Executive Functioning Coaching
We help your child with organization, self management, goal setting and task completion.
From Being Scattered and Disoriented to Being Well-Organized and Well-Planned
Does your child have trouble organizing, planning, and completing a task? Does he/she get confused by directions and deadlines? If your child struggles with planning, problem-solving, organization, and time management, he/she may be experiencing executive dysfunction. Such children may feel anxious, depressed, or overwhelmed which often displays at home or at school as avoidance, acting up, or zoning out. An Executive Functioning Coach can help by helping your child acquire a set of cognitive skills required for planning, completing, and evaluating the completion of tasks, as well as overseeing communication exchanges.
Located in Milford and Danbury, Connecticut, we offer executive function coaching to help your child develop skills such as attention, motivation, emotional regulation, and problem-solving. We foster independent learning in children, teens, and college students by developing better organizational skills, flexible thinking, improved working memory, and time management.
The goals of executive functioning coaching are to develop the following
Executive Functions Impulse Control: An Ability To Think Before Acting
Emotional control (keeping your feelings in check)
Planning/prioritizing (setting and meeting goals)
Flexible thinking (adjusting your behavior to unexpected changes)
Working memory (keeping key information in the mind while also using your mind in another way)
Self-monitoring (an awareness of how you are doing “in the moment”)
Task initiation (taking action to get started on tasks)
Organization (keeping track of things mentally and physically).
Executive Functioning Coaching for a Variety of Conditions
Sometimes executive dysfunction is not a unique diagnosis or a condition in and of itself. Rather, a range of neurology, as well as emotional regulation can impact executive functions. Challenges with executive functioning are associated with conditions like:
- ADHD
- Autism
- Traumatic Brain Injuries
- Learning Disabilities
Executive Function Coaches do not specifically work with people who have a diagnosed condition. They also work with children who need to improve their current level of executive functioning.
What Qualifies a Child for Executive Functioning Coaching?
Your child needs this therapy if he/she is experiencing the following
Challenges with Time Management
If your child has trouble staying organized, executive function coaching can help. Such children might experience losing or forgetting important items on a regular basis, being unable to maintain a clean room, desk or locker, or interrupting tasks to gather necessary items.
Struggling to Perform at School
Executive dysfunction might cause difficulty in memorizing facts, organizing thoughts in writing or balancing tasks such as completing and returning homework in time. Such children may experience difficulty incorporating feedback into work or an activity, learning or processing new information, or having trouble with high order thinking.
Challenges with Organization
Children with executive functioning problems have time management difficulties. They often struggle to be on time due to disorganization or poor planning. They might experience difficulty with starting, organizing, planning, or completing tasks. Such children often do things quickly, messily or often incompletely.
Choose Kidsense for Executive Functioning Coaching in MIlford or Danbury, CT.
We optimize your planning and organizational skills
- Qualified therapists: Our therapists are qualified and licensed. We keep up with the latest techniques and strategies to provide high quality services to our clients.
- Customized Solutions: We take time to understand your child’s unique situation and challenges. After evaluation and caregiver interview, we offer solutions tailored to your child’s needs.
- Relationship of Trust: We develop a relationship of trust with your child to maximize positive outcomes. This is achieved through clear communication, a friendly environment and our dedication to your child’s progress.
- Holistic Care: We specialize in executive function coaching and related disciplines to provide holistic care to your child.
- Multiple Locations with State of the Art Facility and Cutting Edge Technology: Therapy is provided in one of our well-equipped facilities. Our executive function coaches often use assistive technologies, visual timers, modified planners and a variety of organizers, and strategies to help students better manage their work.
Our Executive Functioning Coaching Evaluation
Systematic Assessment for Effective Goal-Setting
The evaluation process begins with a review of background and developmental information provided by caregivers, followed by a caregiver interview. Our therapists might review any assessments that have been undertaken to measure various aspects of a person’s executive functioning. An assessment will be conducted to determine your child’s skills such as attention, organization, planning, impulse control, multitasking, and the formation of concepts.
Following the evaluation, the therapist may provide you with preliminary findings and collaborate with the caregiver to develop a treatment plan. Following the initial evaluation a report including the evaluation findings and recommendations for treatment will be provided.
Executive Functioning Coaching at KidSense
We help children reaching their full potential.
Our executive functioning coaching includes but is not limited to the following:
- Building nonverbal working memory skills
- Devising and implementing homework plans to ensure successful completion of daily and long-term assignments
- Assistance learning to break long-term assignments into parts
- Improving temporal awareness skills which includes an ‘internal sense of time, time estimation, and setting time limits
- Facilitating organization of physical materials (i.e., binders, folders, backpack)
- Assistance with organization of computer files, and web-based materials
- Identifying preferred study strategies and implementing them effectively to reach goals
- Trialing assistive technology (personal devices, apps, web-based tools to manage time, keep organized, etc.
- Assistance improving follow through on completion of chores, etc. at home
- Support navigating emotional responses to executive dysfunction such as stress, anxiety, and self-esteem that impact the whole child.
External Executive Functioning Coaching Resources for Families, Parents and Caregivers
Resources do not supplement an evaluation and treatment plan created by a licensed therapist and should be used for informational purposes only.
Understood
https://understood.org/
Providing parents and families everywhere with the resources, expertise, and community. A lifelong guide for those who learn and think differently.
National Center for Learning Disabilities
https://www.ncld.org/
Programs, resources and advocacy to support individuals, families and communities.
Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD)
https://chadd.org/about-adhd/executive-function-skills/
Programs, resources and advocacy to support individuals, families and communities.
Tera Sumpter Seeds of Learning
https://linktr.ee/Terasumpter_slp
Executive functioning specialist. Speaker. Author. Fdr of Seeds of Learning LLC.
LD OnLine
http://www.ldonline.org/
Providing accurate and up-to-date information and advice about learning disabilities and ADHD. The site features hundreds of helpful articles, multimedia, monthly columns by noted experts, first person essays, children’s writing and artwork, a comprehensive resource guide, very active forums, and a Yellow Pages referral directory of professionals, schools, and products.
LD OnLine works in association with the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD)
Learning Disabilities Association of America
https://ldaamerica.org/
LDA’s mission is to create opportunities for success for all individuals affected by learning disabilities through support, education, and advocacy.
Social Thinking
https://socialthinking.com/
Evidence-based strategies to help people age 4 through adult improve their social competencies
Cognitive Connections
https://www.efpractice.com/
Learn more or talk to a clinician about coaching, the evaluation process or a classroom observation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my child needs Executive Functioning Coaching?
Some of the common signs indicating executive dysfunction are:
- Forgetting what they have just heard or read
- Difficulty prioritizing tasks
- Trouble starting and completing tasks
- Difficulty following directions or a sequence of steps
- Difficulty accepting changes in routines or with rules
- Trouble switching focus from one task to another
- Obsessing or fixating on things
- Becoming overly emotional
- Trouble organizing thoughts
- Difficulty keeping track of one’s belongings
- Difficulty managing one’s time
What does your Evaluation Process look like for Executive Functioning Coaching?
We use a variety of assessment tools to identify strengths and weaknesses across executive functioning, with an emphasis on working memory and situation awareness-intelligence. We assess current use of strategies, strategies that haven't worked, awareness, and temporal awareness.
What’s your treatment approach for Executive Functioning Coaching?
We know that a common shortcoming of EF strategies is that they rely on verbal memory (checklists, verbal reminders, etc)Our treatment approaches focus heavily on building nonverbal working memory skills since these are a foundation for the everyday tasks client's have difficulty with, as planning and self-monitoring relies on one's ability to plan in one space and execute the task in another. Our goal is to model, teach, and maximize generalization so our clients have the tools to navigate their everyday activities with increased independence.
Which “Collaborative Therapy Services” do you offer in conjunction with Executive Functioning Coaching?
Aside from working as a team to best support your child with the in house services we offer, we often collaborate with home and school based teams, pediatricians, and specialists to meet our client's goals and address areas of needs.
Read up on Executive Functioning Coaching
KidSense Locations
KidSense Therapy Group has 2 Convenient locations in Milford and Danbury CT which serve our greater New Haven County area as well as the greater Fairfield County area. Both locations are fully staffed with both therapists as well as administrative professionals.
