Executive Function Strategies Blog

The first part of the school year is almost in the record books, and already you see the writing on the wall. Your bright, funny, curious child brought home a backpack crammed with crumpled worksheets, last week’s hummus snack, and teacher comments that were less than stellar. You know she can do better. Her teachers know she can do better. Your child wants to do well - but is at a loss as to how. She thinks, “I guess I’m not so smart, after all.” But succeeding at school is not all about pure intellect, or IQ. Rather, skills of self-management, or Executive Function skills, are the key to consistent academic achievement. Smart kids can struggle in school when they don’t have tools and strategies to manage their academic demands. 

Even though much of our work as Executive Function coaches focuses on helping students and adults work more effectively, you may be surprised to learn that we get a fair amount of questions during our presentations and talks that relate to managing a household, as well. And why not? After all, we use skills such as time management, emotion regulation, planning, and persistence in our everyday lives, too - not just when a report is due to the boss or a teacher. We took a few minutes to chat with author and CEO Michael Delman to find out how an Executive Function expert applies his knowledge to his own family life.

When I polled our coaches for their best ideas they've used to work with their clients in the summertime, I shouldn't have been surprised at the responses - but I sort of was! It turns out, the more relaxed mode of summer is fertile ground for all kinds of in-depth projects and explorations for our clients - and that intensive work allows for several Executive Function skill areas to be developed within a single project.

School should be easy for a child who is gifted, right? On the surface, that's a simple answer: "Of course!" But if we take a closer look at a typical school experience for a gifted child, we often see some version of the following scenario...