For the first 20+ years of my professional career I was a mental health therapist in public and private school settings. Regardless of the school, teachers, parents, administrators and students were frustrated. Adults were exasperated by students’ behaviors that impeded academic progress. They described students who were impulsive; were resistant to follow directions, complete assignments, participate or cooperate; students who were distracted and distracting; who struggled with “big” emotions; who struggled with peer relationships; who constantly lost track of time and their “stuff”.

Students were frustrated too. They could not understand why school was so hard. They thought of themselves as “stupid”, “unlikeable”, “weird”, “lazy”. They felt they were disappointing teachers, parents, friends. No matter how hard they tried to: pay attention/finish anything/be organized/ manage time/not interrupt/ not lose things/not have meltdowns/think before acting…it was never good enough.

Something fascinating happened after I transitioned from school therapist to private practice therapist; clients of all ages were coming to me with the same challenges and frustration. The similarity was not surprising; the struggling students, the agitated adults and my therapy clients were challenged with EXECUTIVE FUNCTION competency.