Episode 11: Executive Function: The Critical Underlying Skills – Jill Stowell and Lauren Ma

In this episode:

• When executive function development begins and when it’s fully developed
• How to test for strength or weakness in those underlying skills
• Intro to strategies to develop those underlying skills

Episode highlight:

“Having a high IQ is NOT a guarantee for strong executive functioning.”

Lauren Ma, Director of Growth and Operations at Stowell Learning Centers, shares that having superior skills and intelligence, like a great photographic memory, can actually inhibit the development of executive function.

The person would rather rely on his/her memory to remember details, times and dates instead of learning how to organize the details in a planner. This can place too much stress on the memory, and can limit how much more this person can do.

Resources:

• Is Poor Executive Function Getting Your Child Into Trouble? – Blog Article
• My Son Does His Homework and Doesn’t Turn It In. Why Does This Happen and What to Do?

Questions Answered in This Episode:

• My son procrastinates all the time, is it an executive function issue?
• Any artistic games/activities to help with visualization?
• What if the child doesn’t want to listen?