Blog

Check out our variety of resources and tips on Executive Function support, ADHD, mental health, and more

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By Jackie Hebert | Mar 17, 2023

ADHD and Emotional Dysregulation: Support for Navigating Life’s Challenges

Flying off the handle. Flipping your lid. Melting down. Any way you say it, when emotions get out of control, it’s hard for everyone involved - especially when ADHD is part of the picture. Everyone knows about the attention and focus challenges inherent in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - but one symptom that is often overlooked or forgotten is emotio...

By Hannah Choi | Oct 20, 2022

4 Coping Skills Teens Need to Build Lifelong Resilience

By the time the semester hits mid-October, college and high-school students are really starting to get into the thick of the school year's demands. And although getting through all the deadlines successfully may seem most important, it's also critical to remember that burnout is real and emotional well-being is often more important than checking off another item on th...

By Hannah Choi | Oct 20, 2022
By Sean Potts | Dec 15, 2021

A Survival Kit for the New Year: Our 21 Best Tips from 2021

Somehow, we’ve reached the final chapter of 2021. It's safe to say that this year was one giant learning experience as we all have tried to adapt to a world that was unrecognizable just two years ago. We've been lucky to have so many brilliant individuals share their wisdom with our community and contribute to this year of learning. Between the dozens of teachers, the...

By Sean Potts | Dec 15, 2021
By Sean Potts | Nov 11, 2021

Student Stress: Untangling the Anxiety & Executive Function Connection

Have you noticed that almost everyone seems to be talking about anxiety lately? It may be because mental health, in general, is becoming less stigmatized, but it’s also clear that anxiety is simply becoming more prevalent in our world. This is especially true for students. According to the National Institute of Health, nearly 1 in 3 adolescents aged 13-18 will experie...

By Sean Potts | Nov 11, 2021
By Dr. Eva Benmeleh | Oct 28, 2021

Why Your Executive Function Challenges May Be Rooted in Perfectionism

Editor's Note: In this week's blog, we invited clinical psychologist, Dr. Eva Benmeleh, to share her unique perspective & expertise on perfectionism - an area that her practice focuses on treating. --- As a psychologist who specializes in perfectionism, parents often ask me whether or not their children could have ADHD. It may be because their room is a total disa...

By Sean Potts | Oct 01, 2021

Fall Blues? Why 80% of Parents Are Worried (and what to do about it)

Each school year, students begin a new chapter in their educational journey. And historically, this time has been a mixed bag of emotions - some excitement, some sadness (students in particular), and maybe even some mild nerves. But these last two back-to-school seasons have been different. Starting as early as June, our team began noticing that many parents were expr...

By Sean Potts | Oct 01, 2021
By Brittany Peterson | Sep 02, 2021

The Best Strategy for Building Strong Student-Teacher Relationships

When I had to move when I was in college, I did what most people do: I asked my friends for help. And, despite the busy lives they lead, they did. (Or, at least, many of them did. That’s right, I’m calling you out, Genevieve...) Now, I didn’t offer to pay my friends, but they helped me anyway. (I mean, I did bribe them with plenty of pizza, but no one volunteers to he...

By Isy Mekler | Aug 18, 2021

Freshman Social Jitters? 5 Tips to Making Friends in College

As August nears its end and a new school year waits around the corner, a certain segment of students who recently graduated high school are coming to the same realization that I did three years ago: starting college is scary! Moving to a new place without parents for the first time where you know few people (if any) is understandably intimidating. Add on a host of new...

By Isy Mekler | Aug 18, 2021
By Sean Potts | Aug 05, 2021

Back to Campus: Insights for Parents' Top 5 College Transition Worries

Transitioning to college is always difficult, but for the semester ahead, students and parents alike are more anxious than ever about the upcoming fall. During a year filled with upheaval and uncertainty, college life shifted dramatically, eliminating the traditional college experience many students had anticipated. But this fall, students are likely looking at a more...

By Sean Potts | Aug 05, 2021

Build Your Student’s Self-Worth: 3 Tips to Conquer Imposter Syndrome

If we were to eavesdrop on the inner thoughts of some students, we might hear something like this: "There is no way I belong in this honors-level class with all these geniuses!" "I got into jazz band on a lucky break. Once they hear me play, they'll know I don’t deserve to be here." "Why did I take AP Art? This class is for real artists, not me." Whether it’s in a spe...

Awkward Adolescence: 4 Tips to Help Your Student Master Self-Care

For most of us, simply thinking about our early teen years can quickly produce cringe-worthy memories of awkward social interactions, questionable fashion choices, and hormonal chaos - all of which feel best left in the corners of our middle school locker. But what can often be equally uncomfortable is the tough landscape of actually parenting adolescent kids. Accordi...

By Lindsey Weishar | May 27, 2021

Blank Page Panic? 4 Simple Steps to Write an Essay that Impresses

Does your child start to panic when they get an essay assignment? As coaches, we see this frequently. Writing can be hard for students, especially when they have challenges in Executive Function areas like organization, planning, and task initiation. Here's a useful guide to help your student overcome that hesitation and write a paper they (and their teachers) can fee...

By Sara Sullivan | May 12, 2021

4 Tips for The High School to College Transition

Editor's note: This week, we invited Sara Sullivan, a rising senior at Brown University, to share her experience transitioning to college, and the advice that she wished she had known in high school.

By Lindsey Weishar | Apr 28, 2021

When Perfectionism Paralyzes: 4 Steps to (Actually) Get Writing Done

Put yourself in your student's shoes: You’ve got an essay due in a week, and perhaps you’re not particularly looking forward to it. You set up your study space, turn on your computer, open a blank document, curl your fingers over your keyboard, and…nothing. You’ve got nothing.

By Lindsey Weishar | Apr 07, 2021

Beyond Rhymes: How Poetry Can Teach Executive Function Skills

If the spoken-word poetry of youth poet Amanda Gorman at Joe Biden’s inauguration made you think, “Hmm, poetry seems a bit more interesting that I thought,” you’re in luck. April is National Poetry Month, and the fact is that not only can poetry be a fun thing to read, write, or hear, it’s also great at promoting Executive Function (EF) skills. In this week's piece, w...

By Diana Horan | Mar 11, 2021

Your Child’s School is Reopening: a RoadMAP for Student Readiness

We can feel the buzz in the air and vibrance in everyone’s step. I’m not talking about spring fever, I’m referring to our hope and excitement as we begin to imagine living in a post-pandemic world. As vaccinations become more widespread, so does everyone’s anticipation for a life resembling what we once had prior to COVID-19. But will your child be ready? We will neve...

By Diana Horan | Mar 11, 2021
By Sara Sullivan | Feb 24, 2021

How to Help Students with Anxiety: Top 8 Tips for Parents and Teachers

This month, we gathered an expert panel of behavioral science and education professionals to discuss the complex process of supporting students with anxiety. Although many of the insights they shared were directed toward practitioners who work with students, we couldn’t help but notice how relevant some of their advice was for parents, too. In this week’s article, we’...

By Brittany Peterson | Oct 28, 2020

Toxic Positivity: Self Esteem Costs of Poor Executive Function Skills

When I was in grad school, I worked at a gym. One of the things I recall vividly about my time there were the encouraging vibes from personal trainers, group fitness instructors, and the members themselves. People clung to mantras such as “The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow” and “The only bad workout is the one you didn’t do”, and “Be stron...

By Hannah Choi | Aug 19, 2020

2 Executive Function Skills to Help Parents Beat Back to School Stress

There are many things people never tell you about parenting. For instance, how many fingernails you’ll clip, or that you may have to tell your son to stop chasing his sister with moldy bread (okay that second one may be a “me” thing)... However, the one quirk that we all were definitely not told about is that we’d have to parent through a pandemic. As many of us have ...

By Hannah Choi | Aug 19, 2020
By Sean Potts | Jun 11, 2020

Adulting in 2020: 5 Key Tips for Resilience from a Recent College Grad

We’ve finally reached the halfway point of 2020, and I think I speak for just about everyone in saying that these past 6 months have felt more like 6 years. A global pandemic, widespread economic uncertainty, mass unemployment, and now, historic protests against police brutality and racial injustice in every major US city - all of which have already cemented 2020 as a...

By Sean Potts | Jun 11, 2020
By Brittany Peterson | May 28, 2020

Managing Loneliness While Working From Home

By now, some folks might be going back to work on site -- whether in full force or in a hybrid model. Many of us, though, are cruising past the two-month mark of working from home. If that’s you, you’ve probably gotten into somewhat of a groove. You’ve got the right mindset for working remotely and you’ve got your distractions managed so you can stay productive. But j...

By Jackie Hebert | Mar 02, 2020

The Anxious Middle Schooler: An Executive Function Connection

Middle school. For some of us, those three syllables can elicit chills of recalling social slights, embarrassing faux pas, and other growing pains of adolescence. Decades later, things haven’t changed much. In fact, it’s still about lunchtime and who you manage to sit near. As if that whole scene isn’t stressful enough, add in Executive Function challenges for a 6th, ...

By Lisa Gurdin | Feb 19, 2020

How to Get Your Child to Listen to You (with less talking back)

Editor’s note: This week, we feature guest blogger Lisa Gurdin of LSGurdin Consulting. Please read more about Lisa below. One of the hardest parts of being a parent is realizing that your child will not always listen to what you say just because you say it. This is a tough nugget to swallow. Shouldn’t children just listen to their parents? Isn’t it just enough to say,...

By Lisa Gurdin | Feb 19, 2020
By Dan Messier | Dec 16, 2019

The Anxious College Student: An Executive Function Connection

College students have plenty of fuel for anxiety. They’re in a social and academic environment that’s significantly different than any that they’re used to. They’re often trying to balance course work with a job - in addition to social and family obligations. And they’re doing all this while also trying to chart out a plan for their entire future (and trying not to th...

By Dan Messier | Dec 16, 2019
By Jackie Hebert | Jun 26, 2019

Emotional Regulation: The Hidden Success in a Student’s Failure

(Author’s note: the names and circumstances have been altered to protect the client’s anonymity.) The mom calls me at 3:15 on a Tuesday afternoon. I am coaching another student at the time, but I listen to her voicemail message when I’m done with the session at 4:00. Marie is clearly anguished.

By Thad Peterson | Feb 04, 2019

Neuropsychological Testing: What is it and when is it needed?

As parents, we often get in the habit of worrying about our kids. When we suspect that our child’s problems aren’t just run-of-the-mill issues but something that might have a significant impact on their children’s lives, we wonder if we need help from a qualified professional.

By Leora Tanzman | Sep 25, 2017

Can Mindfulness Improve Executive Function Skills?

A couple of years ago I learned the secret to getting a group of sixth graders to participate in class: simply ask them if they are stressed out. This was my icebreaker question to introduce the topic of mindfulness. In response, it seemed as though the entire class raised their hands. And there was not enough time to allow everyone to share what stressed them out. Th...

The ABCs of Reducing Anxiety for Students Going Back to School

We’ve all had that surge of nervous energy as a big event is coming up and learning to control the jitters, or emotionally regulate, can be a challenge for both students and adults. As the start of the school year approaches, you might notice anxiety building as your child anticipates new teachers, a new schedule, and the other big changes. Let’s explore some ABCs of ...

By Hanna Bogen | Oct 17, 2016

7 Self-Regulation Tips to Reduce Homework Battles With Your Child

Editor's note: This week, we feature guest blogger Hanna Bogen, a Speech-Language Pathologist and Social-Cognitive Specialist based in Los Angeles, CA. Please read her full bio below. Few tasks test self-regulation skills like homework time. Self-regulation is critical to one’s ability to manage challenging or complex situations, and homework time is no exception. Str...

By Hanna Bogen | Oct 17, 2016
By Alexa Nappa | Sep 06, 2016

Emotional Regulation and Executive Function Skills: A Powerful Link

Executive function can be likened to the brain’s air traffic control center.* The air traffic director must safely, quickly, and effectively manage dozens of flights into and out of an airport with multiple runways and terminals. Now, imagine this director on the job, in the control tower, and he is feeling enraged. Or terrified. Or bereaved. In any of these scenarios...

By Alexa Nappa | Sep 06, 2016
By Laura Moy | Aug 15, 2016

Reducing Academic Anxiety in Students with Perfectionism

Earlier this summer, we published a pair of blog articles featuring the ways perfectionist tendencies in students can result in academic anxiety for those with executive function challenges. These articles featured helpful tips for students who become paralyzed when attempting to initiate a task out of fear that it may not be “good enough”. For some students, however,...

By Laura Moy | Aug 15, 2016
By Brittany Peterson | Jun 27, 2016

Perfectionism in Students: A Case Study in Coping With Academic Anxiety

Are you worried that your child tends toward perfectionism? As coaches, we often encounter students with perfectionistic mindsets in combination with other Executive Function challenges. When students focus on producing “perfect” work, it can not only be counterproductive but research suggests it can even prove harmful. The good news is that the right kind of support ...

By Sarah Trosper Olivo | Dec 14, 2015

Effective Treatments for Emotional Regulation in Children

Editor's note: This week, we welcome guest blogger Sarah Trosper Olivo, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist and the co-founder of City and Country CBT, located in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Westchester, NY. Please read her complete bio below. “He’s acting out so much with school work that it’s almost not worth the struggle. I’m exhausted!” “She’s managing her study hab...

By Hannah Gould | Dec 12, 2014

Developing Emotional Regulation Skills Through Yoga

Editor's note: This week our guest blogger is Hannah Gould M.Ed, RYT, who coordinates the therapeutic yoga program at NESCA. (Please read her full bio below.) Mind-body practices like yoga are ideal for developing emotional regulation skills because to make sense of emotions, both the mind and the body must be involved. Emotions are interpreted and labeled by the mind...

By Hannah Gould | Dec 12, 2014

Beyond Emotional Regulation: How to Find Quality Mental Health Care

Recently, we posted a blog article about Emotional Regulation, a foundational Executive Function skill. At times, families may need to reach out for emotional regulation support that extends beyond what an Executive Function coach provides. We asked Dr. James Barrett to offer some guidelines for families who are seeking therapeutic support for their children.

By Danielle Young | Oct 03, 2013

An Executive Function Coaching Success Story

"If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it." - Michael Jordan

By Neal Elliott | Jul 02, 2013

Beauty vs. Depression: How to Motivate Students

When I arrived at John’s house on a sunny May morning for our coaching session, he was feeling depressed, especially because he had to reread parts of Lord of the Flies and find details for an English assignment. He protested, insisting that the book was too bleak to read the first time. John had been sad for much of 9th grade and was on the edge of a complete shutdow...

By Neal Elliott | Jul 02, 2013

What are Executive Function skills?

Executive Function Skills are a set of cognitive skills that help individuals plan ahead, stay organized, regulate thoughts and behaviors, stay focused, and achieve their goals. Each of these skills can be taught, learned, and applied at any stage of life.

  • Time Management
  • Maintained Focus
  • Task Initiation
  • Stress Management
  • Organization
  • Prioritization
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