Executive Functioning & Learning Supports

Resources to help families understand and support skills such as organization, planning, time management, task initiation, and independence.

Organization:
Organization skills can help students keep track of materials, assignments, schedules, and responsibilities. Simple systems and routines can make daily expectations feel more manageable.
Helpful for: Families looking for strategies to help students manage school materials, homework, and daily routines.

Planning & Prioritizing:
Planning involves breaking larger tasks into smaller steps, deciding what needs to be done first, and estimating how much time something may take. These skills can become increasingly important as students move through middle and high school.
Helpful for: Students who have difficulty starting long-term assignments, managing multiple responsibilities, or deciding where to begin.

Time Management:
Time management includes understanding how long tasks take, planning ahead, and balancing schoolwork with activities and other responsibilities. Visual schedules, timers, and calendars can help make time more concrete.
Helpful for: Families looking for tools to support schedules, homework routines, and managing deadlines.

Task Initiation:
Some students understand what they need to do but have difficulty getting started. Clear first steps, visual reminders, checklists, and breaking work into smaller pieces can help reduce the barrier to beginning a task.
Helpful for: Students who frequently delay starting homework, routines, or multi-step assignments.

Homework & Study Skills:
Consistent routines, clear workspaces, checklists, and study strategies can help students manage homework and prepare for assessments more independently.
Helpful for: Families looking for practical ways to support homework, studying, and school routines at home.

Visual Schedules & Checklists:
Visual tools can make routines, expectations, and multi-step tasks easier to understand and follow. They can be especially useful for morning routines, homework, transitions, and preparing for school.
Helpful for: Students who benefit from seeing information rather than relying only on verbal reminders.

Building Independence:
Executive functioning supports should gradually help students take greater ownership of their routines, schoolwork, communication, and problem-solving. The goal is not simply to complete tasks, but to help students develop strategies they can use independently over time.
Helpful for: Families looking for ways to support independence while still providing appropriate structure.

Helpful Resources

Understood
Provides parent-friendly information and practical strategies for learning and thinking differences, including executive functioning, attention, organization, homework, school supports, and building independence.

Child Mind Institute
Articles and guides related to executive functioning, attention, organization, behavior, and supporting children and teens at home and school.

Harvard Center on the Developing Child – Executive Function
Research-based information explaining executive function and self-regulation skills and how they develop.

These resources are intended to provide general information and strategies. Families with concerns about an individual student should contact their child’s school or educational team.