Executive Functioning Skills Coaches attend to their client’s unique academic, vocational, emotional, and interpersonal challenges related to difficulties with executive functioning.
Assessment
During the initial coaching session(s), coaches help their clients assess where they are now, identify where they want to be, and then determine how to reach their targets. This includes helping their clients with the practicalities of setting personal goals, building their motivation, maintaining their focus, and attaining their goals in a timely and organized manner.
NOTE: Although it is helpful for a psychoeducational assessment to have been completed prior to the onset of coaching sessions, such a comprehensive assessment is not necessary to begin the coaching process.
NOTE: Difficulties with executive functioning are common among individuals who have also received a diagnosis of ADHD or ASD.
Coaching
Nine core executive functioning skills are targeted during coaching sessions.
Planning/Prioritization
Create roadmaps to reach your goals
Decide what to focus on, and what to let go of
Task Initiation
Begin projects without procrastinating
Increase efficiency
Time Management
Estimate your time and allocate it
Meet deadlines and hold limits
Organization of Workspace and Materials
Create and maintain systems to keep track of information and materials
Response Inhibition
Take time to evaluate the impact of behaviors and decisions
Think before you act
Emotion Regulation
Increase your awareness of your own and others’ emotions
Develop strategies to regulate extreme emotions
Working Memory
Follow multi-step directions and complete complex tasks
Sustained Attention
Attend to situations or tasks when they are tedious
Goal-Directed Persistence
Set goals and follow them through to completion
Coaching is a collaborative approach that facilitates self-reflection and self-discovery in meeting specific, meaningful, and personalized goals. Coaches provide support and encouragement, as well as feedback and practical suggestions. To keep clients accountable to their goals, coaching sessions are scheduled weekly for a predetermined period (typically 8 weeks). Individual sessions are used to set clear short- and long-term goals, review progress on these goals, reflect on the facilitators and barriers of change, and develop a plan to attain the next week’s goals. At the conclusion of the predetermined period, progress is reviewed, and next steps established (which may or may not include an additional predetermined block of coaching sessions).
Is Executive Functioning Skills or ADHD Skills Coaching for me?
A skills coach works with individuals who are struggling to complete tasks and attain specific goals. You or your child may particularly benefit from coaching if you struggle with ADHD or executive functioning difficulties. Clients with such difficulties often describe:
- Difficulties with task completion, including difficulties staying on task, procrastination, and uncertainty as to next steps
- Tendency to be late and underestimate the time needed to complete tasks
- Forgetfulness, including forgetting important dates or events, as well as misplacing important items such as phones, wallets, and clothing
- Disorganization as reflected in messy desks/workspaces and cluttered living spaces
- Generally struggling to be successful in attaining daily goals
- Emotional reactivity
Coaching can be particularly helpful for children and adults who have become discouraged about who they are or what they believe they can achieve. With coaching, and the experience of attaining goals, confidence will grow.
How is Executive Functioning Skills or ADHD Skills Coaching different from Tutoring?
Executive Functioning Skills or ADHD Skills Coaches specifically target executive function skills, with the goal of improving those skills directly. Practical strategies for daily living, school, home and work are taught with the goal of building habits for a healthy lifestyle.
In contrast, tutoring is an individualized intervention that targets the teaching of academic skills (e.g., reading, writing, math) and/or content (related to a particular subject area).
Services are available for children, teens, parents (to support their child), and adults (to work on their own personal goals).
For Work & School
Examples of executive functioning goals related to work and school include;
- Develop a daily schedule and stick to it consistently
- Use a calendar to track appointments/meetings/classes and deadlines
- Use checklists to keep track of tasks
- Allocate time effectively
- Better manage multiple tasks and competing demands
- Adapt to changing priorities
- Reduce procrastination
- Create systems for organization the workspace and time
- Manage stress in high pressure situations
For Relationships
Examples of executive functioning goals related to relationships include;
- Identify and label emotions before reacting
- Take a time out before responding
- Actively listen to others perspectives without interrupting
- Notice and respond to nonverbal cues from others
- Express needs in a respectful manner
- Discuss collaboratively shared activities and priorities
- Evaluate, prioritise, and problem solve the demands from others
For Daily Life
Examples of executive functioning goals related to daily life include;
- Develop a daily schedule and stick to in consistently
- Make to do lists with priorities
- Use a calendar to track appointments and deadlines
- Reduce procrastination by breaking tasks down to manageable steps
- Remember important detail and instructions
- Recognize triggers related emotions and cope with frustration
- Complete projects in the home
CogMed & Working Memory
CogMed is a short-term intensive cognitive training program that has shown improvement in attention and working memory. The program is designed for individuals who have a difficult time remembering information or holding a task in mind. The program is offered through a training software program in conjunction with weekly individual meetings with a coach over the span of eight weeks. Between weekly meetings with a coach, clients will complete five online sessions of training for 10 to 45 minutes depending on the clients’ age. Each of these training sessions are gamified, with video-game like activities and rewards offered to encourage completion of assignments. Weekly meetings with the coach include an orientation to the program, check-ins to ensure task completion, troubleshooting of any obstacles, teaching of additional skills, and a wrap-up at completion.
Parent Coaching is a personalized treatment designed to help parents of younger children (ages 2 to 12) navigate the challenges that inevitably arise when parenting. Such challenges may be situational, occurring at times of transition, or may be related to your child’s personality or temperament. Whether you are struggling to parent in the midst of a current stressor or in response to a child who is particularly energetic, emotional, spirited, defiant, aggressive, sensitive, and/or inflexible, parent coaching can help you tailor your parenting skills to the situation and your child. Coaching is a collaborative non-judgmental process, with the goal of improving your relationship with your child. Coaching is often helpful in supporting behavior change and general child development, while reducing both anxiety and defiance.
Emotion Focused Family Therapy is a parent coaching approach designed for parents and caregivers with children, teenagers, and young adults, who are struggling with emotion dysregulation, behavioral problems, mental health, or any challenging life experiences. This approach is beneficial for parents of young children interested in “prevention parenting” strategies as well as parents of adolescents who have been struggling for some time. It is particularly helpful for parents and caregivers who struggle with their child’s behavior and/or setting limits. During sessions you will enhance your skills and confidence as a behavior coach and an emotion coach for your child. You will learn strategies to interrupt your child’s maladaptive behaviors, help them cope with stressful life transitions, and support them as they approach and process difficult emotions. You will learn practical skills to improve your relationship with your loved one, increase cooperation, heal your relationship, and respond to strong emotional reactions your loved one may be having (such as anxiety, hopelessness, anger, and silence). You will also be supported to identify your own thoughts and fears that may “block” your capacity to support your loved one. Our goal is to promote positive interactions, in order to achieve greater harmony and connection in daily life.
