How To Support Your Child's Executive Functioning

Don't make assumptions about your child's abilities

Although children and young people will be developing their executive functioning skills through childhood and adolescence, neurodiversity can make this particularly challenging. When approaching teenage years, there may be an expectation that they have developed their executive functioning skills to a level where they no longer need support. This can cause, of course, result a lot of anxiety.

Consider task initiation

Support your child by defining a space for them to work in, reduce peripheral distraction as much as you can, and ensure that they have all the required resources, information and equipment they need.

Start small and quick

If the task involves a number of different stages, start with just one. Set a specific time limit, externalise time using timers or alarms and, critically, make sure that your child will be able to achieve this easily. Go for early success not early challenge. Your aim here is to get your child started. You can then praise and encourage your child to keep going now they have started.

Externalise as much information as you can

A visual plan can help your child to self monitor their progress. You might want to consider putting time limits on each section. Be careful with this, if the time limits start to cause your child anxiety, then remove them.

Make it interactive

Consider making the plan as interactive as you can. It may be motivating for your child if they can cross off, delete or highlight the stages of a task as they work through it. This may also help, in that, your child can see exactly where they are up to and what the next activity is.

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