Margaret Dawson – 2 Day: Advanced Course: Executive Function in Kids & Teens Who Are Smart but Scattered

Outline

Get to Know Executive Function (EF)

• The 11 executive skills
• Two dimensions of EF skills: Thinking and doing
• Are EF skills innate? Learned?
• Exercise: Match the descriptor to the EF skill

The Neurobiology of EF

• Normal v. atypical brain development
• Chronological v. age of functioning, ex – ADHD
• How do executive skills develop in the brain?
• Negative influences on EF development
• Can executive skills be recovered?

Assessment: What Does Weak EF Look Like?

• Parent/teacher interviews: What to ask/ look for and why
• Behavior rating scales (BRIEF-2, ADHD Rating Scales-V, and more!)
• Limitations of formal evaluation
• Observation/informal assessment
• When is it an educational disability?
• Co-morbidity with mental health disorders

Linking Assessment to Intervention: 3 Key Skills to Accommodate Executive Skill Weaknesses

• Environmental Modifications
  • Any changes made external to the child – physical or social
  • Modify the nature of the task(s)
  • Change the ways adults interact with the child
  • Exercise: Brainstorm modifications for each EF skill
• Teach Deficient Skills
  • Adults (temporarily) become the child’s frontal lobe
  • 3 steps to embedding executive skills into:
    • Content area lessons
    • Whole-class routines
    • Small group curricula
  • Adaptations for K-6, middle school, and high school
  • Step-by-step examples: Cleaning room, starting the day, homework plans, classroom organization
  • Exercise: Design an EF-conducive classroom or home routine
• Motivate the Child to Use the Skill
  • A new look at incentives and reinforcement
  • The benefits of using incentives
  • Simple “go-to” incentives
  • Longer term, more elaborate incentives
  • Exercise: Brainstorm and discussion on incentives

STRATEGIES, STRATEGIES, STRATEGIES: Must-Have Interventions for Home, School & Beyond

• The 7 keys to effective intervention design
• The “perfect” intervention has these 2 factors
• Must-have strategies for getting kids on board
• Covey’s in my control/out of my control

Student-Centered Interventions: Steps and Guidelines

• Exercise: Step-by-step development of a student-centered intervention
  • Case: Sarah – seatwork struggles, poor follow through
  • Case: Max – task refusal, wanders, not following directions
  • Case: High school student – intellectual disabilities

Practical, Innovative Strategies Designed to Target:

• Beginning & end of day routines
• All things homework – collection, completion, turning in!
• Paying attention
• Desk cleaning
• Writing papers
• Longer-term projects
• Organization
• Managing open-ended tasks
• Taking notes
• Temper control
• Impulsivity
• Transitions
• Perspective taking
• Problem solving
• And more!

Coaching: 1:1 Interventions for Executive Skill Development

• Key components of coaching
• Stages and goal setting
• Class-wide peer coaching
• Evidence behind coaching’s effectiveness

Clinical Considerations

• ABA/RTI in schools
• Working with parents and families
• Multicultural factors
• Limitations of the research and potential risks