Executive function — and dysfunction — seems to be a buzz phrase these days.
From your coworker talking about how their executive dysfunction made them miss another deadline to your kid’s report card extolling their developing executive functions, everyone seems to be talking about it.
If you’ve been looking into executive function coaching for your student, odds are you’ve found a ton of information but not a lot of help. Understanding executive function is about more than just finding the right definition or coach. It’s about grasping what executive functions are and why they are so important.
It’s also about learning practical ways to improve them and helping your student reach their full potential.
If you’re wondering what executive functions are and why your child needs them, keep reading.
This guide will cover the benefits of executive function skills coaching as well as how it could help your child.
What Is an Executive Function?
What exactly are executive functions? The short version – they are skills associated with success, both in academics and general life.
The long version — executive functions are a series of complex mental processes that allow a person to achieve their goals. They involve planning, staying focused, and more. Executive functions are required by each aspect of our lives and developing good ones is essential to functioning well in multiple situations.
What Are the 7 Executive Functions?
It is difficult to find a consensus on a definitive list of executive functions but there are some key ones worth noting. The seven main executive functions your child should exhibit as they grow older include:
- Organization
- Time management
- Learning mindset
- Accountability
- Planning
- Flexible thinking
- Emotional regulation
Keep in mind that people aren’t born with these functions. It takes time to learn them and grow each one. Some children grasp different functions at different times.
What Is an Executive Functions Coach?
Executive function coaching is a type of speciality tutoring that can help students — and adults — who struggle with some executive functions.
Unlike algebra or physics, you can’t just teach someone executive functions. It takes time and investment. A coach needs to build a relationship with the person they are assisting and get to know them so that they can provide helpful modeling and guidance.
Unless you are a self-aware adult who already knows the areas you need help with, executive function coaching is better incorporated into other types of coaching or tutoring.
At Emergent Education, we take a holistic approach to executive functioning coaching. While we do offer specialized executive functioning coaching, our typical approach is to get to know a student through one of the other subjects we help with. If the student displays an executive dysfunction in an area or two, we have conversations with the parent and let them know what we picked up on.
As tutoring continues with the student, we incorporate executive functioning coaching into each session.
This might look like listening to them process how to deal with a difficult teacher and then guiding them through reframing those negative emotions into something that can help motivate them to succeed.
It could look like the tutor helping the student set a goal and develop ways to reach it that stress specific executive functions.
It might be as simple as finding opportunities for intentional “heart-to-heart” conversations that allow the tutor to catch a glimpse into how the student’s mind works and help the student process their situation.
When a coach takes the time to get to know their student, executive function coaching takes on a whole new identity. It is now a holistic way to help a student grasp the skills they need while learning to apply them to their current context.
What Are the Benefits of Executive Function Skills Coaching?
Missing or underdeveloped executive functions can negatively impact a student’s life well beyond grade school.
Giving your student access to executive function coaching can help them get a “leg up” in life if they struggle with some of these skills. Some benefits your child may experience include:
- Greater feelings of happiness and success
- Better organizational skills
- Stronger time management abilities
- Better social and emotional skills
- Higher grades and greater academic performance
- Healthier habits that will help them both now and down the road
- Greater self-esteem
People with executive dysfunction often feel less than — less smart, less capable, less valuable.
Your child’s coach can help them learn to navigate the world in a more positive way that allows them to unlock their full potential instead of feeling stuck and as if something is missing from them.
Who Could Benefit From an Executive Functioning Coach?
Executive function skills coaching can help many different types of people. Even if your child seems to do well in most areas, a coach can still help them grow in their weaker functions to better adapt to the world around them.
Having an executive dysfunction doesn’t make your student less smart or capable. It simply means that they need a little more help in some areas. Part of growing up is learning the skills needed to function well in adulthood and some kids need a little extra assistance learning those skills.
Students of all ages can benefit from executive function coaching. Some great candidates include students who:
- Consistently earn low grades
- Struggle to get their work in on time, complete their assignments, or often miss assignments
- Have been called “lazy” or told that they “could do so much more if they would just try”
- Struggle to focus or have short attention spans
- Struggle with:
- ADHD/ADD
- Dyslexia
- Processing disorder
- Asperger syndrome
- Sensory issues
- Have been labeled “under-achieving” or “at-risk”
- Have a tough time with basic skills such as:
- Time management
- Keeping their belongings or schedules organized
- Motivation
- Starting and finishing projects
7 Ways Executive Function Coaching Can Help Students Reach Their Full Potential
#1: Organization
When it comes to students and the executive function of organization, things can look different from student to student.
A student who comes up with a color-coded system for their class notebooks is exhibiting organizational skills. So is the student who lines up their pencils on their desk by lead length.
Harnessing this skill can be difficult and coaches can help students learn organization by talking them through creating systems that will help them.
Miley struggled to remember her homework assignments and keep track of the worksheets her teacher sent home. One day during tutoring, she mentioned this to her Emergent Education tutor who jumped on the opportunity to coach her in the executive function of organization. Her tutor talked her through what it might look like to find a helpful system and, before long, Miley was filing her assignments in her brand new folder system. Now she was able to keep track of each assignment and start turning them in on time.
#2: Time Management
Time management is vital for students, especially as they get into high school and college.
Brandon is a high school senior taking AP classes and playing as quarterback for his school football team. During his calculus tutoring session, Brandon mentions to his Emergent Education tutor that he is finding it hard to keep all his commitments straight and that he keeps forgetting appointments and meetings.
Brandon’s tutor has worked with him since sophomore year and knows that this isn’t quite like him. She takes this opportunity to help him develop a strategy for managing all his commitments. Within a couple of weeks, Brandon’s color-coded planner has saved his neck a dozen times and he is no longer missing things or constantly running behind.
#3: Learning Mindset
There are two mindsets you can use to go through life — a fixed mindset or a learning-focused growth mindset.
A fixed mindset says, “I can’t understand this. It is way too hard. My teacher is mean and he will never like my work, no matter what I do. I might as well stop trying.”
A learning mindset says, “This is really tough and I don’t understand it yet but I will. My teacher is not always supportive but that is okay because I am learning to become a better version of myself, not to make him happy. I will keep trying because I know that I am smart enough to learn this.”
While shifting mindsets takes a lot more than just a conversation or two, an executive function coach can help your student reframe difficult or negative experiences and find ways to grow through them instead of giving up.
#4: Accountability
Accountability — or self-monitoring — is a student’s ability to assess how well they are doing. This enables them to change courses and adapt if they feel they are not achieving their desired results.
Marianna just entered seventh grade and is working hard to learn the parts of the human cell. Her teacher offered a prize to the first five students who could point out all the parts correctly on Monday and she really wants to be one of those five. Unfortunately, she just can’t get them down.
During her weekly after–school tutoring session, Marianna mentions her plight. Her tutor sees the opportunity to coach the executive function of accountability and helps Marrianna come up with an acronym for each part. She spends the weekend perfecting it and, on Monday, Marianna is the first to claim one of the coveted prizes.
#5: Planning
Planning is a vital part of life. From creating a good packing list to mapping out your week to make sure everything gets done, you use the executive function of planning every day.
For students struggling with planning, life can be extra challenging.
Molly is a senior in high school who just got diagnosed with ADHD. As the end of the semester gets closer and closer, she can’t seem to make a plan for the next year. She wants to apply to several colleges but feels like there is never enough time and has already missed a deadline.
During her academic tutoring one Tuesday evening, Molly mentions the issue to her Emergent Education tutor. Her tutor takes the chance to help as an executive functioning coach — ADHD won’t leave Molly struggling through senior year on his watch! Molly’s tutor gives her some pointers for planning out when to apply to each school and how to make sure she still submits her assignments on time and gets a chance to hang out with her friends from the cheer squad.
Thanks to her tutor’s coaching, Molly discovers a great planning method that helps her navigate life and allows her to work with her ADHD instead of fighting it. Molly gets into one of her top three schools and takes her planning system with her.
#6: Flexible Thinking
Flexible thinking is all about reframing something into a more positive light that allows you to work better.
For students, this often means adjusting negative thought patterns about a teacher or class they don’t like.
Bryce is super smart but is struggling with his sixth-grade math class. He is working through word problems and something just isn’t clicking. In his tutoring session, as he tries once again to calculate how many watermelons Aunt Kristi will need for the party, his tutor takes the opportunity to help him learn flexible thinking by asking him to read the problem again and replace “watermelons” with “basketballs.”
As Bryce reads the problem over again, it suddenly clicks and a smile lights up his face as he finally circles the right answer. Aunt Kristi needs 45 basketballs — ahem, watermelons — for the party on Friday.
#7: Emotional Regulation
Especially for kids and teens, emotional regulation can be a struggle. Students may find themselves experiencing emotional reactions to things happening at home or school that can greatly affect them in all areas, including academics.
Learning emotional regulation doesn’t happen overnight and the ability to regulate one’s emotions often grows with age.
Executive function coaching can help students develop these skills early and solidify them while they are young.
Remi spent hours working to learn the information she needed to know for her fourth-grade science test but still failed it. When she sat down with her tutor the next day, she couldn’t help but tear up as she told her she had failed her test.
Remi’s tutor took the opportunity to coach her on regulating emotions by encouraging her to take some deep breaths. Once she had calmed down a bit, her tutor walked her through the materials for the day and then encouraged her to talk with her teacher about the test.
The next day, Remi approached her teacher and, instead of allowing her emotions to take over, she was able to regulate herself as she listened to her teacher walk her through the things she had missed.
How to Find an Executive Functioning Coach
Finding quality executive function coaching isn’t always easy. You want to make sure that the coach you choose has experience working with students and knows how to help them with the issues they are facing.
If you don’t feel like scouring the internet for hours hoping to find a coach that actually knows what they are doing, contact us here at Emergent Education.
We have a team of tutors ready to help your student reach new educational heights, no matter what they need.
From first-grade math to college application essays, we can help with it all.
Emergent Education’s Science-Based Approach to Coaching Executive Functioning Skills Empowers Students to Reach Their Full Potential
At Emergent Education, we are proud to offer a team of highly-qualified individuals from diverse educational backgrounds. All of Emergent’s tutors use the science-based growth mindset approach to help students grow both their academic skills and their life skills.
We believe each student has potential for greatness within them and we do all we can to nurture and encourage that potential.
Our tutors spend time intentionally getting to know your student so they are able to help in a way that connects with them. By incorporating executive function coaching into each session, our tutors offer your student a more holistic approach to education.
If your child needs a little extra guidance with executive functions, Emergent Education is here for you. Reach out today to set your child on the path to success.
