Cultivating Excellence Podcast EP 29: Executive Functioning: The Key to Success
Jan 7, 2026
In this engaging discussion, special educator Lindsay Toms and ADHD advocate Deb Rosen delve into the significance of executive functioning in student success. They break down vital skills like planning, emotional regulation, and organization. Lindsay emphasizes how naming these skills can reframe issues like procrastination, while Deb highlights the challenges parents face in bridging learning gaps. They advocate for structured routines and curiosity to boost learning, and stress that explicit coaching can dramatically enhance a student’s ability to thrive academically.
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Core Executive Functions Explained
- Executive functions are a set of cognitive skills that let you set goals and manage roadblocks across minutes to years.
- Key skills include initiation, inhibition, shifting, working memory, planning, self-monitoring, materials organization, and emotional control.
Emotion Is The Rudder
- Emotions act as the rudder that steers cognition and behavior in learning tasks.
- Emotional control affects initiation, attention, avoidance, and overall ability to pursue future goals.
Performance Gaps Are Skill Gaps
- Many struggling students aren't unmotivated; they have underdeveloped executive skills despite intact intelligence.
- Brightness and age don't guarantee mature executive functioning across domains.