It may sound like a joke, but a parent who has been told that her 7-year-old child is weak and has poor executive functions is because he is still a child, and that’s why he’s in Grade 1 and not a CEO!’ Boosting executive functions in special needs children is a crucial part of their educational journey. Before we explore strategies to enhance executive functions, it is essential to understand the core components here: executive functions and special needs children.
Executive functions are significantly important self-regulating skills that are used every day to achieve just about everything. Executive functions are a set of cognitive skills that help us to plan, organize, make decisions, initiate tasks, shift between thoughts, and control our impulsivity. A child is dependent on these executive functions for everything from brushing to packing a school bag to making decisions.
Children with special needs, such as those with ADHD, Autism, and Learning Disability, require specific care, attention, and various accommodations as their learning, executive functioning, and development are impacted. Challenges with regard to executive functioning can make everyday activities more challenging and may take an extraordinarily long time to complete tasks. However, with appropriate strategies and the right kind of support, executive functioning can be enhanced, thereby improving the overall quality of life.
Let us look at some of the ways to boost these functions for a child with special needs
Children with special needs, especially those with ADHD or on the Autism Spectrum, will greatly benefit from a routine that is consistent. This brings a sense of predictability, which helps to reduce anxiety or feelings of loss, thus allowing them to focus on the tasks. Creating visual schedules with pictures or icons for each day will help these children understand what to expect throughout the day. This also helps in smooth transitions between activities.
Tasks that are long or require multi-step instructions can be quite overwhelming for children with special needs. They can be daunting to these children and create a heightened sense of worry and frustration. Breaking these tasks into smaller steps helps the children to focus on one step at a time, thus making it simpler to begin and complete the task. For instance, tasks like homework can be broken to smaller and specific ones. Instead of ‘Complete your homework, it can be said ‘Write the first answer’ or ‘read the assignment.’
The key components of Executive Functions are controlling impulses and regulating emotions. Strategies for the same can be taught to children with special needs that will help to improve frustration tolerance and impulse control. Children can be taught how to calm themselves down during moments of stress through deep breathing exercises and activities that focus on mindfulness. This helps them to manage stressful situations. Encouraging positive self-talk, especially for children with Learning Disabilities, such as ‘I can do this’, may help them to stay focused on the task.
Physical activities help to enhance brain functions, which in turn lead to overall cognitive development, which includes executive functioning too. Exercising every day can help children with special needs maintain their attention span, regulate their emotions, and control impulsivity. For instance, providing movement breaks in between tasks, such as going for a brief walk, jumping, or stretching, helps to reduce restlessness and maintain focus. Other activities like swimming, cycling, or dancing also aid in executive functioning.
Setting clear expectations and providing feedback that is consistent and rewarding the child is a vital part of the educational journey for children with poor executive functioning. Encouraging the child through positive reinforcements always motivates the child and helps them to feel good about themselves. For instance, setting clear and achievable goals is important –‘’Finish the first five word problems in twenty minutes. Then go down to play.’’ This helps in self-control.
To conclude, boosting executive functions in children with special needs is a gradual process. This requires patience, consistency, and individualized strategies shared by a team of professionals such as an Occupational Therapist, a Speech Therapist, and an Educational Psychologist. Tailor-made interventions to meet the unique needs of the child will help to address the executive challenges of children with special needs. It is important to understand and remember that every child is unique and has the potential to grow and develop at his or her own pace and manner.
