If your child struggles with goal-oriented thinking, time management, and an inability to complete tasks, you likely have wondered why. There is a good chance that your child is struggling with executive dysfunction.
Read on to learn what an executive function coach is and how they can help your child succeed academically.
What Is Executive Function?
Before you can understand what an executive function coach does, it’s first important to understand what executive function is. Basically, the term refers to the ability to properly manage time, stay organized, make decisions, and complete tasks.
These are skills students don’t always learn in school. The impacts of weak executive function skills can result in low grades and low confidence for students.
Anyone can suffer from weak executive function skills. But most people with ADHD, including more than 5 million US children currently diagnosed with ADHD, experience executive dysfunction.
When a child has executive dysfunction, they are unable to regulate their mental energy to focus on tasks. It also may stop them from retaining information that they need to apply later.
It does not mean a child is lazy. A child with weak executive functions simply cannot regulate themself long enough to focus on the goal and complete the task, whether it is related to school or a personal project.
If you’re a parent of a child with executive dysfunction, it’s easy to feel frustrated. However, your child can learn to build the executive function skills they need to succeed in school and beyond.
What Is the Role of an Executive Function Coach?
Executive function coaches, sometimes referred to as ADHD coaches, are professionals with the skills and experience necessary to help students get organized and motivated to succeed. They provide live online instruction with real-time communication to ensure engagement and focus.
Coaching, like parenting, is not one-size-fits-all. Because of this, we pair your child with an instructor that best matches their specific needs. This decision is based on their personality, interests, skills they need the most help with, and their communication style.
The coach customizes each online session to provide your child with the highest-quality assistance possible. Their primary purpose is to help them create and nurture the skills necessary to combat executive dysfunction head-on.
What Are These Skills?
Most children with weak executive function skills struggle with organization, so getting organized is a key part of the curriculum. An executive function coach helps children organize their physical and digital documents to ensure academic success. They also help them organize their thoughts and articulate them more clearly. This in turn helps them to organize their mindset and achieve a goal-oriented worldview.
Additionally, executive function coaching helps children overcome the mental obstacles that they face when trying to complete tasks. This means helping them to overcome the Wall of Awful, a mental blockade that prevents them from trying to complete tasks that they have previously “failed” at in their minds.
It also means helping them to understand how they can apply their unique strengths to challenges that they may not know how to tackle. This lets them succeed, not just in the task that they’re working on, but also in future tasks. They can apply the skills that their coach teaches them now and in the future.
Finally, executive function coaching helps to unlock a child’s motivation to complete tasks. Sometimes this motivation may be extrinsic, but we advocate for an intrinsic motivational approach where children feel personally motivated for success.
Are There Multiple Different Coaching Options Available?
Parents can have varying motivations for enrolling their children in executive function coaching sessions. Some want their kids to get help overcoming executive dysfunction in a specific school subject they are struggling with. Others need more extensive support to help their child develop better organizational skills and study habits.
If you’re unsure of the best path for you, our experts will be happy to discuss your child’s specific needs and exactly what they’re struggling with. We can help you identify the right course of action for your family.
The Benefits of Hiring an Executive Function Coach or ADHD Coach
Executive Function Coaching and ADHD Coaching offer several benefits, but let’s first take a look at some case studies.
In 2011 and 2013, researchers looked into how ADHD coaching impacted undergrad students. Both studies found that executive function coaching positively impacted participants in helping them reach academic goals. They also reported that they were better able to self-regulate and their well-being improved.
While these studies focused on college students, our younger students see the same benefits. And since a child’s prefrontal cortex is still developing, they tend to learn skills quicker than adults. This can lead to more success and satisfaction with executive function coaching or ADHD coaching.
Skills Inventory
The first step towards getting your child an executive function coach is setting up a free consultation to discuss their specific needs. We will then match your student with an experienced coach who is equipped to best assess their skills and prioritize their areas of weakness.
Your child will take a skills inventory to determine their current skills and abilities. By identifying the greatest challenges your child is facing, we can immediately begin working to build skills in those areas.
Consistent Progress Reports
All executive function coaching sessions are customized to meet your child’s needs. This is possible because we carefully monitor your child’s progress and adapt our coaching methods to help them prepare for success in and out of the classroom.
We will always keep you informed of your child’s progress. We’ll provide you with in-depth, comprehensive progress reports at the end of each session.
This helps you understand how your child is advancing and what areas still need improvement. We also will give you some practical strategies that you can use to help reinforce the skills at home.
Help Your Child Succeed Today and Beyond
While helping your child with executive dysfunction can be a challenge, an executive function coach can offer the professional support needed to get them back on track. Now that you know the role of an executive function coach or ADHD coach, it’s time to get started.
We’re committed to helping you set up a personal learning plan to ensure that your child’s individual needs are met. Contact us to schedule your free consultation for executive function coaching or ADHD coaching in MD, VA, DC, and beyond.