How You Can Improve Your Child's Executive Function Skills
Leanne Sherred, M.S., CCC-SLP
Whether or not you’ve heard of the term “executive function,” you use these vital skills constantly throughout your daily life. In fact, they control and regulate just about everything we do.
Executive function skills are how we think about, process, and control our behaviors. They include our ability to:
Manage our time
Regulate our emotions and behaviors
Plan, organize, and prioritize tasks
Stay focused and follow projects through to completion
Empathize and understand different points of view
Solve problems
Multitask
Have a strong working memory
As you can imagine, these skills are essential to living a productive life. And for many parents of school-age kids, they may be top of mind. The ability to plan, manage, organize, and prioritize tasks and everyday activities is a key part of academic success.
Take homework, for example. Your child needs to be able to remember they have homework due and organize their approach to completing the assignment. They have to stay focused without being distracted. And, if the assignment is hard, they have to remain calm and ask for help without tempers flaring.
Trouble with executive function is not a diagnosis. However, these problems are common among children with certain diagnoses, such as ADHD or a learning disability.
It’s important to know that trouble with executive functions is not a diagnosis. However, these problems are common among children who have certain diagnoses, such as ADHD or a learning disability. Children who have a tough time communicating, and who aren't reaching speech and language milestones on time, may also have trouble with executive function skills.
In this article, we're focusing on how parents can help their child thrive in school. In most cases, executive function skills won’t magically improve overnight. It’s important to work with your child--as well as with their teachers--to practice and reinforce these skills on a daily basis.
Executive function tips and exercises for different ages
As your child's caregiver, it’s important that your expectations are in line with your child’s age and developmental progress. For example, we shouldn’t expect a preschooler to complete a chore that takes a half-hour.
Here are a few helpful exercises by age to improve executive functioning:
Infants: Even at this early age, it’s still important for caregivers to reinforce good executive function habits. One example is playing the perennial favorite “peek-a-boo” game. It may seem simple (and it is), but it can help your child become familiar with the flow and rhythm of the game. They also need to use self-control as they wait for the surprise reveal.
Toddlers: Games like “Red Light, Green Light” and “Simon Says” help reinforce self-control for children. These games quickly switch between being in motion and staying still. This helps kids practice flexible thinking and listening for directions.
Preschool: Playing with your child, as well as giving them chances to socialize with other children, helps them interact and cooperate. It teaches them self-regulation skills like sharing and turn taking. This requires them to remain flexible within a social environment, follow rules, and solve problems.
School age: When your child enters school, play more complex and stimulating games that require a higher level of strategy. Not only is this family bonding time, but it helps increase their cognitive skills such as their working memory, multitasking, and their ability to plan ahead.
Give your child clear instructions
Now, let's discuss some ways to support your child's executive functioning. Helping them follow directions is important, especially when it comes to completing school assignments and daily chores.
Make sure you’re crystal clear about your expectations by providing step-by-step instructions to your child. Keep it simple and straight to the point. Have them repeat the directions back to you so you know they understand.
Also, make sure your child understands not just “what” they have to do, but “why” they have to do it: “You need to complete this homework so you understand the material and can get a good grade.”
Create a “to-do” list or checklist
Some children have trouble completing tasks on time because they don’t know where to start or what to do first. A to-do list can be tremendously helpful in improving your child's time management.
Whether it’s a note on the fridge, a whiteboard in their room, or a color-coded journal, keep a list of everything you expect your child to complete--chores, homework, tasks, etc.--and when they’re due. This visual aid can help your child feel more in control. Plus, it gives them a feeling of satisfaction when they mark something off the list.
Reward your child
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy! Rewarding your child doesn't have to mean giving them money, candy, or a new toy. Instead, it’s important for your child to recognize the difference between what they “want” to do, and what they “need” to do, and which should come first.
For example, your child wants to play with their toys, or wants to go to the playground. However, to do this, they need to finish their homework or clean up their room. Use a simple “first... then” structure to make this clear: “First you need to finish your homework, then you can go outside and play.” This can help your child see the positive effects of completing what’s expected of them.
Organize bigger projects into smaller tasks
The steps for completing a bigger, more complicated assignment aren’t always obvious to children who have trouble with executive function. For example, filling out a worksheet is pretty simple. But what about completing a book report? To do that, your child needs to read the book, take notes along the way, write their assignment, and then turn it in on time. That’s a lot!
Some children can get so wrapped up in the decision-making process, and feel overwhelmed by tasks, that they choose to ignore or never start the assignment. You can help by "breaking up" these bigger projects into smaller pieces. Give your child clearly defined steps ahead of time so the project feels more achievable.
How do you know when your child needs help with executive function skills?
A child's communication abilities are related to many executive function skills. For example, in order for a child to understand what they hear and read, they need to be able to:
Stay focused without distractions
Have the working memory to retain information
Be able to use context in order to understand difficult or unknown words
In addition, children must be able to organize information they've gathered in order to communicate with others clearly.
So it makes sense that many children who struggle with executive functions skills need speech and language support. To improve these skills, many families seek the professional help of a licensed speech therapist.
While speech therapy may be provided in your child's school or at a private clinic, many families are choosing online speech therapy services. Speech therapy happens at home, at a time that's convenient for you. Plus, caregivers can attend sessions along with their child. When you're more engaged in your child's therapy, you can practice and reinforce these essential skills at home, between sessions. That way your child will make faster progress!
