#208: Replay: Executive Functioning with Sara Ward

Enjoy this replay of one of my favorite episodes! Executive functioning skills are essential for all ages, and in this episode, we dive into this critical topic with Sara Ward, an SLP specializing in executive functioning. Sara brings a unique perspective, sharing practical strategies for assessment and intervention that can transform how we support students.

Sara simplifies executive functioning for young children as “sequencing” and explains how it evolves into planning across growing windows of time and space for teens and adults. A neurotypical brain visualizes where it needs to be in the future to plan and act. However, parents and professionals often become a “prosthetic frontal lobe” by overprompting. Sara emphasizes the importance of teaching students to visualize and take ownership of their tasks.

One standout strategy Sara shares is using gestures to support task planning. When children physically act out steps with their hands, the connected language often follows, helping them internalize the process of execution.

For assessment, Sara suggests tools like the Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale, which distinguishes attention issues from executive skill deficits, and the Clinical Executive Function Inventory (CEFI) for behavior insights. She also advocates for viewing speech and language assessments through an executive functioning lens.

This episode is packed with actionable strategies and tools that I’m excited to bring to my therapy sessions and IEP meetings. I hope you find these insights as inspiring and practical as I did!

#autism #speectherapy

What’s Inside:

• What is executive functioning?
• Why are executive function skills important?
• Assessment and intervention for executive function skills.
• Executive functioning in young children, teens, and adults.

Mentioned In This Episode:
ABA Speech: Home
Cognitive Connections: Executive Function