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Executive functioning: assessments and skill-building for daily life
Executive functioning skills are what keep the day moving, enabling students to make plans, follow through, manage time, and stay organized.
Executive functioning skills are those that enable individuals to think adaptably, make plans, self-monitor, follow through on tasks, manage time effectively, and keep themselves organized.
These skills are important for a variety of everyday tasks, including meal preparation, daily living (e.g., dressing, bathing, etc.), and developing a schedule for the day. They also include critical academic skills such as planning a project, meeting deadlines, and staying on task. Development of these skills is essential to a student’s success in the workplace, postsecondary education, and in their personal lives.
Some goals for executive function skill-building include:
- Use of a calendar
- Attention to task
- Being on time
- Meeting deadlines
- Making a plan
- Staying calm
- Problem solving
- Staying on task
Skill progression
What does progress look like in building these skills? These are some steps you can take to develop experience and create confidence in your student:
- Problem solving during play activities
- Managing frustrations packing a backpack
- Demonstrating flexibility
- Using a calendar
- Planning a long-term assignment
Resources and assessments
These resources will provide additional insight into building and developing executive functioning skills:
- College Readiness Tip: Executive Functioning Skills
- Executive Functioning Fact Sheet and Activity Ideas
- Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents
Here are some examples of tools that we use to assess executive functioning skills at Perkins. They are intended to be administered by the student’s school team with input from the student and family.
- Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (age 5-18 years)
- DELIS Rating of Executive Functioning (5-18 years)
- DELIS Rating of Executive Functioning (age 17-29)
- Executive Skills Questionnaire
- High School Checklist for College Readiness
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