Hannah Ross is our community partner and an educational therapist who specializes in helping students develop executive functioning. She’s guest posted for us previously about her educational therapy practice and using gamification to learn EF skills. Now, she graciously returns to talk about how her practice has changed since moving everything online, the importance of creating structure and stability for students who have been disrupted from their routines during COVID-19, and how to use the summer break to help students strengthen and work on their EF skills.

It is important to create consistency for students. All students, but particularly those with learning differences, benefit from knowing what to expect throughout their day in order to be successful. When a student doesn’t know what time they need to get up, how much work they have or how many Zoom sessions they need to attend, it creates a lot of anxiety. By setting clear routines for getting started with the day, organizing effective work spaces, and creating a to-do list or schedules for each day, parents can help their student relieve that anxiety and give a clear idea of what is expected of the student. This helps students increase their motivation, focus and confidence as they understand and follow the consistent routine.

Because of COVID-19, I have started providing sessions virtually. While I am hopeful that I will be able to see clients in-person again soon, it has been amazing to see how well students have done with virtual learning and online sessions. Working together online has allowed my students and I to improve at problem-solving, following directions, and work collaboratively. Some of my students, particularly older ones, will likely continue virtual sessions moving forward just based on how convenient it is. Virtual sessions have also allowed me to begin to see students that aren’t in my geographic area which is really exciting. Even when CO-VID 19 ends, I believe virtual sessions will continue to be a new tool that certain students can benefit from.

I have seen firsthand that COVID-19 has been both challenging and beneficial for parents and families. For some families, the additional time at home and the close look at their children’s academic work has been very helpful. It has allowed families to spend more time together and enjoy a wide range of creative activities that they didn’t have time for in the past. For others, managing students' daily schedules and feeling like they are the ones teaching their children has been very difficult, and understandable so. I have so much respect for all parents at this time. I know every one of them has been working hard to maintain normalcy for their kids!

I am not sure yet about the long term effects of COVID 19, but I am hopeful that students will not be negatively impacted in any large way. While every individual’s experience is different, I think COVID 19 has challenged us all, kids included, in new ways and taught a lot of valuable life lessons about gratitude, use of time, and flexibility. I feel confident that most students will re-enter school with greater appreciation for their teachers and classmates, and hopefully a greater love for learning. I know teachers will be responsive to how students enter the classroom academically, and will do their best to fill in any skill gaps, meeting students where they are. As for executive functioning skills, students will likely need support getting back into a school routine, but many students have developed valuable new executive functioning skills through learning how to be students in a virtual learning platform.

This is a great time to continue to work on executive functioning skills, especially as we are moving into summer. Here are some easy and non-academic ways to do that!

Set up a weekly and daily schedule for your household. Even better, have your student create their own schedules. Include fun activities, camps, chores, and more!
Have your student choose an area of their room or the house to organize. Let them choose bins and labels to use. Take before and after pictures.
Play games! Check out my list of EF skills games on the previous post.
Take an executive functioning skills quiz with your student. Discuss your student’s and your strengths and weaknesses.
Have your student set a goal for the summer. Learn to play guitar? Bake 50 types of cookies? Code a website? Help your student write out the necessary steps to accomplish this goal.
Sign up for my EF skills virtual mini-course. Along with fellow educational therapist, Danielle Abramson, I am leading an 8 week virtual executive functioning skills course which will cover material and time management, as well as study skills, such as note taking and test-taking. Check out the link for more information and to sign up!

This is an important time to spend time with family, strengthen relationships and talk about all the things that are going on in the world. Parents can model how to deal with problems, think flexibly about changes of plans, and look forward to the future. Students can also benefit from talking about their fears, concerns, and feelings. Remember that through working together, our world can become a better places for all!

There are so many fantastic online resources right now and so many companies are offering free subscriptions and activities. These are some of my favorite online resources across all grades and subject areas.

Don’t miss parts one and two of this series by Hannah Ross. If your student is struggling with executive functioning skills or you’re considering an educational therapist, contact her - she’d be happy to help!

As always, if you’d like help with keeping your students engaged with their education this summer you can reach out to PCH Tutors or Simplifi EDU to work with one of our excellent online tutors!