“Executive function” is a term first used by neurologists and neuro-psychologists to describe a set of high-level thinking skills we need to get things done. The first researchers to try and describe this skill set were focused on people with impairments, like head injuries, and relating it to brain development. Work with children and teenagers who had sustained traumatic brain injuries revealed problems involving planning, organization, time-management, and memory. Inhibition and regulation of emotions was often weak.
More recently, executive skills have assumed a larger role in the explanation and treatment of ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), and we’re seeing an increasing number of children and adolescents who seem to struggle in school because of weak executive skills, but don’t meet the diagnostic criteria for ADD/ADHD or other learning differences.
We have found that students can benefit from strategies designed to improve executive function while getting direct instruction and academic coaching. We provide EF coaching in the context of our comprehensive reading intervention (i.e., we do not offer EF coaching as a stand-alone service). Children learn and retain executive function strategies best when paired with meaningful academic instruction and intervention.