Episode 67: The Executive Function Online Summit PLUS a Special Message for Kids – Part 1 – Seth Perler

LD Expert Podcast with Jill Stowell
PART 1 - The Executive Function Online Summit PLUS a Special Message for Kids
Seth Perler

 

Jill Stowell: If you’re the parent of a school age child, teen or young adult, especially if your child is a neurodiverse learner, there is an event that I really want you to know about.

Seth Perler will be hosting TEFOS, The Executive Function Online Summit on August 11th through 13th. I had a great conversation with Seth about kids going back to school and about TEFOS. There is so much to share that we decided to make this a two-part episode so you don’t miss any of it.

In this episode, Seth and I will be talking about the Executive Function Online Summit or TEFOS and then Seth will have a very special message for students as they head back to school.

Welcome to the LD Expert Podcast, your place for answers and solutions for dyslexia and learning differences. 

Jill Stowell: I’m your host Jill Stowell, Founder and Executive Director of Stowell Learning Centers and author of Take the Stone Out of the Shoe: A Must-Have Guide to Understanding, Supporting and Correcting Dyslexia, Learning and Attention Challenges.

So my guest today is Seth Perler, ADHD, 2e and Executive Function Coach. Seth has such a heart for out-of-the-box learners because as he says, he was one of those kids. Seth was a classroom teacher for 12 years and since then has dedicated his life to helping kids overcome executive function challenges and helping parents and educators to have more effective and compassionate approaches to helping kids. Here’s my conversation with Seth about TEFOS, The Executive Function Online Summit.

Seth Perler: So, TEFOS Summit, it’s my fifth year running this summit. It was this crazy idea because I wanted to get the term “executive function” more to the vernacular because it’s important and I’m passionate about it. So I started doing this. I invite all of these amazing experts from all over the place to share with parents. A lot of teachers and therapists and grandparents and others come but it is designed specifically for parents, but we have things for teachers and other people.

But it’s a free event. So we do three days free and then we do two bonus days and then you can buy a package. If you want, you can check that out with bonuses and stuff like that. But the free event itself is so powerful. We have about 90,000 registered already for this year. It’s just in from about 80 different countries. It really is an amazing – I really get speakers who come from here. That’s my focus and I just – and I am hard on my speakers. Jill will tell you.

Like I put them through the ringer. But that is because I do way more work… they’re OK, but I do. I really get them to really bring a lot of value to you, to really give exceptional insights to help you help your kiddo.

Jill Stowell: And how – because it’s a three-day event and then two bonus days. How can people get the most out of it?

Seth Perler: Well, executive function planning, pop it in your calendar right now. Register right now and I will send you emails as we go along the way with reminders and access on the 11th. But be ready for August 11th. Here is the way that I look at it. Like I do a lot of like conferences, weekend summits, things like that. Look at it like a live in-person conference and clear your schedule as much as you can and block out time. 

So I would block out actual time and accountability. I would gather a friend or two or three and each day, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, your “job” and my “job” in terms of when I go to a conference or a summit is that I am there to learn everything I can and that’s my job on those weekends. So that’s how you get the most out of it in my opinion is prioritize yourself. Prioritize it and show up for yourself and block out large pieces of time where you can dive into the content and you’re going to walk away from the weekend your brain exhausted and also completely inspired.

Jill Stowell: Absolutely. Well, we are going to put the link in the comments so that you can register to watch the live free event on August 11th through 13th or you can also purchase the all-access pass that allows you to listen or watch anytime or watch it again, which I think is really helpful and there are lots of other bonuses that are included in that. So just give us a quick glimpse into what some of those bonuses are.

Seth Perler: Oh, so one of the things that – so Jill is one of my speakers on the summit. One of the things that Jill did and that everybody does, I have every speaker do a teacher tip. So they tell teachers one thing that they can do to support executive function in the classroom. You also get a workbook which was designed with Gretchen Wagner who is an expert in studying, which teaches the parents how to study on the summit. But teaches you evidence-based things that you can teach your kid about how to actually study and learn.

We also have kid vids. So each expert took like one minute to like think about holding their heart like a kid that’s struggling that they’ve known and like speak encouragement to kids that are struggling so parents can watch those. They love them and they look at the ones that they want their kids to see, share those with their kid, the ones that they like. Share them with their kids and the parents are always like, “Oh, my kid won’t listen to me but they will listen to you.”

So here we’re like, OK, well the experts are saying and reinforcing things that parents are saying when they’re trying to encourage their kids anyhow. So those are amazing. We have the audio on the all-access pass, so you can listen to it on a special podcast we created. We also created the transcripts for it because people wanted those. So we just really pull out all the stops.

Jill Stowell: Yeah.

Seth Perler: It’s fantastic.

Jill Stowell: It really is. There are lots and lots of conferences and summits out there and I just really want our audience to know about this one because it is so relevant. It is just so relevant to struggling kids and kids who aren’t struggling in school. So I know Seth you put work into this all year long to make sure this comes off and it’s really truly an incredible gift for parents and educators. So thank you for that.

Seth Perler: Oh, thanks for being on it. I’m proud of it. Yeah, everybody put so much heart into it and that’s …

Jill Stowell: Absolutely.

Seth Perler: That matters.

Jill Stowell: Seth pours his heart and soul into this event all year round. It’s fun and interactive and he gathers up a fantastic panel of speakers who are so passionate about helping kids live their best lives. I’m honored to be one of those speakers this year.

In my session, we will be looking at what’s at the root of the challenges that you see at home. When your child is whining over homework or hiding their papers or starting a long-term project at midnight, the day before it’s due, it’s really frustrating and it’s almost certainly reflecting a skills problem, not a problem with manipulation or laziness or lack of motivation.

Kids are generally giving us the best they can and when they don’t, it’s likely due to skills deficits that are getting in the way. What can be done to help kids permanently change those things and what are some things that you can do? This is what we will be exploring in my session at TEFOS, The Executive Function Online Summit.

Be sure to check out the registration link in the show notes. 

Now I have one more clip from my conversation with Seth Perler. This is a special message for kids as they head back to school.

Seth Perler: Just how awesome you are. How your neurodivergent brain is awesome, your neurodivergent personality is awesome, your quirks, your – the things that are interesting and different and unique about you, that you may feel sensitive about are actually awesome about you.

Like you have very, very, very unique strengths and talents and interests and passions and things that matter to you and that provide meaning for you. You have this very unique setup of who you are. Like I’m this person who for some reason I love helping complicated kids who struggle. I don’t know why. I don’t really care why. But I had to own that in my life that that is the thing that is the most magical, powerful, amazing, meaningful thing in my life for some reason and then I like guitars.

No, but I have all sorts of passions and hobbies and things like that. But for some reason, that’s really meaningful to me. Other things that are meaningful to me is like animals and the environment and nature and things like that and yada, yada. But that is the number one thing in my life.

Now, not everybody has a number one thing nor do you need to have a number one thing. But what you need to understand is your unique, interesting brain and strengths and passions and interesting talents and gifts and those things that – and the things that matter to you, you are perfect, amazing exactly how you are. That doesn’t mean we don’t work on ourselves and things like that. That’s not what I’m saying. But you are amazing. What happens is we have a world, a culture, a school system that tends to focus very heavily on deficits or challenges or problems or weaknesses and it doesn’t do a good job on building our strengths unless your strengths happen to be already aligned with how school functions, which is not for everybody’s brain. It’s for – it works for some people but not for everybody.

Whoever you are, whatever your quirks are, honor that, own that, love it. Understand how amazing you are because the fact is, is that the world needs you. Your community or your neighborhood or your whatever – when you grow up, your specific strengths, the world needs you. It needs you to develop into the best that you are and one of the secrets to life for students that I like to share with them is that some of the most – in fact maybe the most joy that we find in life is through service, through giving, through helping.

Right now Jill and I have the opportunity to do right now, right this second. Jill and I are doing something we love. We’re going to get off this call. Jill and I will talk in the post-interview and we’re both going to be like happy and excited because we are literally doing what we love right now.

So service, kids building a life, building their strengths, not just focusing on the weaknesses like school often does. But building those things that some people may never even know. Like playing with Legos might be a great strength and they may – those skills that you don’t get a grade on Legos. You don’t get a grade on drawing. Well, you might in our class but you know what I’m saying.

Like building these skills, that is what they’re hopefully going to be building a career based on things that they’re aligned with. So that service is where it’s at and the more that the world needs them to serve and the more that they do who they are and understand how awesome they are and how their unique brains are perfect the way they are. That is what’s going to build them a great life but also have them have a richer life now. 

Then the last thing that I would say to students is what my dad said. You are not your grades, and that was the second to the last thing, and baby steps.

When it comes to kids with executive function challenges, it’s overwhelming. Where do you start? They are so disorganized. They are so – have such poor planning skills. They often have a poor self-concept. They’re struggling with stuff, struggling to get stuff turned in, to do their homework, to focus, whatever.

The way we grow, the way I grow, the way Jill grows, the way your parents grow, the way teachers grow, the way human beings grow is baby steps. I want to get good at guitar. It does not happen overnight. It happens baby steps, persistent, continuing to practice the skill over and over. I want to get good at skateboarding or this or that or anything. It is baby steps. That is what works and that’s hard because it seems like such a long journey. You will get this for students. You will get there. You persistently take baby steps. You will get there. I tell you from my experience, as somebody who failed out of college – I almost failed out of the second college but I dropped out before I was going to fail out. I almost failed out of high school. 

Like I had more Fs than you can imagine and really felt like a failure, felt very hopeless. I was able to turn it around with baby steps, very small steps and created an amazing life for myself and that’s what I wish for all students. So that’s my message to them, Jill.

Jill Stowell: It is always such fun for me to have Seth on our show. I appreciate his heart for helping kids and families and the really great advice that he gives. Don’t miss part two of this podcast next week. Seth will be back with us to talk about how you can get your kids in a positive mindset for school and how teachers can help students start the year off right.

At Stowell Learning Centers, we help children and adults eliminate struggles associated with dyslexia and learning differences. We want to make this journey easier for you. So connect with us on social media and on our website stowellcenter.com for information and free resources. Be sure to register for the free Executive Function Online Summit with the link in the show notes and please share this episode with other parents who are looking for answers.

The struggles associated with dyslexia and learning differences can be eliminated. Let’s change that narrative together.