Executive functioning skills help us plan, organize, manage time, begin tasks, remember information, regulate our attention and behavior, and follow through on responsibilities. When these skills are challenging, even bright and capable students can struggle to translate what they know into what they do.

Pathways Learning & Development provides individualized online executive function coaching for students who need practical strategies for managing school, college, work, and everyday responsibilities.

Does This Sound Familiar?

Your student may:

• Know what needs to be done but have difficulty getting started

• Procrastinate until assignments or projects become overwhelming

• Forget assignments, deadlines, or important materials

• Struggle to prioritize when several things need to be completed

• Underestimate how long tasks will take

• Have difficulty breaking large assignments or projects into manageable steps

• Lose track of instructions or multi-step tasks

• Study without using effective strategies

• Need frequent reminders to complete everyday responsibilities

• Have difficulty developing routines that actually stick

• Become overwhelmed when expected to independently manage multiple responsibilities

These challenges aren't necessarily a reflection of intelligence, effort, or academic ability. Sometimes a student needs explicit instruction and practice in the skills required to manage learning and everyday life independently.

Skills We Can Work On

Executive function coaching is individualized based on the learner's strengths, needs, age, and goals. Areas of support may include:

Organization
Creating practical systems for assignments, materials, email, calendars, and responsibilities.

Planning & Prioritizing
Determining what needs to be done, what should come first, and how to break larger goals into manageable steps.

Time Management
Estimating how long tasks will take, planning ahead, managing deadlines, and using time more effectively.

Task Initiation
Developing strategies for getting started instead of becoming stuck, avoiding a task, or waiting until the last minute.

Working Memory
Using tools and strategies to manage instructions, information, and multi-step responsibilities.

Attention & Self-Monitoring
Recognizing distractions, monitoring progress, and developing strategies for getting back on track.

Study & Learning Skills
Developing effective approaches to studying, note-taking, test preparation, reading, and completing assignments.

Self-Advocacy
Learning to recognize individual strengths and needs, ask for help appropriately, communicate with teachers or professors, and use available supports.

Independence & Follow-Through
Reducing dependence on repeated reminders and developing systems the learner can increasingly manage independently.

Who Can Benefit?

Executive function coaching may be helpful for:

• Middle and high school students

• College students

• Young adults

• Students with ADHD

• Autistic students

• Students with learning disabilities

• Students transitioning to greater independence

• Capable students whose performance doesn't consistently reflect their ability

A diagnosis is not required. Executive functioning challenges can affect many learners, including students who perform well academically but struggle behind the scenes to stay organized and keep up.

What Does Coaching Look Like?

Coaching is collaborative and practical. We don't simply talk about becoming "more organized." We identify where things are breaking down and develop strategies that can be used in real situations.

A session might involve organizing the upcoming week, breaking down a long-term assignment, creating a study plan, developing a system for tracking responsibilities, practicing self-advocacy, troubleshooting procrastination, or evaluating why an existing strategy isn't working.

The goal isn't to create a system that works only while a coach or parent is managing it. The goal is increasing independence over time.

Support for Parents

Executive functioning challenges can affect the entire family. Parents may find themselves repeatedly reminding, checking, organizing, negotiating, or trying to determine when to help and when to step back.

Parent coaching can help families develop practical strategies for supporting executive functioning while encouraging increasing independence. We can examine routines, expectations, prompting, reinforcement, communication, and environmental supports and determine what may work better for your individual family.

Why Work With Me?

I am a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), National Board Certified special educator, and hold a Master of Education in Special Education with a concentration in Applied Behavior Analysis. I have more than 10 years of experience supporting students with diverse learning, behavioral, and executive functioning needs.

My background allows me to look beyond the surface-level problem. Instead of simply telling a student to "use a planner" or "stop procrastinating," I work to identify why the current approach isn't working and teach practical strategies that fit the individual learner.

Ready to Get Started?

If your student knows what they need to do but struggles with the planning, organization, initiation, or follow-through required to actually do it, executive function coaching may help.

Contact Pathways Learning & Development to discuss your student's needs and determine whether executive function coaching is a good fit.

Online sessions available.