Executive Functioning Skills

Does Your Child Need Help with Executive Functioning Skills?

Executive functioning skills have a huge impact on our lives. From making decisions to planning and organizing tasks, we use these types of skills every single day. Children who struggle with executive functioning skills can suffer in a variety of ways. They may have trouble starting their homework, setting goals, or breaking down their tasks into smaller steps. If you find that your child is having trouble with executive functioning skills, you can hire an occupational therapist to help them improve on them.

5 Ways an Occupational Therapist can Help Your Child With Executive Functioning Skills.

1. They can help your child begin tasks and self-monitor their progress.

Children that have issues with their executive functioning skills can have problems initiating tasks and monitoring their progress. This can present as having trouble getting started with homework or independent assignments or neglecting to check their work for mistakes afterwards. An occupational therapist may help the child create a checklist or improve working environments to mitigate these issues.

2. They can help your child plan and organize events and activities.

Occupational therapists address much more than fine motor skills. They also address executive functioning skills, organizational skills, planning, and sequencing. Executive functioning skills are necessary for everyday life, and if your child is having problems in this area, consider hiring a therapist. If you have a busy schedule or you are in a remote location, a virtual therapy option, such as those offered by Connect Teletherapy, can still provide your child with the necessary counseling they need.

3. They can assist with working memory.

Working memory is the act of holding information in your mind to complete a specific and related task. An example of this is remembering a phone number for a few minutes before you have the ability to write it down or remembering a temporary password for a website. Solving this problem in therapy can look like problem-solving games and recall games.

4. They can help the child move from project to project without stress.

Some children struggle to move from activity to activity and get stuck on one topic or one action. They can also become stressed by the process of changing tasks. This is something else that an occupational therapist can help with. An occupational therapist may mitigate this problem by creating calendars, visuals, and routines, so the child doesn’t experience anxiety when switching tasks.

5. They can help with impulse and emotional control.

Finally, an occupational therapist can assist with impulse control and emotional control. Children that struggle with executive functioning can struggle with controlling their impulses, and they may have trouble stopping negative behaviors without thinking. They may also have difficulty controlling their emotional responses, and they can be easily upset or overreact to small events.

Occupational therapists address much more than fine motor skills. They also address executive functioning skills, organizational skills, planning, and sequencing. Executive functioning skills are necessary for everyday life, and if your child is having problems in this area, consider hiring a therapist.

If you have a busy schedule or you are in a remote location, a virtual therapy option, such as those offered by Connect Teletherapy, can still provide your child with the necessary counseling they need.