Executive functioning coaching. What is it? How can it help? Where do I sign up? I will answer all of these questions. I’ll also give you the secret strategy to improve your child’s executive functioning skills.
What Is Executive Functioning?
Before we jump into my secret strategy, let’s review what executive functioning really is. Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child defines executive function and self-regulation skills as the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully.
These skills do not discriminate, and you can have elementary-age, middle school, or college students who struggle with these skills. Executive functioning is a learning process; some students need more help than others.
Executive Functioning skills are separated into two different categories.
Thinking Skills
The thinking skills help create the vision needed to accomplish a task.
Working memory– being able to remember information while completing an activity.
Organizing-maintaining the order needed to get things done.
Planning/ prioritizing- knowing what to work on first to reach a goal.
Time Awareness- (NOT time management) Ability to predict and estimate how long something will take.
Metacognition- Using the voice in your head to self-evaluate.
Doing Skills
The doing skills guide the actions needed to complete the task themselves.
Response inhibition- Being able to think before you act.
Emotional control- Staying on task even when something makes you upset.
Sustained attention- Completing a preferred and nonpreferred activity.
Task initiation- Being able to get started on a task.
Flexibility- Adapting to a new or unexpected event.
Goal-directed persistence- Holding a goal in mind & complete the needed steps to meet the goal.
It takes time for a child to improve their executive functions and even longer to create new habits in their daily life. You may find yourself saying, “we’ve done this 6,000 times, and he/she is still struggling.” That’s ok.
What is Executive Functioning Coaching?
First, this isn’t parent coaching. I am not going to tell you everything you’re doing wrong! I will help you figure out what is going right and where you can improve to help your child’s executive functioning skills.
Watch the video below for more information.
As your executive function coach, I will:
- Give you the executive functioning skills foundational knowledge.
- How to figure out what YOUR executive function strengths and weaknesses are.
- How to figure out what YOUR CHILD’S executive function strengths and weaknesses are.
- A step by step plan to be able to see the progress of your child.
Executive Functioning Coaching: My Secret Strategy
So now that you know a little more about the executive functions let’s chat about my secret strategy. Grab a pencil and paper because it’s a long one! HAHA, I am totally kidding. I tell all my executive functioning coaching clients this strategy, and I will share it here with you because it’s so important to support all parents looking for help.
Don’t have time to read this blog post? Watch my executive functioning coaching YouTube Video below.
So what is my secret strategy? How can you get the most out of executive functioning coaching? CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE. Yes, it’s just that simple.
We often jump right in to help our children with their executive functioning skills and get stuck in negative thinking:
“Oh my goodness, why can’t my child do this!”
“ We’ve done this daily, and they still don’t understand.”
You may find yourself criticizing your child, thinking they are just lazy, and sometimes you’ll end up in a massive argument with your child.
🛑STOP RIGHT THERE!🛑
Take a deep breath and shift your perspective. Stop thinking, “what’s wrong with my child because they can’t do this?”
Start thinking, “is my child struggling? What are their strengths? What areas are they really struggling in?”
Changing your perspective will give me (and you) the information we need to work together and figure out how executive functioning coaching can help your child. We’ll devise an appropriate approach to help improve executive functions in your child and work as a team to help you and your child get onto the right path.
New Perspective=Success
With this new perspective, you and your child can start working on executive functioning skills in a new light. Your child will get to the next level and become successful!
Things will become easier for them and you.
Your child will start to notice things becoming more manageable, and you will no longer wonder “why can’t they get this?”
You will have the power to preserve things in a different light. You will think “what can we do to get them to the next step?”
This isn’t the end though folks! I have more awesome information coming your way!
In the following video, I’m gonna break down what you need and how you can improve time awareness, working memory, organization, and all the other executive functioning skills.
We’ll also take this new perspective piece and put it to good use.
Ready to change your perspective and gain a ton of knowledge? Contact me. Let’s discuss my services and get started with executive functioning coaching!
