The skills that help children organise themselves, remember instructions, manage frustration and get started with tasks are called executive functions.
These brain-based skills underpin successful learning. Let's call them learning skills, because they are the skills that make learning possible in the classroom and at home.
Difficulties with learning skills are common in children with learning differences such as ADHD, dyslexia and developmental language disorder. These skills develop gradually and benefit from explicit teaching, modelling and practice. Learning skills may develop more slowly in some children for a variety of reasons, and differences in learning skills does not mean that your child has a specific learning difficulty.
Children do not struggle due to a lack of effort; they face challenges because the learning tools they need are not yet working effectively.
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Does this sound familiar?
“I’ve just given three instructions, but they only did one of them.”
“I feel like I’m repeating the same things all day.”
“Small things suddenly turn into huge reactions.”
“Everything seems harder when
my child is upset or overwhelmed.”
When the brain is overloaded, emotions and memory stop working well.
Does this sound familiar?
“It feels like there’s no pause between the thought and the action.”
“She reacts straight away and regrets it afterwards.”
“He knows what to do but it all goes wrong before he stops to think.”
When things happen too quickly it’s a stop and think problem, and we can learn how to slow down before moving on safely.
Does this sound familiar?
“If the plan changes, everything falls apart.”
“He gets stuck on one way of doing things.”
“Once she’s decided something, it’s hard to switch to a different idea.”
When a child struggles to change plans or ideas, it’s a shifting problem and we can teach the brain to switch smoothly.
Does this sound familiar?
“If something is hard, he gives up quickly.”
“She says she can’t do it before she even has a go.”
“He gets very frustrated at the slightest setback.”
Trying to work out what to do next can be exhausting. Problem-solving skills need practice and we can teach skills for step-by-step thinking.
Does this sound familiar?
“Getting started takes forever.”
“He sits there but doesn’t begin.”
“Starting homework is a daily battle.”
Some brains need more power – they need help getting started. The first small steps make it easier. Problems with getting started need tools to engage the brain and take the very first step.