Organisational skills, or Executive Functioning Skills as it is now commonly called, are important skills for managing the practical demands of life, particularly at school and work. For students it includes organisation of one’s self and materials, time management, impulse control, initiating and completing tasks, changing and making transitions, working memory and self-monitoring.

 

 In short, executive functioning skills help us to get our act together and cut down on the unnecessary stress in life.

 

The term executive skills comes from neuroscientific research and refers to the brain-based skills that are required for people to execute, or perform tasks.

 

Students with organisational difficulties may have problems;

• getting started on tasks

• estimating how much time is needed to do the task and how to break it down into manageable chunks

• keeping track of resources and equipment.

• keeping their desk or locker tidy and organised enough to find what they need.

• establishing priorities and may focus on low-value activities instead of the important and urgent tasks

• studying for tests and exams as they don’t have effective revision strategies or know what is important

 

Although it may sometimes appear that your child is deliberately trying to be difficult or messy or disorganised, it is more likely that your child is doing the best that they can do.  They are probably as frustrated as you are and may be experiencing feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.

 

These difficulties are usually beyond their control and they need targeted assistance to develop and build their organisational skills.  A team approach can help to identify exactly what are the problems with your child’s organisation skills and time management.  They may display different issues and behaviours at school than at home and varied and multiple approaches make it even more confusing. 

 

Therapy can help to establish individualised routines and strategies and use resources such as calendars, organisers and apps.  Rewards to reinforce behaviours and outcomes combined with providing opportunities and experiences to embed the new skills are important. Being able to transfer one skill across multiple situations is vital for getting maximum benefit from that one skill.

 

Foundations for Learning works with students, families and schools to provide functional, practical and realistic solutions and strategies to help people of all ages negotiate the ever-increasing demands of the home, school and work settings. My approach looks at both strengths and weaknesses in executive functioning and on establishing priorities to ensure that these interventions are appropriate now and beneficial for the future.  Executive functioning skills are required from childhood to old age.