Spring Issue 2021

More documents

Recommendations

Info

PLANNING TO SUCCEED Back in my college days I was taking a required Biology class. One day, the professor was giving a lecture on the process of photosynthesis, which is how plants get energy from light (or something like that). The process of photosynthesis has several steps, which the So, WHAT is Executive Functioning? You may hear this term often and we hope the following clarifies your understanding. professor was going through. Unfortunately, he wasn’t very organized. He would go through Executive function skills are critical for all of us; the steps out of order, which was exceedingly frustrating to this then-college student trying they are a group of skills that we use every day to to take notes about the whole darn thing. learn, manage and accomplish things and This anecdote demonstrates the importance of executive functioning (and no, I’m not referring generally get what we want out of life. to executive as a noun, in the company CEO sense). I am pleased to introduce Caryl Frankenberger, Ed.M., Executive Director of Frankenberger Associates, who has written the Executive functioning (EF) skills include but are not limited to: article below on this very topic. 3
Planning and Prioritizing In order to complete a task, you begin with the larger goal in mind. Once the goal is solidified, you lay a plan of action, prioritizing mental math requires one to make calculations in mind. Working memory is a very important EF skill and one that is often a weakness in our learning disabled and ADHD populations. what is most important. Students have to plan and prioritize many aspects of their lives, especially their short- and long-term school assignments. Self-Monitoring Completing a task or an assignment, socializing and just about everything we do requires one to monitor their performance. We have Organization Once you have a plan you have to organize to think about what we are doing, how we are the parts into the whole. This requires sorting through and arranging information into a system that works for you. Our children have multiple organizational demands made on them every day, from rising in the morning, organizing and locating their belongings, getting out the door, navigating multiple classes, returning home to homework and then heading to bed, and much more. Flexible Thinking When working through a task one needs to think flexibly. If you are rigid in your thinking, then it is unlikely that you will apply different approaches when problem solving. Often, one has to revise a plan of action or obtain new information, especially if a mistake has been accomplishing the task and, in the end, asking ourselves how did I do? This requires one to monitor their performance and actions by stopping and reflecting, an important skill that takes time and practice to acquire. SKILLS for LIFE made. We all need to think flexibly and be ready to change our course of action. Attention Attention plays a role in everything we do. To accomplish a goal, you must focus on the task at hand. Once you are focused you have to sustain attention and recognize when your attention shifts. If it has waxed and waned, you must bring your focus back to the activity and maintain focus until the task is completed. Many students have attentional weaknesses that hamper their ability to complete tasks. Working Memory Working memory is the ability to hold and manipulate information in mind. When you read you have to hold and comprehend information from the beginning to the end of the page or chapter; listening to directions requires the same skill, holding and remembering several pieces of information. Taking notes in class demands listening, comprehension and writing simultaneously, and performing 4
Page 1 and 2: eyond disabilities Spring Issue 202
Page 6 and 7: Impulse Control The old adage, “t
Page 8 and 9: Let’s Get Cooking Many kids love
Page 10 and 11: I Need a Lawyer? Many parents with
Page 12 and 13: In the complex process that follows
Page 14 and 15: ScHooL and HomE The pandemic has up
Page 16 and 17: There’s an abundance of programs
Page 18 and 19: “Recreational Therapy is probably
Page 20: EXCEPTIONAL SPORTS When parents are
Page 23 and 24: The changes include investing in di
Page 25 and 26: Many children, with a variety of co

Spring Issue 2021

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?