Teachers, how to support kids with Executive Function

Alright, my name is Seth Perler, as you know. I’m an executive function coach here in Colorado. Thank you guys for having me. I’m really excited to be here.

You guys are doing good work, and I’m honored to be here and share with you.

As far as the people on the call — give me a thumbs up if you’re a student in grad school right now. Give me a thumbs up if you’re a teacher right now. Give me a thumbs up if you’re both.

Okay. And give me a thumbs up if you’re here in some other capacity. I know Brandy is here — Brandy, watch the road!

Is there anybody else here that I should know about?

⸻

“Okay, so mostly students, is that right?”

“Yes, primarily students, Seth. We also have a couple of university professors — both full-time and adjunct — and Gina is here from CDE. We also have a community member.”

“Alright, cool.

I’m super excited to chat with you today. I’m going to tell you a little bit about myself, my story, and how I got into this work. Then I’ll explain what executive function is, how to incorporate it into your classroom, and I’m really going to focus mostly on the people in grad school who are newer to all of this.

I really want you to feel empowered.

I know we don’t have a ton of time — I think around 45–50 minutes — but what I want to do is give you 12 solid insights that you can take notes on. Obviously, this will be recorded, and I’ll also make this into a PDF. I’m not going to include tons of details in the notes, but at least you’ll see the key concepts I’m covering.

Alright, here we go.

I’ll start with a little bit of my story.

When I was a kid, I struggled with executive function. Nobody knew what executive function was back then. I had never even heard of it until I had already been a teacher for a long time.

Kindergarten was fine, but literally starting in first grade, my mom kept all of my progress reports, and they constantly said things like:

* “Daydreams”
* “Does not pay attention”
* “Lazy”
* “Doesn’t try hard enough”

What’s interesting is that those exact same messages are still being given to a lot of students today, even though it’s 2020.

What I do now as an executive function coach is deeply personal to me because I was that kid.

I struggled. I almost failed out of high school. I failed out of college, went to another college, and dropped out before failing out again.

The way I felt about myself at that time was that I was a failure.

The two words my inner critic used most were: “lazy” and “failure.”

Those became my default identity. They kept me stuck. They became excuses, labels, and mindsets that shaped how I viewed myself and my future.

I legitimately struggled with this stuff.

As a teenager, I literally dreamed of growing up, owning an island, and drinking martinis on the beach or something like that. But I was not heading in that direction at all.

I was getting fired from jobs at places like Subway, drugstores, and grocery stores. I just didn’t have my life together.

I used to call myself “the most irresponsible person I knew.”

I also didn’t have hyperactivity. I had ADHD inattentive type, but when I was growing up, nobody talked about inattentive type. The message was simply: “You’re lazy. You’re not trying hard enough.”

So I didn’t feel very good about who Seth was.

Eventually, after failing out of one college and dropping out of another, I decided that I genuinely wanted to figure life out.

I started turning things around and working harder than I’d ever worked before. I got a job working with kids and completely fell in love with it.

About six months into that job, I was driving in Indianapolis on Spring Mill Road. I had long hair at the time, was driving this little Mazda, my hair was blowing in the wind, and I realized something:

Every single day after work, I drove home smiling.

I realized that what I was doing mattered deeply to me.

And in that moment, I decided I wanted to dedicate the rest of my life to working with kids.

So I became a teacher. I taught for 12 years and got a master’s degree in gifted and talented education.

I like quirky kids.

But as a teacher, my favorite students to work with were always the kids who struggled. I love a challenge. I love helping kids who are falling through the cracks. I love helping them see how awesome they are and helping them develop a healthier way of seeing themselves and the world.

After teaching for 12 years, I realized something important: people really don’t talk about executive function.

I eventually left teaching for my own reasons related to the school system, but I still wanted to work with kids — especially the ones who struggled with executive function.

So I became an executive function coach.

From there, things expanded. You can check out my website and see all the different things I do now: the Executive Function Online Summit, coaching individual clients, working locally and online — a lot of different things.

But this is what I love.

So that’s a little bit about how I got into this and why it matters so much to me.

Now I want to talk a little bit about what executive function actually is.

And at this point, if you want to put anything in the chat — if I’m not making sense or you want clarification — now’s the time.

Earlier, someone asked if there’s a common executive-function language we should use with students and parents.

Here’s the simplest explanation:

If you Google “executive function” right now, you’ll probably find a bunch of highly clinical definitions. But honestly, it doesn’t need to be that complicated.

Executive function is simply how we get stuff done.

For example, this webinar required executive function. People had to organize things, collect email addresses, plan, schedule, think things through, and prepare content.

To make this webinar happen, we needed:

* Organization
* Planning
* Time management
* Prioritization
* Emotional regulation

Those are all executive-function skills.

So when you’re talking to parents, you can simplify it by saying: executive function is how we get things done.

The front part of the brain — the prefrontal cortex — helps us execute complex tasks.

Whether it’s restringing a guitar, grocery shopping, paying bills, starting a business, or lesson planning, executive function helps us execute those tasks.

Different experts divide executive function differently. Some say there are three aspects, some say five, some say eight. I personally think there are more like 15 or 20, depending on how you define them.

But don’t overthink it.

For example, attention is part of executive function because you need attention to complete a task. But then there’s also concentration and focus.

To me, attention, concentration, and focus are closely connected. Their opposites — inattention, distractibility, being unfocused — are connected too.

The point is: don’t get lost in the terminology.

Parents already understand concepts like organization or transitions.

For example, the kid who struggles to get from the front door to the car with everything they need is struggling with transitions or pivoting. That same kid often struggles to get from one class to another at school.

So executive function shows up in everyday life constantly.

It’s basically anything that helps kids get things done.

One thing I want to emphasize is emotional regulation, because it’s huge.

If you know my work, you know I talk about emotional regulation all the time.

When we become emotionally dysregulated — angry, overwhelmed, anxious, sad — executive function becomes compromised.

This is especially important for students with trauma histories. Their nervous systems are often on high alert, constantly scanning for danger.

If a student feels unsafe, it’s very difficult for them to enter a learning state or an execution state.

That’s why emotional regulation matters so much.

If you’re taking notes, I strongly encourage you to look up:

* Polyvagal Theory
* Attachment Theory
* Emotional Regulation
* Mindfulness

All of these are deeply connected.

When I work with students — elementary, middle school, high school, or college — I have to address the emotional side because, in Seth’s words, the number one problem with executive function is resistance.

“I don’t want to.”
“I don’t feel like it.”
“This is stupid.”
“I’ll do it later.”

There’s so much resistance.

Students often feel overwhelmed before they even begin. They don’t know where to start, which is called task initiation or self-starting.

Now I want to show you something practical.

I have an assessment document that I’ll share later. It outlines very tangible ways executive-function struggles show up in classrooms.

For example:

* Paper management
* Digital systems
* Backpacks
* Planners
* Tracking grades
* Self-advocacy
* Study spaces
* Study skills
* Self-care
* Self-reflection

Students who struggle with executive function often struggle with all of those things.

A lot of these students hate planners. Their backpacks are a disaster. They don’t regularly check grades. They don’t know how to study effectively.

And many schools unintentionally make this harder.

One student might need to check Google Classroom, Schoology, Infinite Campus, and a teacher’s personal website all in one night just to figure out their assignments. It’s overwhelming — not just for students, but for parents too.

Kids with naturally strong executive function often appear more motivated, but really, they’ve just been building these systems gradually over many years.

Students who struggle haven’t had that same accumulation of practice.

That means you, as teachers, have an incredible opportunity.

You can directly teach students how to build systems instead of simply telling them to “try harder” or “stop being lazy.”

Planning, organizing, and managing time are very complex skills. You can’t just hand a kid a planner and expect them to know how to use it.

So now I’m going to move into some practical tips.

The first thing I want to talk about is clarity of expectations.

Kids with executive-function struggles often miss details, even when they’re genuinely trying to listen.

They may not process instructions correctly, may forget them before writing them down, or may not know how to organize the information.

So one of the best things teachers can do is be crystal clear.

And one thing I strongly recommend is creating an FAQ.

At the bottom of every email or online portal, include a section answering the questions families always ask, such as:

* How should parents contact you?
* How long should homework take?
* What should students do if homework takes too long?
* Where can assignments be found?
* When are assignments posted?
* When are grades updated?

This reduces confusion and helps students focus their executive function on actual learning rather than figuring out what’s going on.

The second tip is: be visual.

Use bold text, headings, colors, arrows, underlines, and clear layouts.

Many students with executive-function struggles become overwhelmed by visual clutter. So keep things simple, organized, and easy to navigate.

The third tip is to use Loom.

Loom is an amazing tool for recording quick screen-share videos. You can show parents and students exactly where to find assignments, how to navigate systems, or even send supportive messages to struggling students.

The fourth tip is: less is more.

There’s enormous pressure in education to “cover” curriculum, but more content doesn’t necessarily mean more learning.

I’d rather see students engage deeply with smaller, meaningful learning experiences than rush through huge amounts of material.

The fifth tip is rubrics.

Rubrics clearly communicate expectations and allow for creativity, flexibility, and differentiation.

Students can even self-score using rubrics, which builds metacognition and self-reflection.

I’ll also say this: I personally have major concerns about traditional grading systems. I think many grading practices are outdated and harmful.

A rubric tells you far more about student growth than a single letter grade ever could.

The sixth tip is chunking.

These students often feel overwhelmed by large tasks. A five-page paper can feel impossible.

Chunking means breaking tasks into smaller, manageable pieces — by time or by task.

For example:

* “Write for five minutes.”
* “Complete one paragraph.”
* “Do three problems.”

The goal is to make tasks feel achievable and emotionally manageable.

Because for many students with executive-function struggles, overwhelm is the biggest barrier.