Spring Issue 2021

Planning and Prioritizing
In order to complete a task, you begin with
the larger goal in mind. Once the goal is
solidified, you lay a plan of action, prioritizing
mental math requires one to make calculations
in mind. Working memory is a very important
EF skill and one that is often a weakness in our
learning disabled and ADHD populations.
what is most important. Students have to plan
and prioritize many aspects of their lives,
especially their short- and long-term
school assignments.
Self-Monitoring
Completing a task or an assignment, socializing
and just about everything we do requires
one to monitor their performance. We have
Organization
Once you have a plan you have to organize
to think about what we are doing, how we are
the parts into the whole. This requires sorting
through and arranging information into a
system that works for you. Our children have
multiple organizational demands made on
them every day, from rising in the morning,
organizing and locating their belongings,
getting out the door, navigating multiple
classes, returning home to homework and
then heading to bed, and much more.
Flexible Thinking
When working through a task one needs to
think flexibly. If you are rigid in your thinking,
then it is unlikely that you will apply different
approaches when problem solving. Often,
one has to revise a plan of action or obtain new
information, especially if a mistake has been
accomplishing the task and, in the end, asking
ourselves how did I do? This requires one
to monitor their performance and actions by
stopping and reflecting, an important skill that
takes time and practice to acquire.
SKILLS for LIFE
made. We all need to think flexibly and be
ready to change our course of action.
Attention
Attention plays a role in everything we do. To
accomplish a goal, you must focus on the task
at hand. Once you are focused you have to
sustain attention and recognize when your
attention shifts. If it has waxed and waned,
you must bring your focus back to the activity
and maintain focus until the task is completed.
Many students have attentional weaknesses
that hamper their ability to complete tasks.
Working Memory
Working memory is the ability to hold and
manipulate information in mind. When you
read you have to hold and comprehend
information from the beginning to the end
of the page or chapter; listening to directions
requires the same skill, holding and remembering
several pieces of information. Taking notes
in class demands listening, comprehension
and writing simultaneously, and performing
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