Executive Function Coaching

Understanding Executive Function

Executive function refers to the set of cognitive skills responsible for managing our thoughts, actions, and emotions. It plays a pivotal role in goal setting, planning, problem-solving, time management, initiation, and organization. People with ADHD, learning disabilities, and some types of mental health issues (such as depression) also frequently have executive function impairment. Executive function coaching primarily supports people who struggle with these cognitive skills, whether they have a diagnosed disorder.

Effect of Executive Dysfunction on Students' Academic and Personal Lives

Executive dysfunction can profoundly affect a student's academic, social, and daily life. These conditions can jeopardize learning in many ways, such as challenges paying attention in class and remembering instructions, trouble managing frustration and regulating emotions, difficulty with self-control and impulsiveness, impaired planning and time management, and poor organizational abilities. The symptoms of executive dysfunction can also include:

Trouble managing multiple tasks
Difficulty holding information in working memory
Challenges with starting, organizing, planning, or completing tasks
The inability to summon and sustain effort and regulate alertness

Executive dysfunction can cause various difficulties, such as decreased academic performance, low self-esteem, and problems with social interactions. Executive function coaching can help alleviate these problems by providing support and guidance to students with executive function deficits, helping them learn to manage their daily lives more effectively. The use of goal setting, time management techniques, organizational strategies, mindfulness, and accountability systems can significantly improve an individual's life, leading to better productivity, enhanced focus, reduced stress, and greater emotional well-being.

What Is the Role of an Executive Function Coach?

An executive function coach is a life coach who is specifically trained to help students better manage their academic and personal lives. Evoke's approach to coaching is collaborative, supportive, and goal oriented. Coaches employ open-ended questions to elicit unique, individual patterns of responses and, through this process, engage students in self-regulatory behaviour to initiate change in their own lives. All our coaches are mental health professionals who understand executive function and hold certification in cognitive behavioural therapy.

Goal Setting

Coaches collaborate with their clients to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals. By breaking down larger objectives into manageable tasks, clients can develop a sense of accomplishment and stay motivated. This helps them gain clarity and focus on what they want to achieve. Regular goal evaluation promotes progress-tracking and self-awareness.

Time Management

Coaches employ various time management techniques such as creating daily schedules, utilizing to-do lists, and implementing time-blocking strategies. These tools help individuals stay on track and minimize distractions, enhancing productivity and reducing procrastination. These tactics also improve punctuality and efficiency in completing tasks.

Organizational Strategies

Coaches work with clients to develop personalized organizational systems. This includes decluttering physical spaces, establishing filing systems, and utilizing digital tools like calendars and task managers. These efforts help reduce the stress associated with disorganization and help enable clients to locate and access information quickly.

Prioritization Techniques

Executive function coaches teach clients how to prioritize tasks based on importance and deadlines. They emphasize focusing on critical tasks first to maximize productivity. This results in better decision-making when tackling assignments and helps people feel less overwhelmed by their workload.

At Evoke, we provide students with the tools they need to achieve their academic and personal goals. Our coaches understand the biological underpinnings of executive dysfunction and work to address the academic, emotional, and interpersonal difficulties resulting from these symptoms, helping students find ways to overcome their challenges. Through individualized support, executive function coaches help students concentrate on where they are now, where they want to be, and how to get there. Students can better realize their goals with a strong plan and regular check-ins to extend accountability.

Consistent Communication and Personalized Guidance

Efforts made by students between coaching sessions are as important as the work completed alongside their coach. Evoke coaches assign exercises to reinforce discussed strategies and skills. These assignments are vital, and we are always ready to assist those needing added guidance. The exercises serve as an opportunity for students to engage in self-reflection and take decisive action. They encourage adherence to established plans, promote weekly goal setting, and assist students in pinpointing barriers that hinder the achievement of their objectives.

By offering personalized guidance, coaches empower students to focus on their present situation, envision their desired outcomes, and formulate effective strategies to reach those milestones. This tailored approach informs the coach's commitment to understanding each student's unique needs, ensuring a supportive learning environment that fosters growth and progress.

Collaborative and Goal-Oriented Approach to Coaching

Our coaches employ a collaborative and goal-oriented approach, ensuring that students actively participate in their learning process. This personalized approach enables the development of practical, research-informed skills and strategies tailored to each student's unique needs and aspirations. By working in close partnership with students, our coaches foster an environment of mutual trust, open communication, and shared responsibility.

Through this dynamic coaching process, students improve their academic performance and develop critical life skills, such as time management, goal setting, and problem solving. Our coaches are dedicated to cultivating these abilities, empowering students to become confident, self-directed learners equipped to navigate the challenges of education and beyond.

Focus Areas of Executive Function Coaching

Executive function coaching is a practical intervention that specifically targets the core impairments of executive function, such as planning, time management, goal setting, organization, and problem solving. Coaching helps students understand the opportunities and challenges of their neurodiversity, establish habits that lead to accomplishing goals, strengthen executive function skills, and manage any obstacles they might encounter.

Coaching sessions may focus on helping students understand how the symptoms of executive dysfunction play out in their daily, personal, and academic lives. Coaches work with students to identify their personal and academic goals, translating them into concrete actions, creating awareness of self-sabotaging behaviours, and raising students' understanding of what they could and are willing to do differently to meet their goals. Coaches provide encouragement, feedback, and practical suggestions to address specific challenges, holding students accountable for following through on their goals and providing the external scaffolding they require to manage their executive function challenges.

Benefits and Outcomes of Executive Function Coaching

Students who engage in coaching develop enhanced executive functioning and self-determination skills, engage in more positive thoughts and behaviours, take greater responsibility for their actions, use goal-attainment skills to manage stress more effectively, and improve study skills and learning strategies. They experience increased self-awareness, self-esteem, and satisfaction with school and work, and are more likely to persist in postsecondary education. They have significantly better retention and graduation rates than those who did not receive coaching.

Executive function coaching offers many benefits to students, including a better understanding of their unique challenges and strengths, improved focus and attention, stronger time management skills, and enhanced self-awareness. Students can learn strategies to help manage their symptoms and improve their academic performance, increasing their confidence and overall well-being. They also experience greater motivation and a sense of purpose, which can lead to more significant academic success and stronger job prospects. Additionally, executive function coaching can help students overcome negative thoughts and emotions associated with their condition, improving self-esteem and life satisfaction.

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with executive dysfunction and would like to change, contact Evoke today to learn more about our coaching services.

FAQs for Executive Function Coaching

What are executive function (EF) skills?

Executive functions are the cognitive skills that help us manage and regulate our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours to achieve specific goals. These skills include attention, working memory, planning and organization, self-control, and problem-solving.

They allow us to focus on tasks, process information eﬃciently, and make decisions that lead to successful outcomes. For example, students with strong executive function skills will be able to pay attention in class, remember important information, plan and organize their homework, regulate their emotions when faced with challenges, and persist in the face of obstacles.

What are the origins of executive function (EF) difficulties?

Although the cause of executive dysfunction is not known, research points to two primary factors:

Variations in brain development, where certain regions mature more slowly or differently in those with executive skill challenges.
Genetic factors: It’s common for students with executive function difficulties to have family members who face similar challenges.

How do executive function (EF) coaching and traditional tutoring differ?

Traditional tutoring helps students understand the subject matter in a course. In contrast, executive function coaching strives to enhance a student’s overall capabilities, which are essential for success across all academic pursuits and beyond.

How can I tell if executive function (EF) coaching would be advantageous for my child?

Executive function coaching might be beneficial if there is a noticeable discrepancy between your child’s potential and their current achievements, which appears unrelated to their understanding of the subject matter. This can be evident when a child grasps academic concepts but struggles with time management, planning, organization, or study strategies, hindering their success.

What is the expected timeframe for observing improvements for executive function coaching?

The process of executive function coaching is neither instantaneous nor effortless. While some progress may be noticeable after the initial few sessions, it demands dedication from the student. Our objective is to guide students toward making meaningful changes that will ensure their success and happiness in their educational journey and beyond. To achieve this, students must adopt new mindsets, methods, and skills, and form new habits and routines, which takes time and persistence.

Is there a certain age or maturity level at which executive function (EF) coaching is most effective?

Adolescence is a particularly strategic time for executive function coaching, given the substantial developmental changes in the brain, particularly in areas governing executive function skills. As adolescents tackle more demanding academic and extracurricular activities, robust executive function skills become crucial. Establishing good habits during this time is vital, as the brain begins to prune unused neurological connections.

Significant transitions that often pose challenges for students with executive dysfunction include switching to online learning, starting a new academic year, entering postsecondary education, balancing intense new extracurricular activities, and school application processes.

Is a diagnosis required for students to receive executive function coaching?

No, a diagnosis is not necessary for executive function coaching. While conditions like depression, anxiety, and ADHD often coexist with these difficulties, many children with executive function challenges have no diagnosis. Alhough not all learning disabilities include executive function problems, it’s not unusual for children with dyslexia or dyscalculia to also struggle with these skills.

Do parents play a role in executive function coaching?

To protect the student’s privacy and to promote rapport and trust between the practitioner and the student, we ask that parents and caregivers refrain from joining or sitting in on sessions.

Please honour the relationship between the student and practitioner. This builds trust and increases the student’s self-confidence and self-advocacy skills. Let your child know your concerns before notifying Evoke or the practitioner. We are working toward an open and honest communication process. If your child is 18 or older, Evoke requires permission from the student to share any communication.

Students with executive functioning weaknesses are vulnerable when working in distracting environments. Parents can assist by making sure the student has access to a quiet space and can focus without the fear of being overheard or interrupted.

What can parents do to foster their child’s executive function skills?

Parents can employ a variety of approaches to bolster their child’s executive function skills, and specific strategies may vary based on the student’s situation. Following an assessment during coaching, we provide tailored advice to parents. Generally, several practices are universally beneficial:

Celebrate progress: Recognize and build upon every small victory, setting achievable goals.
Maintain a positive outlook about your child’s progress. Remind yourself to praise the positive actions taken, large and small. Change is hard and rarely a straight line. It takes time and people learn at a different pace. Backsliding and reverting to old habits are to be expected as part of the process.
Encourage student ownership of the process: Coaching is a co-active process and the student is responsible for co-creating the agenda. They will get out of coaching what they put into it.
Establish routines: Create routines that are reliable and adaptable to evolving needs. Our students are vulnerable when working in unstructured environments; procrastination is a trap for students working alone. Home-based reinforcement for school performance is strongly encouraged to increase confidence and address functional impairments. Parent coaching is available if families need help; please email our client services manager at clientservices@evokelearning.ca.

What benefits can a student expect from executive function coaching?

Participating in ADHD or executive function coaching can lead to:

Improved Organizational Skills: Develop better time management, organization, and planning capabilities.
Enhanced Academic Abilities: Experience stronger learning and study strategies.
Deeper Insight: Gain enhanced self-awareness and a comprehensive understanding of how ADHD influences the personal and academic aspects of life.
Boosted Confidence: Notice an increase in self-esteem and belief in one's abilities.
Overcoming Delays: Learn effective strategies to manage and reduce procrastination.
Amplified Drive: Benefit from a renewed sense of motivation when undertaking tasks and activities.

Is there a certain age or maturity level at which executive function coaching is most effective?

Evoke’s ADHD and executive function coaching is suitable for students in Grade 9 through postsecondary who have been diagnosed with ADHD or executive function deficits and are ready to make a change. Students who struggle with self-regulation, impulsivity, and poor organizational skills can benefit from coaching sessions, as can those who have difficulty with focus, time management, and planning. Research shows that improvements in executive function will not occur until adolescence, around age 14 (Crone & van were Molen, 2004), which makes this an ideal stage for executive function and ADHD coaching. Until then the best approach is parent coaching.

How long does it typically take to witness progress with executive function coaching?

Progress varies among individuals. Generally, sustainable and notable improvements require regular coaching sessions for several months. On average, students engage in coaching for a period of four to six months. The ADHD Coaching Program delves into 13 core topics, allocating two sessions for each topic. This translates to a baseline of 26 one-hour sessions; however, based on their confidence and grasp of content, students can choose to advance after one session or opt for an extra session. To ensure continuous progress and self-discipline, students are advised to attend at least one session weekly.

Who are your executive function coaches?

Evoke’s coaches include registered social workers, certified coaches, and psychotherapists trained and certified in cognitive behavioural therapy, and have experience working in a coaching, therapy, and/or academic strategy role with neurodivergent students. For families with private health insurance that covers social work and/or psychotherapy services, the sessions may be eligible for reimbursement.