Sean McCormick - Executive Function Skills and Challenges

3:05PM Jul 9, 2021

Speakers:

Gilda Evans

Sean McCormick

Keywords:

executive function skills

executive function

gilda

people

skills

students

process

goals

specialists

client

learn

work

resource

showing

teach

care

systems

such busy lives

learning

false beliefs

Hello everyone and welcome. I'm happy to have Sean McCormick as my guest today. Sean is the founder of E f specialists, a business that is focused on helping students with special needs fully access their educations through academic, ADHD and transition coaching. He also founded the earn more tutoring podcast, to inspire and teach educators how to become entrepreneurs. Working with a team of specialists, Sean helps to assess, plan and support the learning needs of each client. Welcome, Shawn. And thank you so much for joining me today to discuss the service you provide for the special needs community. Thank you for having me, Gilda. So to begin with, we have often heard the term executive function. What exactly does that mean? And why is it important to understand what executive function is?

Yeah, great question. And if you had 10, people, you'd probably get 10 definitions, but I'll give my definition, and then also share why I believe it's important to understand it. So executive function is the processes that people use to kind of engage in goal oriented behavior. So if you have a goal, let's say you want to earn an A, in a class, you have to use a lot of different mental tools, mental, physical, all types of tools to be able to reach that goal. So that might include communicating effectively with your teacher, who will also include being able to type physically type, maybe you have to send me both emails, it's probably also going to include using a calendar or some type of time management system to plan out your time, it also includes being able to estimate the time of how long it's going to take an assignment. So there's so many different processes that you need. And those are your executive functions. Those are the different functions that you need to be able to meet whatever goal you're setting for yourself. Now, we're doing that all the time, right, if you're going to the grocery store, you're making a list, you're checking for the weather to see if you need a raincoat or whatever it may be. So we're constantly using our executive functions to make decisions and meet our goals. And now, some people are incredible with executive function, they can plan 10 years in advance, and they can plot out all their different goals and, you know, build incredible things. And some people really, really struggle with executive function. Maybe they just weren't born with great working memory. So they have to externalize all their reminder systems. There's all types of brain styles. But what my business does, and what I try to share with the world is that you cannot change your executive functions, you can't change your brain. I mean, there is there is some research on neuroplasticity, and things of that nature. But typically your executive functions are just what you were born with. But what you can do is learn strategies and tools and methods. And you can set up systems to work with the brain and the body that you have, so that you can find success. So that's my definition of executive function. And then why it's important well, because when you can set goals when you can have a vision and take steps towards it, and on a daily basis in terms of you know, showing up to things on time and communicating effectively and, and meeting your tasks. Research shows and we know this just because we see it, but we know that people with better executive function skills, they live longer, they have better relationships, they do better in school, they make more money, they they're happier, they're they're healthier in every facet of life, people with better executive function skills have better live so it is of primary importance to effectively team and manage your executive function routines and skills.

Well, then, what are some of the common false beliefs about executive function?

Yes, great question. So common false beliefs you will hear associated with executive functions are that students lazy, or that person doesn't care or pretty much anything you hear negatively about? You know, I hear it about students so often because I work directly with students and family. So you know, any of those kinds of disparaging comments, oh, they just don't care. They're lazy. Oh, they're just they're just disorganized. Which to some degree, yes, they are disorganized. But laziness. They don't care. Those are symptoms of a deeper issue, which is they don't have the skills they need to be successful. If a kid is showing up to school, and they're continuously showing up, even when they're they're getting F's on their report card or people in the school, inviting Men are telling them, oh, you just don't care. So what can I do or you know, whatever negative things that occur because students don't have strong executive function skills, and they still show up, you know, they want to do well, you know, they're trying, they're fighting. And they may have, you know, they may have behaviors that push people away or make them, you know, social outcasts, but but they want to learn if they're showing up the some part of them wants to be successful. But oftentimes, we don't explicitly teach executive function skills. We don't, unless you wind up in a resource classroom with a really great resource teacher or learning specialist. Oftentimes, these skills are not explicitly taught. And so we're actually creating environments where people are building up resentment and frustration, and are not learning those those skills that are really going to translate to success outside of school. So they're really important. And that's what I'm trying to share with the world.

So what are some of the ways that we can support students with executive function challenges?

Yeah, I guess, where do we you know, where do we start? There's so many so many ways. I guess it's it's a question of, if you see someone struggling with time management, or they're not turning things in? How do you, you know, asking yourself, how do you manage your time and then not just telling someone but showing them, it's like the teaching people to fish, you really have to show people these things, you can't just expect that if you tell someone, they will then learn it and apply it. So you know, with my, with my clients and my families, I really try to walk them through the process. So it's not just about saying, okay, here's what people with good executive function skills do. It's about showing them and having them do it themselves, so that they experience and they see Wow, when I actually set reminders on my, on my phone, so I'll give you an example. So I had, I had a client and an adult client, a very successful nurse. But she kept missing things and missing appointments, because so much has happened, and she's got kids, she's got, you know, really demanding job, you know, we're in a pandemic. So what we set up is, every night before bed, she would look at her planner for the next day, and she would set an alarm for five minutes before every event, an alarm that would actually go off on her phone. Now, this is something that that is actually common among people with executive function challenges, who have found ways to overcome this challenge. But setting alarms for five minutes, or you know, longer if you have to actually go somewhere for every event. Now, I used to do that myself. And eventually, my system became optimized where I didn't need to do that. But that is one thing you could do. But the student or an adult client, who's really struggling, is just have them plan out their day, the next day, and then set an alarm for every event that they're going to be at, it's going to be disruptive a little bit, you know, and it may be a little bit loud, but that's what's going to allow them to actually knock off those tasks. Other things they can do are externalize the reminders. So for example, I keep all these posts on my desk, this is one of my favorite strategies. If I have something I need to do, it comes to the top of my mind, I don't ignore it and expect I'll remember it later, I write it down on this, post it and I put it on my computer so that it is in my face. And then when I've done that, I stamp it onto this little post it track and I get it, I get satisfaction. I also, I also take this bell after I stamp it on to the stack. And I ring it because it gives me a physical satisfaction. And so many people with ADHD and executive function challenges. Their minds work quickly. They work in different directions. And so creating a system and a reinforcement process to get things done and track that. That's so important. And the beautiful thing about it is it's unique to everybody. So everybody can create their own process. And one of the keys is getting good coaching or getting someone to ask you the right questions like Well, what do you think's gonna help you remind, remind you to, you know, grab your lunch before you leave in the morning? Or what do you think's going to help you remember where to put your keys. And when people generate their own solutions, then that is executive functioning, right? They're generating their executively deciding what they're going to do. And they're bought into it emotionally, also, logically. So that's the process that I try to take. It's it's a very creative and individualized process with my clients. And what I try to teach others is that you have to give people authority to make systems that work for themselves.

Well, I think we've all been there, right? We've all experienced that state of overwhelm, where where we just, I mean, sometimes it just gets so busy, we all lead such busy lives, that you just sometimes freeze, you know, because you just you just don't know what to do next or what to do first or, you know, I honestly I think we've all been there. So what you're talking about makes such good sense, and is really such a helpful skill to, to, to learn, you know and to to have under your belt? Absolutely. How can people then learn more about this topic? And also how can people reach you, if they have questions and and they want to know more, and they want to contact you?

Absolutely. So I tell, you know, when when, when I do my final meeting with a client, after we've reached the goals of our work together, or they're transitioning, I tell them that executive functioning, mastering your executive function, it's a process in the same way, if you want to be in shape, you have to go to the gym and run, it's a process you have to, you have to invest in developing, it's not just going to happen. In the same way any skills developed, executive function skills can be developed. So that means maybe watching videos, there's some amazing resource resources out there, right, there's how to ADHD where they break down all these different these different skills and challenges around executive function. There is, you know, the the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, there's tons of literature and guides, you know, there's, there's so many different resources. But I think as long as you have that intention, and you're making actionable steps, like you know what i want to improve my organizational skills or my time management skills, I'm gonna Google that, you know, and spend 15 minutes looking it up, taking daily steps, you know, if you can do something for 15 minutes a day, you can do anything. So if you commit to it, if you commit to it and start learning about it, rather than just throwing your hands up and saying, I can't do anything about it, that is the first step. And it's a journey. You know, you'll learn a lot about yourself when you commit to learning about organization and improving it. So if you want to learn more about what we do, you can check out my blog, of course, where I write about this stuff. And my website for my business executive function specialists is e f specialists calm, and I actually wrote that down so I can read off those letters because it is a mouthful. But to spell that out, it's EFSPECIALIST S. So executive or EF specialists with an svm.com.

Well, that's terrific, Shawn. And I just want to say thank you so much, so much appreciated, for sharing some really terrific information with us today.

Gilda, thank you so much for having me. It was a pleasure being here and keep doing what you're doing. We appreciate it.

I also want to thank our listeners for spending a part of their day with us. I'm Gilda Evans, reminding you to take care of yourself and that special person in your life