Executive Functioning Skills
Ages 3-5 (Pre K)
General overview
If your child isn’t moving towards independence from the parents, attention span for social activities (or tasks) doesn’t seem to be increasing, and has issues with regulating emotions then you should consider the child may have difficulties with Executive Function Skills.
Normal Development of Executive Functioning and Self Regulation Skills
Signs of EFS issues:
Gets frustrated easily and often throws things on the floor instead of asking for help.
Has trouble following directions and often forgets what to do.
Has frequent tantrums over things that seem fairly minor and manageable.
Acts out aggressively instead of expressing feelings and frustrations.
Can’t master simple classroom tasks like finding things in a cubby or packing up at the end of the day.
Frequently raises his hand but doesn’t remember the answer when called on.
Often insists on doing things a certain way, and has trouble making adjustments.
Frequently gives unrelated answers to questions during group time.
What would a lesson with KBS look like?
We, you and I as a team, would figure out what difficulty we need to address first. Let’s say its frustration. The student and I would see where/when they start to feel frustration, discuss what’s going on inside them, find what calming techniques work for them and then engage in those same activities to work on the issue(s).