WHAT DOES AN EXECUTIVE FUNCTION COACH DO?

Executive function skills are mental processes that include flexible thinking, working memory, and self-control. We use these daily skills to learn, work, and manage everyday life. Having problems with executive function skills can make it hard to follow directions, focus, and handle emotions, among other things.

Below are three main areas of executive function skills. These include:
👉 Working memory skills
👉 Cognitive flexibility (also known as flexible thinking)
👉 Inhibitory control (this includes self-control)

Executive function is responsible for many skills, which include:
👉 Paying attention
👉 Planning, prioritizing, and organizing
👉 Starting tasks, focusing, and staying on tasks until completion
👉 Understanding different points of view
👉 Regulating emotions
👉 Self-monitoring (keeping track of what you’re doing)

Executive function skills usually develop quickly in early childhood and teen years. But these skills keep developing into their mid-20s. When kids are younger, some may lag behind their peers for a while. They may have fewer challenges as teens and young adults as they age.

Who is an Executive Function Coach?

An EF coach helps students and adults in improving their executive functions. 

Why one needs an Executive Functioning Coach?

Executive function skills are required for better organization and performing everyday tasks. People (kids, teens & even adults) who struggle with organizational skills in day-to-today life are the ones who need an executive function coach. 

In simpler terms, executive function coaches help create a system and order for the unorganized and struggling students and teens. 

Here is an article for more understanding of what executive functioning is exactly.

What Does an Executive Function Coach Do?

Here are some of the key areas in that an Executive Functioning Coach can be of assistance to high school and college students: 

Focusing 

A child must maintain focus and effort long enough to complete a task and then shift to a new task when appropriate. Being able to focus is a vital executive function skill. An executive function coach will introduce models of the completed task so they know how to approach the steps of the process and have an example of what it should look like when it is complete. The executive function coach will also give clear oral and written directions and expectations for the task.

Time Management 

Time management skills are an organizational behavior that will be taught and practiced effectively with executive functioning coaching (EF coaching). EF coaching tackles many time management strategies like list building, goal setting, prioritizing, time tracking, calendaring, task initiation, and completion.

Planning

A child’s or a student’s ability to think or plan about the future, create a plan of action, and prioritize the different working parts is a very good sign of cognitive development. Planning skills help a child make a list of steps to accomplish a task and effectively determine the most important aspects. Some examples of planning are making a packing list, giving directions, or writing a recipe. 

Organization and Prioritizing 

While some kids are natural when it comes to organization and completing assigned tasks on time, others need help getting started on work, forgetting homework assignments, staying focused, or misplacing and forgetting to turn in their projects. An EF coach teaches students to use daily planners and checklists effectively. It starts with showing the students how to use it, then coaching, then checking until they can do it alone.

Breaking complex work into smaller chunks 

Students get several assignments from school almost every day. Dealing with these can sometimes overwhelm students with insufficient organizational experience and training. An EF coach teaches students how to break tasks and projects into pieces, writing due dates and how long it will take to complete each work.

Creating a system 

Though many students figure out their approaches to creating their system for task completion, students with learning disabilities/differences or ADHD need explicit strategy instruction and practice to develop this skill. These students commonly have very weak internal language skills—the self-talking skills that people use to sustain their efforts and check that they are on track to meeting their goals.

What are the benefits of having an EF coach?

Although it’s common for people to think of EF coaching as a type of therapy, a more accurate way to look at it is as a type of tutoring, only for executive function skills instead of math or reading. Some kids struggle with algebra because their brains aren’t wired to naturally “get it” as others do. Kids with dyslexia struggle with reading because their brains aren’t programmed to decode language like an average brain might. Kids with ADHD often struggle with organization, impulsivity, and task initiation for the same reasons. An EF coach or specialist is trained to tutor those with executive dysfunction to strengthen their skills to be effective at school, work, and life.

When children have opportunities to develop self-regulation skills and executive function, individuals, students, and society experience lifelong benefits. These skills are crucial for development and learning. It also enables positive behavior towards their tasks and the people around them and allows them to make healthy solutions for themselves and their families.

A qualified executive coach helping your child develop these lifelong skills can also improve the students’ relationship with their parents. Parents will develop a better understanding of their kids’ world, which will enhance the parent-child relationship.

Check Out Our Other Blogs:

• How are Executive Functioning and Neuropsychology Related?
• What is the Relationship Between Executive Functions and ADHD?
• A Beginner’s Guide to Understanding Executive Functioning Disorder

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