Top 5 things I would have schools do in support of kids with less than optimal executive functions

1. Support all faculty in being competent with and attentive to email communications, especially at times when students are likely to be doing homework such as evenings Sunday – Thursday
2. Support all faculty in Posting all assignments and the materials needed for them (worksheets, notes, readings, etc.) as well as due dates, on a generally accessible web site (like http://moodle.org/).
3. Maintain a similar spot where students and their parents can check whether assignments have been turned in.
4. Replace the almost instinctive belief in student laziness with its opposite, and communicate actively to students that you believe they can and want to learn whatever subject you teach.
5. Arrange to have most student work done in school, and provide staffed “study hall” time in which students can complete their “homework” prior to leaving school for the day.

Hello world!

Welcome to a discussion on Executive Dysfunction, a set of obstacles to smooth management of life’s challenges which impacts people who may have any of a number of diagnoses (or none) from ADHD to Traumatic Brain Injury, mood disorders to stroke and Alzheimers Disease.  I am interested in EDF (Executive Dysfunction) because it cuts across so many diagnostic clusters.  If we can learn how to treat EDF better, we can help so many people live more productive and satisfying lives.  I’ll post thoughts here, and I hope others will do the same sharing their experiences with EDF.

What does the list below suggest to you?

19 demerits for cutting classes, study group, study hall and afternoon study hall

6 demerits for skipping Saturday detentions

4 demerits for unauthorized cell phone use

3 demerits for throwing copper in chemistry

1 demerit for spitballs

1 demerit for wrestling in the hall

1 demerit for talking in detention

7 demerits for being excessively disruptive in classes

1 demerit for insulting another student

2 demerits for class tardies

5 demerits for inappropriate use of technology

Supervising an employee with EDF

Hi Kristin,

Thank you for your excellent website.  I wasn’t able to find a link on how to paste a question on the EDF blog, so I’m writing to you instead

I work with (supervise) a woman that I suspect may have some executive dysfunction.  As a side note, her son has diagnosed ADHD and Tourette’s.  I am searching for some ideas on how to work with her more effectively.  She is certainly intelligent and often surprises me with her insight.

The issues of concern involve her not always “connecting the dots”, low productivity and the time it takes for her to complete tasks, and lack of follow-through.  A simple example, her cube was a disaster and I know from experience that she doesn’t work well in those conditions – she starts to spin her wheels and becomes totally unproductive.  I asked her a couple of times to clean her workspace and saw no progress.  In speaking to my mentor (because I was frustrated at what appeared to be a lack of respect and follow-through, and needing to talk it through with someone wiser than me!), she suggested to me that perhaps my employee has some executive dysfunction.  I did some Internet research and wow was that helpful!  As luck would have it, the emloyeed asked for help and we then together sorted through all the piles of paper, placed like items in folders, and grouped the folders into a few major subject groups.  It wasn’t that she was unwilling to do the task, she really couldn’t seem to get started, and had difficulty with the organization process.

Anyway, I’m struggling with how I might more effectively supervise this woman in a way that she doesn’t find demeaning or micro-managing.  Do you have any links you could direct me to?  I’ve worked very hard to develop a good working relationship with her, and we work well as a team.  However, sometimes it seems that very small occurrences (what she considers lapses on my part, such as forgetting to cc her on an email) easily threaten the relationship.  Perhaps that is the sensitivity piece of the ED.  It is very important to her that she not be left out of anything, and that she receives credit for any good work she does.  I’m aware of this and do it to the best of my ability, but not perfectly – which she is quick to point out to me, with quite a bit of emotion.

Before I ramble any further, I should send this email off and see if you have any time to help.  Thank you so much.