Doing well in school and living your best life without adequate executive functioning skills is like trying to eat a pizza that’s not cut.  It’s overwhelming!  Where do you start?

In this series of articles, Dr. Davenport outlines several strategies designed to give you or your student the ability to break tasks down into small manageable steps just like a pizza cutter allows you to cut a pizza into smaller easier to handle pieces.

Try these Student Success and executive functioning strategies to address the most common academic difficulties associated with executive functioning problems.

Sustained Attention: Making Daily Tasks More Active

Sustained attention is the ability to maintain attention to a task despite being distracted, tired, or bored.  Addressing this challenge involves making the task more active. 

• Focusing on what’s most important in the classroom

• Actively completing homework

Active Reading

• Actively reading for details, cause/effect, compare/contrast

• Actively reading textbooks for the most important information

• Annotating novels and other reading assignments

Active Writing

• Six Steps to Better Sentences

• Four Steps to Planning Better Paragraphs

• Three Tips for Writing Better Paragraphs

• Purpose + Structure = Better Writing

• Structuring for Better Reports

Active Test Taking

• Active test-taking

• True-False 

• Multiple Choice 

• Essay Questions

Working Memory

Working memory is the capacity to hold information in mind while using that information to complete a task.  Problems with working memory often look like “forgetfulness” when completing multiple-step and multifaceted tasks. 

• Working Memory: What is it and how do I get more?

• Using Cue-Cards 

• Self-Monitoring Sheets 

Need help applying these concepts?  Contact us to make an appointment.

Organization

The executive skill “organization” is the ability to create and maintain systems to keep track of information and materials. 

• Getting Students Organized

• Active Note-Taking

• Note Taking tools

• Structuring your notes for success

Time & Task Management

Time and task management involves the ability to figure out how much time you have, allocate your time, and prioritize your tasks so that you can complete tasks promptly. 

• Planner Alternatives for Students Who Hate to Plan

• College Student (and Adult) Planner Alternatives

• Developing an Active Homework Routine

• Simplified Scheduling to Live Life On Purpose

• Getting Your Priorities Straight

Planning and Starting Tasks

Planning involves being able to break a task down into steps and is necessary to complete a task, finish a project, or reach a goal.  Task initiation is the ability to start a task on time without procrastinating.

• Steps to Planning a Project

• Six Steps to Planning a Written Report

• Planning for Tests

• Dealing with Procrastination

Need help applying these concepts?  Contact us to make an appointment.

Persistence and Self Monitoring

Persistence is the ability to stick with tasks and not get side-tracked when completing an assignment, finishing a project, or achieving your goals.  Self-monitoring is the ability to recognize if you have gotten side-tracked and then get back on track.  Self-monitoring also involves checking your work.

• Setting and Achieving Your Goals

• Checking Homework: Making Your Personalized Self-Monitoring Sheets

• Monitoring and Improving Written Expression Skills

• Monitoring and Improving Math Skills

• Problem-Solving

Response Inhibition

Response inhibition is the ability to stop and think about the consequences of actions before you act.  This can be one of the most difficult of these difficulties and can cause the most problems.

• Improving Your Child or Teen’s Ability to Stop and Think Before Acting

• Improving Impulse Control in the Classroom

Need help applying these concepts?  Contact us to make an appointment.

Social Cognition

Social cognition involves the ability to stay connected to others by thinking about what’s expected in social situations. 

• Strategies to Help Your Socially Out-of-Sync Child or Teen

Emotional Control

Emotional control involves the capacity to control your emotions to complete tasks, manage behavior, stay connected to others, and reach your goals. 

• Self-Compassion: What is It and Why is It So Hard to Live?

• Self-Compassion: Embracing Your Humanness

• Self-Compassion: Practicing Self-Kindness to Quiet Your Self-Critic

• Developing Mindful Mindfulness (Awareness)

• Use the ABCs to Recognize Your Self-Talk

• Use D and E to Change Your Self-Talk

Need help applying these skills?

We provide the following services and solutions to address executive functioning challenges.  Contact us to make an appointment.

• Student Success teaches students of all ages to apply these skills to address the unique causes and effects of their specific executive functioning needs. 

• STOP and THINK is a structured cognitive-behavioral approach designed to help children and teens improve their impulse control in multiple situations including at home, in the classroom, on the playground, at parties, and in life.

• Parenting Solutions provide families a proven set of skills that can lead to less stress and more harmony within the family.

• Testing and Assessments identify specific developmental, learning, emotional, and social needs.  Dr. Davenport has 25 years of experience providing families strong and reliable advice when their child, teen, or college student is struggling.

• Educational Consultation helps parents and educators collaborate to provide research-proven and empowering school services and solutions for students with disorders often associated with executive functioning challenges.

• Collaboration with Medical Professionals ensures a synergistic and empowering approach to the ongoing medical care of symptoms as suggested by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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(c) 2010 – 2019, Monte W. Davenport, Ph.D.