Blog
Work to Home – 7 Strategies for a Smooth Transition
What happens in that space between leaving work and stepping in the door at home? Are you able to shut off work and quickly transition to the dog, kids, and dinner or do you feel more like the two halves of your brain are constantly competing for attention? Creating a time and/or space for … Read more
Back to School Habits
Hey Moms and Dads, it is time to make this year the best year ever for your family and especially your school age children. School has started, did your student… get up without 3 or more reminders from you? eat breakfast? catch the bus on time? leave with everything they needed? If so, congratulate yourself … Read more
Lights! Camera!…..ACTION! 15 Steps to Get Going
Taking action and following through on something that has to be done is often difficult for those with ADHD or Executive Functioning challenges. In most cases, students and adults understand the importance of completing something but find it difficult to actually “move themselves” to action. What is happening in the brain, in my understanding, is … Read more
Stuck? 12 Ways to Encourage Cognitive Flexibility
The best way to describe the executive function of cognitive flexibility is to think of Einstein’s definition of insanity. “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” That would be cognitive inflexibility. Cognitive flexibility is the ability to notice when your thinking process is not working or to notice when changes … Read more
Ready, FIRE, Aim! 7 Strategies for Self-Regulation
Impulse control or self-regulation is that ability to stop and consider the options before acting and/or do what needs to be done (even if you don’t want to). Not being able to control your response in a given situation can appear to be a blatant disregard for the “rules” (whether explicit or implicit) but it … Read more
What DID I Come in Here For?
Have you ever walked into a room and forgotten what you went in there for? Or sent your child to do two things and they only did one? If this kind of thing happens often then it may be a working memory issue. Working Memory is an Executive Function skill that plays an important role … Read more
Hocus Pocus Focus!
The ability to focus or to sustain attention involves ignoring distractions and continuing to work even though the task may be boring, tiring or frustrating. This executive function, often called sustained attention, may be impacted by other challenges such as auditory or visual processing problems, working memory challenges or the inability to shift current thought … Read more
Just Get Started!
The ability to get started on something is called “task initiation or activation” by the experts on Executive functions (Russell Barkley, Peg Dawson, Thomas Brown, etc). Executive functions are those skills that help us get things done. Task initiation is just one of these executive skills and it involves the ability to START. Difficulties getting … Read more
What is an Executive Function?
The term “executive function” or “executive dysfunction” refers to those skills that are used to “get things done” and to “manage oneself” and they are often associated with ADHD/ADD. They develop in the precortex of the brain which is in the front forehead area and damage to this area can also impact the executive functions. … Read more