• Self-regulation – managing strong emotions and inhibiting impulsive behaviors

• Attention – sustaining focus, especially for lengthy or challenging tasks that may have many components

• Task Initiation – starting a non-preferred task and overcoming a desire to procrastinate

• Organization – keeping track of materials at home and in school, organizing ideas and information for essays and research papers, managing digital data and files

• Planning and Prioritizing – mapping out multi-step tasks such as long-term class projects, and tackling assignments in order of importance

• Time Management – allocating time for schoolwork and other commitments such as sports, clubs, family, friends, part-time jobs, volunteer work, and other involvements

• Cognitive Flexibility – taking the perspective of teachers and peers and formulating different solutions to problems

• Metacognition – the ability to reflect on one’s own learning and have the self-awareness that drives good choices

Many students struggle to develop these skills. These students benefit from a level of direct 1:1 instruction and support that is often unavailable in most high schools.

With the stakes being higher in terms of the college application process, many students who got by adequately in middle school often face roadblocks in high school. They can be unprepared for the rigor and productivity expected for college prep-level courses.

Parents often see signs of Executive Function challenges in their child in high school, when students face increased demands for self-management.

Parents and teachers may notice:

Organizational challenges – the student has difficulties organizing class materials, keeping track of and turning in homework, or approaching writing assignments and long-term projects

Behavior or emotion management challenges – the student may have poor relationships with teachers, be unable to resist distractions, have difficulty settling down to do work, or give up easily on challenging or tedious tasks

Time management challenges – the student leaves work until the last minute, causing panic and stress at home, the child maybe over scheduled and stressed

Academic challenges – the student lacks persistence or often does not complete or even start assignments, may do poorly on tests due to ineffective study habits, may lose credit for late assignments, may not know how to take notes in class

Parents of high school children who are struggling may wonder:

Why does my child often forget to do homework?

How can I motivate my child to do well in high school?

Why does my child stay up so late doing homework?

Why does my child wait until the last minute to do projects?

Why does my child do poorly on tests, despite studying?

Will my child be prepared to succeed in college?

Why won’t my child seek the teacher’s help?

High school can be a challenging time for even the ablest students. But for adolescents with Executive Function challenges, daily life in high school can feel downright unmanageable without the proper support.

Consider below some common scenarios that high schoolers face:

Morning Mad Dash: 6:57 AM – Scrambling Out the Door

Olivia has to catch the bus at 7:30, and she likes to sleep in until 6:45… and maybe hit the snooze button one or two times after that.

That leaves her about half an hour to madly dash about the house eating breakfast, choosing an outfit, brushing her teeth, packing her lunch, changing after reconsidering her outfit, texting her friends, returning to the original outfit, and – if time allows – packing her homework from the night before.

With this routine, Olivia has felt frustrated a few times when – despite assuring her teachers that she really, totally did the homework the night before – she hasn’t been able to actually turn it in and get credit.

Mid-Morning Attention Drain: 10:46 AM – Chemistry Class

Olivia doesn’t entirely mind school. She’s got friends she can chat with, and most of her classes are at least kind of interesting. But there’s one exception — chemistry, where Ms. Glurtman has a tendency to drone on for the full hour in a voice that’s somehow a combination of white noise and nails on a chalkboard.

As much as Olivia would love to just tune her out completely, she has a chemistry quiz every week and tests twice a month, and she really needs to be able to hear and process what Ms. Glurtman is saying.

Afternoon Work Delays: 3:24 PM – School’s Finally Over (sort of)

After Olivia has stepped off the bus and enjoyed an afternoon snack, she is confronted with the routine reminder that the school day isn’t quite over yet.

Now, it’s homework time.

Since Olivia used up so much mental energy trying to focus during Chemistry class, she’s feeling wiped out. Even though Mr. Calgary went light on the math problem set – Olivia’s favorite subject – the thought of getting started overwhelms her.

She tells you she’ll start at 4pm, but when you ever-so-casually stroll by her room at 4:30, you see that she’s texting with a friend. She tells you she’s just about to start, but then your stealthy walk-by at 5:00 reveals a daughter mindlessly scrolling her Facebook page.

At dinner, you ask again, and she assures you she’s totally ready to get started, but you hear YouTube videos when you walk past her room at 8:30pm. By now, you’re frustrated with Olivia, and she’s getting sick of seeing you walk by her door.

Although Olivia faces Executive Function challenges throughout the day, she has many options for how to address each one.

Once she understands that these tough moments can be managed with the right strategies, it’s easier for Olivia to imagine the benefits of using better ways to plan her time, manage her attention, and resist distractions when she needs to get work done. A day in the life of a high school student doesn’t have to be so bad after all.