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What is Executive Function Coaching?

Executive Function Coaching provides students from elementary school to university the opportunity to learn the tools and strategies they need in order to succeed, essentially helping them learn how to learn and make good choices. Focus is placed on strengthening executive function skills to enable improved self-management, independence and self-esteem.

How does the Coaching Process Work?

Step 1: Relationship-building

Coaches work to build strong and secure relationships with students by working to earn their trust and buy-in to the process, and by helping to get them and their parents into a structured plan that puts everyone on the same page. 

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Step 2: Learning Skills & Strategies

Students and families learn tools and strategies to help them with organization, time management, executive function development, study skills, accountability, active reading comprehension, and structured writing skills (see full list of areas targeted below).

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Step 3: Implementing (or doing) 

Students work with their Coach to implement the strategies they've learned in a structured and accountable way. With support, practice, follow-up and accountability, students will eventually be able to master the implementation of these skills and become independent learners. This can take place over several months or years. 

What do students work on during their Coaching sessions?

Organization &

Time Management

  • Material Management

  • Planning & Prioritizing

  • Using a visual planner to manage & track time

  • Breaking assignments into small, manageable parts

  • Using an agenda properly

  • Setting & attaining short & long term goals

  • Setting up accountability systems

Executive Function Development

  • Specific instruction about executive functions & their impact

  • Situational awareness (reading a room and understanding your role in a situation)

  • Flexible thinking & generalization

  • Time awareness & identifying time robbers

  • Doing and following through

  • How to plan for anything!

Study Strategies

& Test Prep

  • How studying works

  • How to prepare for a test

  • Effective note-taking strategies

  • Previewing and pre-teaching upcoming academic material

  • How to study effectively

  • Hw to effectively answer various types of test questions

  • Planning & estimating time during the test itself

  • Evaluating test performance

Active Reading for Comprehension

  • Reading actively

  • Reading for comprehension

  • Previewing

  • Finding the main idea

  • Strategies for inferencing & reading between the lines

  • Establishing connections

  • Identifying themes and literary devices

Written Expression Development

  • Breaking down written work

  • Developing a plan for written assignments

  • Brainstorming & idea generation

  • Developing a structured outline

  • Developing strong thesis statements

  • Paragraph and essay writing

  • Editing your work

Self-Management

& Independence

  • Development & management of healthy routines (for homework, morning, bedtime, etc.)

  • Development of self-confidence and independence skills

  • Support to manage family dynamics and reduce arguing around academics & EF-related tasks

  • Setting up communication with school & supporting IEP development

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