Children with Executive Functioning Concerns

Executive Functioning

For those unfamiliar with the term Executive Functioning, it is essentially the mental process that allows us to plan, focus attention, and multi-task. At times, navigating these elements can be difficult enough for adults, let alone young children who are just starting out in this complex world of ours.

At Fit Learning, we recognize that issues related to executive functioning can contribute to a great deal of anxiety within these young and often fragile minds. To help with this problem, we like to say that it requires rewiring the brain—figuratively speaking, of course! While we are not engaging in any neurological tampering, our methods can certainly be viewed as a brain tune-up of sorts.

Through both fluency-based teaching practices and direct instruction, our methods literally start to change the way in which children process information. When we speak of fluency, we are referring to the speed at which one can recollect and recite information. Think about this in terms of the alphabet. Imagine if children could know everything as well as they know their ABCs. At Fit Learning, this is precisely how we believe it should be. Which is why we do not move forward to more complex material until a child is fluent in the earlier concepts. When a child can recollect information faster, this helps his or her overall mental planning process.

Attaining fluency is not limited to typical functioning children, as we’ve been able to achieve similar results with small children and teenagers who are diagnosed with ADHD as well. Teens with ADHD have historically been considered to be more challenging on account of their focus issues combined with their more independent natures. Through a fluency based learning approach, we are able to effectively channel their attention and keep them continuously engaged

Direct instruction, on the other hand, sets the stage for the fluency to take place and excites a passion that lies within every student. Some just need the right tools to bring it out. At Fit Learning, those tools include the engaging one-on-one sessions and the continuous reinforcements that we provide. Once the learning process starts to become fun for children, the executive functioning aspect simply falls into place.