6 Simple Ways to Support Students with Executive Function Challenges

Executive function challenges—including issues with attention span, flexibility, organization, planning, and working memory—can be obstacles to your students’ success, both academically and socially. When teachers build support for executive function skills into everyday lessons and routines, struggling students will see long-term benefits.

Excerpted and adapted from The Social‑Emotional Learning Toolbox by Kathy Perez, these easy-to-implement tips will help you support students with executive function challenges and help them develop critical skills they’ll need to succeed.

Make assignment details memorable.

Try to make the details of an assignment more vivid and reinforce them with pictures where appropriate. For example, it might be helpful to offer a visual checklist of assignment details or a bookmark with reading reminders.

Help students feel in charge.

If students ask what to do next, don’t give a quick answer—ask what they think comes next. Find out students’ interests and use them in conjunction with instruction in organizational skills. Praise them for improvement and for trying.

Be cautious about introducing long-term projects.

Long-term projects can present a real challenge to students who struggle with executive function. Break down large projects into smaller assignments and help students with backward planning so they can proceed with the end in mind. Check in with students frequently during the project so they experience incremental progress. (See this post for more tips: 11 Tips on Breaking Tasks Down for Students.)

Discuss organization in class.

Ask questions that get students thinking about ways to get organized. What does being organized mean to your students? Who has an organized backpack, desk, cubby? Can those students share their organizational tricks with the class?