Assistive Technologies Supporting Executive Function

• Visual schedules (printed)

• Checklists or to-do lists (paper-based)

• Timers (analog or sand timers)

• Post-it notes or whiteboards

• Color-coded folders or notebooks

• Graphic organizers (printed templates)

• Calendars and planners

• Fidgets or sensory tools

• “First-Then” boards

• Daily agenda books

Mid-Tech Assistive Technologies

• Interval Timers (Digital versions of timers for time management and pacing)

• Voice Recorders / Smartpens (e.g., Livescribe) (For capturing notes and ideas)

• Google Keep, Apple Reminders (Digital checklists for task management)

• Google Slides (Customizable visual schedule apps)

• Chrome Read Aloud Extension, Microsoft Immersive Reader (Read-aloud tools for accessibility)

• Google Docs Voice Typing, Microsoft Dictate, Dragon NaturallySpeaking  (Speech-to-text tools)

• Google Calendar (Basic calendar app for scheduling and reminders)

• Interactive whiteboards (visuals and scheduling)

Looking ahead, AI-powered and high-tech assistive technologies hold significant potential. These tools offer more personalized and adaptable executive function support, adjusting to individual needs more efficiently and promoting greater independence. Unlike low-tech and mid-tech tools, they are not yet commonly used in classrooms. However, there are examples of individuals with executive functioning challenges using these technologies independently, which we will cover on the next page. This points to a promising path for how such tools could be introduced in classrooms to support students who struggle with executive dysfunction.

• Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant (AI personal assistants for reminders and scheduling)

• ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Grok, Google Gemini (AI-powered large language models for task breakdown, organization, and summarization)

• Khanmigo (AI-powered tutor from Khan Academy)

• Brili Routines (Visual routine manager with a feedback loop)

• Goblin Tools (AI-powered task breakdown and tone analysis)

• Tiimo (Visual scheduling app with smart reminders)

• Glean (AI-enhanced lecture capture and tagging)

• Otter.ai (Live transcription and summarization)

• Kurzweil 3000 (Comprehensive reading and writing support tool)