Speak Your Mind

Most children aren’t being “lazy” or “willfully difficult” — they struggle because the brain systems that help with planning, remembering, starting tasks, and managing time are still developing.

These skills—called executive functions—are the brain’s management system. They help children:

• Focus attention
   
• Plan, organize + prioritize
   
• Start and complete tasks
   
• Understand time and transitions
   
• Use language to guide thinking
   
• Reflect on past experiences and adjust behavior
   

Executive Functioning skills are responsible for helping us:

• Paying attention
• Organizing, planning, and prioritizing
• Starting tasks and staying focused on them to completion
• Understanding different points of view
• Learn from past mistakes  
• Learn from social situations
• Self-monitoring (keeping track of what you’re doing)

When these skills are underdeveloped, everyday tasks like mornings, homework, chores, and transitions can feel overwhelming for both kids and caregivers. 

Executive functions shape how a child learns, communicates, and interacts with others. When these skills lag, kids may:

• Forget steps in routines
   
• Struggle to follow instructions
   
• Lose track of time and are late for events or handing in projects
   
• Get overwhelmed by change
   
• Have trouble planning ahead
   
• Need frequent reminders and prompts
   

These challenges are due to skill gaps, not personality flaws.

Executive functioning is developmental — and it can be supported with the right strategies 

At Speak Your Mind, we help families build executive function skills through:

Parent Training

• Understand your child’s executive skills
   
• Learn practical, evidence-informed strategies
   
• Reduce power struggles and anxiety at home
   
• Focus on skill development, not punishment
   

This is ideal for parents who want:

• Clear expectations
   
• Strategies that work in real life
   
• Supportive,strengths-based guidance

When appropriate, we also work with your child to help them:

• Make sense of routines
   
• Visualize tasks and time
   
• Strengthen working memory
   
• Improve follow-through and task completion
   
• Use language to guide themselves
   

This may look like:

• Visual schedules and checklists
   
• Practice with step sequences, planning, and follow through.
   
• Time-awareness activities
   
• Social-emotional planning tools

Parent training is offered online to accommodate work and family commitments. Flexible scheduling options are available, allowing parents to access evidence-informed support in a way that fits their daily lives.