Executive Functioning Skills- Critical for School Success
The task of being a middle or high school student has become overwhelming. In addition to demanding academic work, students have many extra activities, sport and other obligations to balance. Even the most engaged and focused students can become overwhelmed and miss important work or commitments due to weak executive functioning skills: the skills that allow us to manage ourselves and our time with the resources we have. These skills are critical for school success, but are often not taught in the classroom.
The following are the Executive Functioning skills:
- Emotional Control– the ability to regulate emotions in order to stay productive and complete a task
- Initiation– the ability to start a task independently
- Planning/Organization– the ability to plan and organize one’s time, assignments and activities effectively
- Shift– the ability to move from one task to another
- Working memory– the ability to hold information in the mind for completing a task
- Inhibitions– stopping impulses at the right time in order to stay focus and accomplish the task at hand
If you find your child struggling in any of these areas, consider a specific course or tutor to teach these important tools for classroom success. North Shore Pediatric Therapy offers both one-on-one tutoring sessions and an Executive Functioning Skills for School Success workshop (9:30-11:30 a.m., August 13-17) to help your child learn these critical skills.