De Facto Leaders cover image

De Facto Leaders

Goals and Accommodations for Executive Functioning

Apr 9, 2025
34:25

In this episode, we dive into the often-overlooked art of writing clear, measurable goals for executive functioning. 

Unlike other academic or functional goals, executive functioning focuses on internal processes—making it harder to quantify and observe. 

Whether you're a teacher, therapist, or part of a school team, this episode will give you actionable tools to create meaningful IEP and therapy plan goals that truly support student growth.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✔️ Why executive functioning is all about the process—and why that’s tricky for traditional SMART goals.

✔️ Examples of goal formats that keep things simple, specific, and actionable.

✔️ How to differentiate between goals that focus on behavior versus those emphasizing strategies.

✔️ A sample list of accommodations to support executive functioning without over-accommodating.

✔️ Tips to ensure students build independence with their accommodations over time.

📝Goals and Accommodations for Executive Functioning Blog post: https://drkarenspeech.com/goals-and-accommodations-for-executive-functioning/

👂EP 178: Are we allowed to say “dyslexia” in the schools (with Tom Parton): https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-178-are-we-allowed-to-say-dyslexia-in-the-schools-with-tom-parton/

🎓 School of Clinical Leadership Program (A comprehensive course for service providers who want to lead their teams in supporting students socially, emotionally, and academically.): https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

Key Takeaways:

Writing effective executive functioning goals starts with a clear understanding of the behaviors and processes you’re targeting.

The goal format “Given (cue/strategy), student will (behavior) with (accuracy/unit of measurement)” simplifies complex ideas into meaningful goals.

Accommodations should empower students and build skills—not create over-reliance.

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts

Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
App store bannerPlay store banner