Executive Functioning Resources for Parents and Caregivers
Karen Speech
by DrKaren
1w ago
I’ve gotten requests from my School of Clinical Leadership members for resources that can be share with families and other professionals; and since coaching and training others is such an important part of effective executive functioning intervention, I decided to compile a list of content I’ve created on this topic. All of these things on this page are things that can be shared with anyone you feel would benefit; whether it be your colleagues or families you’re supporting. RESOURCE 1: Executive Functioning Implementation Guide for School Teams Supporting executive functioning is a team effort ..read more
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How to make better accommodations by being less accommodating
Karen Speech
by DrKaren
3w ago
“But isn’t this just forcing students to act neurotypical?” This is one of the most common objections I get when I talk about executive functioning; specifically executive functioning that impacts social relationships.  Executive functioning skills are important for anyone interested in having relationships with others; neurotypical or not.  Planning interventions in a way that is supportive is about striking a subtle balance. We want to be compassionate and understanding that we’re working with people who have brain differences. However, we also know that those brain differences may ..read more
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The best perspective-taking lesson plan is not actually a lesson plan
Karen Speech
by DrKaren
1M ago
Recently in some clinical discussion groups, I’ve seen therapists asking for lesson plans to build perspective taking and situational awareness.  This makes me feel optimistic, because it shows that they understand that social skills issues are related to executive functioning.  But “activities” for improving perspective taking will not come from a set of materials you can purchase from a publishing company. They will come from experiences students are having in their lives.  Many people approach “lesson planning” for social skills intervention by searching for materials and map ..read more
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No, you can’t cover all the skills kids need in your therapy sessions.
Karen Speech
by DrKaren
1M ago
When I tell related service providers that they should be coaching and training other members of their school teams, the most common objection I get is that they don’t have time. However, most of them ALSO feel like they have too many skills to work on in therapy.  They ask, “How can I possibly get to all these skills in my sessions.” My answer: You can’t.  But what you CAN do is leverage other people. Your therapy sessions can’t be done in a silo. Taking the time to build relationships and enlist support from others on your team will save you time in the long run. Take this example ..read more
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School therapists: What to do when you have to attend irrelevant PD
Karen Speech
by DrKaren
1M ago
You’ve got a backlog of reports to do. Next week there’s a staff in-service day, and you’re hoping to use it to finally make a dent in the paperwork that’s been piling up. And then the email comes. Everyone in the building is required to attend the district professional development in the morning about the new curriculum initiatives. You sigh, and then vent a little bit to other support staff who also feel ignored by the school administrators. You’d like, for once, to feel like someone thought of you when they planned out the in-service days. There are a lot of ways to handle this predicament ..read more
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The problem with social skills lesson plans
Karen Speech
by DrKaren
1M ago
If you’re working on social skills with students and seeing poor generalization, the solution is not more therapy materials. I’m often asked if I offer social skills activities that can be a quick “print and go” option for school therapists to do with students in a group therapy setting.  I’m fully aware that if I offered a “print and go” social skills lesson plans like this, people would buy them.  It would be a short-term win for me, because I’d sell a lot of products. It may also be a short-term win for the therapist, because they’d get the satisfaction of checking something off t ..read more
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Audiobooks, the Matthew Effect, and the “20 minute” rule
Karen Speech
by DrKaren
5M ago
This past year, I had the opportunity to connect with various administrators and Ed Tech leaders who are selling curriculum products to school districts at a large scale.  During many of these conversations it became clear that districts are making core, evidence-based reading curriculum a priority. One of the best ways to see what’s important is to see where the money and resources are being invested, and this is on the agenda of many leaders making decisions about curriculum and staff development. While this makes me optimistic, it’s only part of the equation. What’s going on in schools ..read more
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Executive functioning is more than just being organized.
Karen Speech
by DrKaren
7M ago
Most K-12 teams think they’re working on executive functioning with their students, but they’re still seeing students continue to struggle with: Time-management Self-regulation Social skills Keeping track of work Following directions in class Managing personal belongings That’s because executive functioning support in the school systems often consists of planners and organizers. While organization is one piece of executive functioning, it’s just a small piece of the puzzle. In order to help students develop this critical set of mental processes, people supporting students need to understand ..read more
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Anxiety and executive dysfunction often go together. Here’s why.
Karen Speech
by DrKaren
7M ago
Many children continue to experience anxiety about new situations or avoid challenging tasks, despite going to therapy and talking through their feelings. This is often because the intervention is not adequately supporting students’ executive functioning skills. In this video, I explain why anxiety and executive dysfunction go hand-in-hand, and what’s often missing when anxiety persists despite going to therapy. This video clip is taken from my free online training: How to be neurodiversity-affirming and evidence based (by supporting executive functioning). In this free training I reveal: Wh ..read more
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Most social skills groups result in poor generalization. Here’s why.
Karen Speech
by DrKaren
7M ago
The most common complaint I hear from K-12 therapists relating to social skills is that kids don’t generalize what they learn in therapy to the real world. That’s because most therapy sessions are done in an “academic format”, and social interactions aren’t “academic”. Human interactions in an unstructured environment requires an essential set of cognitive processes that often aren’t addressed in most social skills training. In this video I explain what those skills are. This video clip is taken from my free online training: How to be neurodiversity-affirming and evidence based (by supporting ..read more
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