By Emily Levine, K-8 Director at Bespoke Education

May 18, 2022: While last minute searches for misplaced homework assignments, near all nighters before a project due date, and mostly unused planners may feel familiar but also perplexing, there is a way to begin to understand our child’s behavior patterns and how these impact their ability to thrive in and out of school.

To learn about Executive Functions (EF) I talked to Dr. Jacqueline Reina, a clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience working with children, adolescents and adults who specializes in educational evaluations.

Q: Dr. Reina, Executive Functions seems like such a buzzword right now. What do you think is most important for parents to know about this group of related life skills that are used in almost every aspect of our daily life?

A: EF is an umbrella term for the neurologically based skills involving mental control and self-regulation that allow our children to plan and achieve goals. They are often described as “the management system of the brain”.

Q: Since EF is such a broad term, can you break this down into some easily digestible elements that can help us to better understand what might be our children’s strengths and challenges?

A: I think it is helpful to break these skills down into 5 core areas: Organizing, Planning, Prioritizing, Managing Time, and Initiating.

Organizing skills address a child’s ability to efficiently impose order on work, play, and storage spaces.

Planning is deciding in advance what to be done in future; it involves the identification of goals and the activities required to be undertaken to achieve the goals.

Prioritizing is a child’s ability to think about the future, create a plan of action, and prioritize the different working parts.

Time management relates to a child’s ability to organize their time effectively to complete a task. Effective time management allows students to complete more in less time, because their attention is focused and they're not wasting time on distractions. Initiation relates to your child’s ability to get started on a task.

Q: What would you recommend to parents who may be concerned that their children have lagging skills in this area?

A:

1. Stay calm: Remember, similar to when we anxiously await our babies to walk (or talk or read), children’s development in this area can be uneven.

2. Stay attentive: Spend time watching your child study and learn including when and where this typically takes place.

3. Stay curious: Ask family members, teachers and also your child about the habits and routines you noticed. See if similar observations are shared by others. While there may be no “quick fix” individualized academic coaching, ongoing guidance and continued practice can strengthen your child’s EF skills and lead to growth both in and out of school. 

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