents identify executive dysfunction in their child and establish confidence that effective intervention is possible.
What is “Executive Function?”
Before diving into the details of coaching executive function skills, we’ll take a moment to identify what those skills are and why they are so influential in leading successful and fulfilling lives.
Executive function refers to a set of mental skills that help individuals manage their time, pay attention, plan and organize goals, remember details, and regulate emotions. These skills are crucial for success in school, work, and daily life. It isn’t always obvious to a parent when this skill set is lacking in their child, so let’s paint a clearer picture of what a deficit in executive function looks like in a child.
A child or adolescent who struggles with executive function may exhibit the following indicators:
Poor time management, including constant procrastination or time blindness
Apprehension toward teachers or school in general sometimes referred to as school refusal
Anxiety about school or homework
Emotional dysregulation
Difficulty starting tasks or switching from one task to another
Addictive behavior toward “unproductive” pursuits such as social media scrolling or video gaming
Mental heath issues can cascade to the point of a child requiring specialized, intensive treatment, such as what is provided at a residential treatment center.
Common challenges that arise from the above issues include:
Difficulty completing school assignments on time
Lower grades in school
Depleted sense of self-worth
Feeling misunderstood and isolated
Burdened interpersonal relationships with parents, siblings, or friends
Loss of interest in pursuing education beyond state minimum requirements
How does Executive Function Coaching Differ from other Intervention Techniques?
Adolescents with a deficit in executive function may begin to view education as an insurmountable challenge, causing anxiety toward school, muddled self-esteem, and depression. Because one of the first signs of executive function issues is often a drop in academic performance, many parents turn to personal tutor programs to catch their child up in subject matter. When the issue at hand is the child’s fundamental understanding of the learning process, however, they are less likely to benefit from further instruction on the subject itself, and the added pressure of having a tutor could increase stress and cause the student to shut down or act out behaviorally (Study Skills vs. Tutoring).
Consider, too, that issues with executive function have negative effects in more than just one subject. While the child may first begin to struggle with the hardest subjects, they will likely continue to struggle in more areas unless proper learning skills are developed. If, as a parent, your only approach to success is hiring a tutor for each subject of concern, the imposed time commitments could add more stress to your child- not to mention the financial burden on yourself of hiring multiple private tutors!
Rather than a subject-specific approach, executive function coaching empowers individuals to achieve their goals more effectively. This is accomplished by assessing your child’s performance in different executive function areas and curating a custom approach to strengthening the weakest areas. Focuses of the coaching work includes forming competencies in task initiation, extended focus, self-monitoring, and prioritization. When these areas are the focus, students are more likely to have a positive growth mindset that improves both their confidence and their ability to generalize these skills to any area (Executive function coaching: The definitive guide).
Is Executive Function Coaching a Worthy Investment?
If your child seems to be struggling with executive function, it is worth considering the long-term benefits of taking action now to help them develop more effective learning strategies. When it comes to private tutoring, the goal is often coursework-specific and the tutoring is considered successful so long as the class is passed. But there will always be more classes and bigger goals to strive for. Your child may rely too heavily on external aid and experience shock when they attempt higher education, where more emphasis is placed on individual learning efforts.
In addition, since the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, online learning has been normalized worldwide. Many students struggled with this transition to remote learning, primarily because it requires disciplined executive function in the students. According to a Salt Lake Tribune article, thousands of Utah K-12 students have failed online classes and were not learning effectively because they were not taught how to learn remotely.
While remote learning is no longer required for students, it has still become an integral part of higher education learning, trade certification courses, and on-the-job training materials. Students today have all the more pressure on them to learn how to learn effectively to succeed in the modern market.
Executive function skills are not explicitly taught in schools, and the students who struggle to develop these skills may feel left behind or unteachable. A free executive function assessment is available for you or your child so you both understand the unique challenges they face and how you can work together to achieve their full potential.
Based on the results of this assessment, a customized coaching plan can be created that addresses the specific areas your student is lacking. You can schedule a one-on-one coaching session directly from our Services page.