When Starting Feels Impossible: Task Initiation and Executive Functioning
Task initiation is the executive functioning skill that helps us get started. When this skill is weak, children and adults may look lazy or defiant, but often they are stuck at the starting point.
Parents Keep Asking Me: “What Do I DO to Help My ADHD Child?”
Many parents come looking for the one strategy that will finally make things easier for their ADHD child. But ADHD support is rarely one-size-fits-all. This blog explores executive functioning difficulties, understanding your child’s unique needs, and why curiosity and adaptation matter more than perfection.
What Executive Functioning Skills Do You Need To Spell A Word?
Many people think spelling is simply about remembering words. But spelling actually relies on multiple executive functioning skills working together at the same time. This blog explores how working memory, attention, inhibitory control and emotional regulation impact spelling in autistic and ADHD childre
Why Can’t They Just Sit Still?
Why does a child keep leaning back on their chair even after being told to stop? This blog explores inhibitory control, an important executive functioning skill linked to ADHD and autism, and explains why some children struggle to pause, stay still, and stop their body in the moment.
SEND Reform: What It Still Gets Wrong (Even After Finally Recognising Executive Functioning)
SEND reform is finally starting to recognise executive functioning, but that does not mean children will automatically get the right support. This blog looks at what could still go wrong if schools focus on expectations instead of understanding, scaffolding, and the environment around the child.
It’s Not Behaviour… It’s the Struggle to Stop
What looks like behaviour, inattention, or emotional outbursts is often one underlying difficulty: the struggle to stop. This blog explains how one core skill affects attention, thinking, emotions, and movement.
Have We Confused Validating Emotions with Accepting Dysregulation?
There has been a shift in how we respond to children’s behaviour. While validating emotions is important, it is not enough. This blog explores how inhibitory control and flexible thinking impact emotional regulation, and why children need skill building, not just understanding.
Why Your Child Understands Something One Day and Not the Next
Many children understand something one day, then seem to forget it the next. This blog explains how memory, processing, and executive functioning affect learning, and why inconsistency is often misunderstood.
“Why Do They Say It If They Know It’s Wrong?” Understanding Cognitive Inhibition in Children
Some children say things that seem rude, off-topic, or inappropriate—yet they know it wasn’t right. This blog explains cognitive inhibition and why the brain struggles to filter thoughts in real time.
When Your Child Interrupts: It’s Not Just Rudeness
Some children interrupt even when they know they shouldn’t. This blog explains why it happens in the moment, and why it’s not just behaviour.
Why Your Child Forgets Instructions — And Why You Might Recognise This in Yourself Too
Ever walked into a room and forgotten why you went there? That’s working memory. This blog explains how it impacts everyday life and why it’s not about trying harder.
What Thinking Skills Do Children Actually Need to Learn?
Children do not just need intelligence to learn. They rely on a range of thinking skills including memory, understanding, flexible thinking, problem solving and executive functioning. When these skills are weaker, learning can feel much harder than it should.
When Support Becomes Dependence: The Hidden Risk of 1-to-1 Teaching Assistant Support
1-to-1 Teaching Assistant support can help children cope in the classroom, but what happens when that support becomes dependence? This blog explores how relying on one adult can unintentionally prevent children from developing flexible thinking and independence, and why schools need to balance support with skill building.