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Brief Description:
This is a list of suggested interventions to meet the needs of executive functions. Various sensory accommodations are provided in this article like changing the environment, changing the volume, or changing the visual stimulant. There are also interaction accommodations provided. This is referencing the student's interaction with peers as well as the teacher's interaction with the student. Providing more specific directions as well as increased support and feedback are suggested. Finally, classroom-wide interventions are also provided.

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Enhancing and Practicing Executive Function Skills with Children from Infancy to Adolescence

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Enhancing and Practicing Executive Function Skills with Children from Infancy to Adolescence

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http://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/activities-guide-enhancing-and-practicing-executive-function-skills-with-children-from-infancy-to-adolescence/

Brief Description:
This website provides a myriad of methods for enhancing and practicing executive function skills.  The website emphasizes that "while we aren’t born with these skills, we are born with the potential to develop them through interactions and practice." The website breaks everything down into seven PDF files (one that is all inclusive and six that are based upon age). The key to improving executive function and self regulation skills lies in following three dimensions:
-"Working memory — The ability to hold informa- tion in mind and use it."
-"Inhibitory control — The ability to master thoughts and impulses so as to resist tempta- tions, distractions, and habits, and to pause and think before acting."

-"Cognitive exibility — The capacity to switch gears and adjust to changing demands, priorities, or perspectives."
This website lists multiple "mini" interventions that may improve skills in one or all three dimensions.  The activities and games that improve a skill depend upon the age of the student.  For example, the page entitled "Executive Function Activities for Adolescents" focuses on various study skills while the pages for younger ages do not.

Where does it fall on the continuum? This falls on the behavioral side of the continuum (straight line) and in between the thoughts and behavior aspects of the continuum (cyclical).  While this intervention does not work to change feelings, it does work to help control thoughts and change behavior.

What theory or model supports the intervention efficacy? The theory or model that supports the intervention efficacy is both Erick Ericsson's theory of psychosocial development and the emotional development in childhood. These theories outline the development of a child and the program focuses on ensuring appropriate development. Overall, it tends to be supported more by the emotional development theory or model. It works to ensure the appropriate development in social situations and interactions.

What student population or type of student need? Practicing executive function and self regulation skills is beneficial to all students. However, interventions such as these especially help students who are socially awkward or impulsive. Students who lack proper examples of these skills at home will also benefit.

By Anne Gittinger

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Brief Description: This intervention approach uses the executive function needs of the students and changes the environment to better fit the student’s learning needs. This approach is focused on accommodations and changes that can be made to help the student. Accommodations are made in a variety of ways. There can be changes made in the student’s classroom that may be disabling for the student. There can be a change in interactions. Quality checking is also a big part of this model, where the teacher must check completion and quality of a students work during and after the task is completed. Finally, there are classroom wide interventions taking place in this type of intervention. Routines will be part of the school day, there will be small groups, and groups will be provided with coaching and lots of feedback. Through this type of intervention process, coaching and accommodations will be more and more reduced as the student is able to be a successful learner independently.

The theory this intervention approach falls under is emotional development in childhood. This intervention approach makes accommodations and sets a student up for situations where they can be more successful.

This intervention falls on the behavioral side of the continuum. This is because it never addresses beliefs or thoughts

Students this intervention will target—> student’s with ADD, ADHD, students who are hard of hearing, student’s with physical disabilities, students who are shy, students with anxiety or depression, students with autism, student’s with behavior problems. This intervention could be successful with students with all types of disabilities.

Sara Steinhart

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Description: Helping the brain become more in tune with the body. Letting go of worries and focusing on the present through breathing exercises, mediation, or yoga.
Continuum: Falls between thoughts and behaviors
Theory/ Models: Social Thinking in Me (Michelle Garcia Winner & Linda Murphy) --> clearing your thoughts in order to better respond to the situation around you
Conscious Discipline --> meditation and conscious breathing are the pause between stimulus and response
Student Population: students with anxiety or depression, students on the spectrum, students with ADHD, someone with extra stress or anger, someone who is tense, someone who reacts quickly to things

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http://www.cfchildren.org/second-step

Brief Description:
It combines social-emotional learning (SEL), bullying prevention, and child protection to form a cohesive foundation for whole-school success. The aspects of the program can be used separately, or they can be combined.

Where does it fall on the continuum?  It depends on which aspect of the program you are focusing on.  The bully prevention aspect falls between beliefs or thoughts and behavior whereas the social-emotional learning aspect falls between feelings and behavior. So it falls primarily on either side of behavior.

What theory or model supports the intervention efficacy? The theory or model that supports the intervention efficacy is both Erick Ericsson's theory of psychosocial development and the emotional development in childhood. These theories outline the development of a child and the program focuses on ensuring appropriate development.

What student population or type of student need? It depends on the aspect of the program. The Bullying Prevention targets social skills whereas the other half of the program focuses more on self-regulation skills (which relates to both social and academic).

By Anne Gittinger