"Is everyone looking at me?"

“Hey wait, wait…I’m the teacher now. Show me you are listening. I know you are listening when your eyes are looking at me, your mouth is quiet and your body faces me…let me see if everyone’s eyes are on me….” The six year old had us in splits as his voice ebbed and flowed, guiding his peers with gestures to match the highlighted words.

“Good God! Are we really that bossy?” my co-teacher asked as we got ready for the group activity. But we were also glad that our students had understood that there was a physical component to listening:

• Your body must face the speaker
• Look at the speaker and
• Do not speak when you are in fact listening. (Why? Because it is 1) rude to interrupt, 2) if you talk you won’t hear what the other person has to say)

Whatever the environment, try to explain these non verbal rules in observable terms—especially to young children. Demonstrate these behaviors and have them practice in naturally occurring settings.

Making eye contact:
Remember, typically we look at a person’s eyes/face and then look away for a few minutes before coming back to make eye contact. It shouldn’t be for too long or for too short a period of time. Making eye contact indicates that we are interested in what the speaker is saying and that we are able to follow along.

Proximity to the speaker or conversational partner:
Cue your child to give ‘personal space’. Our students derived personal space as an arm’s length—so they were able to measure the distance when they spoke to each other. Then we gave them the variations—you can stand close to each other on the playground, or if you are sharing a secret/joke. With time we increased the variations. For example, “You can stand closer to a good friend but if it is a new kid in class, give him some space when you talk to him.”

On the other hand, teach them that walking away or standing too far away shows disinterest and/or disrespect.

Body language/facial expressions/gestures: Decipher common body language cues.

• Book illustrations are powerful tools for this—“Oh, look at her face…look at her hands. How do you think she feels right now? You think she is angry! What do you do to show you are angry? What does your friend Padma do to show she is angry?” Take it a step further—help your child make predictions based on the illustrations. “She is angry! What do you think she will do next?”
• Cartoons or advertisements with children are also great materials. Let’s face it for young children, Tom and Jerry and Donald Duck say a lot through their actions. (Mickey Mouse is too much of a milksop).
• Play Charades. Instead of the movie theme we chose as kids, select appropriate social cues. For example, does your child know that someone who looks repeatedly at his watch is trying to tell you they are late? Or that they have to leave you and move on to the next activity?
• Role play conflict situations with your child and his/her friends—narrate how you feel in that particular situation and make facial expressions to match your emotions. Next, ask the children to take turns and repeat your narration/actions.

As with any other skill set, the younger the child, the better the skills acquisition. As your child grows older, reassess how your child functions. That will give you the neccessary information on the next level of skills.

Ms. S

How to talk to others...

Take a look at the list of skills our students derived from the discussion. Do you see how that simple interaction had so many layers? They sound so basic. We assume that children learn these by observing us. That is true up to a point.

We've all heard parents encourage their children to say hello, to introduce themselves and to look at the other person. We should take this a step further and make sure that they learn all these skills.

What to do when you talk to others/How to talk to others:

• When you meet someone for the very first time, introduce yourself.
• When you meet someone for the first time that day, greet them.
• Look at the person you are talking to. That tells them you are talking to them and it shows respect.
• If the other person asks a question answer it. If the other person makes a comment, add another comment or ask a question about it.
• Continue with the topic for a few minutes.
• If we talk about one topic we must finish talking about it. For example, if you jump from talking about trains to flowers, and back to trains, it is confusing.
• If you want to say something new, don’t blurt it out. Say something like, “I have a question. What about…?” Or “Did you know that…?” (Introduce the topic.)
• You should give the other person a chance to say something too. One person shouldn’t do all the talking.
• If the other person says something you don’t understand, ask questions to find out what they mean.
• You must also check to see if they have understood everything you said. Otherwise you may not understand each other. It may make you sad, or angry, or you may make mistakes in your work, because you didn’t understand each other correctly.
• You must not say the same thing over and over again. That is boring.
• Your voice must be different in different places. For example, it is ok to shout on the playground-your friend may be far away and if you shout he can hear you. But if you shout inside the building, people may think you are angry. It is also not polite. Loud voices can hurt your ears.
• Your voice goes up or down to ask a question, to show something is important, etc
• If you talk about something which only you and one other friend know (like a trip you two took) then make sure you share the details with the others. Or else they may not be able to join you in your discussion.

One of the best ways to reinforce these skills, is through role play. Practice these skills first in role plays. Next support the child as he/she uses the strategies in real life situations (especially play).

More on non verbal skills to follow...

Ms. S

Pragmatic Skills in Conversations

“Hey, this is an interview. I have to ask you a question and you must answer me. Don’t say anything until I finish, O.K? Are you ready? Here is the first question. What is your most favorite book?” the student asked his partner.

When we got our class list that year, we noticed that our students came from three different classes. We decided to pair our students up for ‘interviews’ to make the exchange of information more personal. At the end of the interview each student talked about his or her partner’s favorites-books, song, snack and animal.

Sounds basic doesn’t it? Ah, but wait until you hear a speech therapist break up the process!

"My friends," my co-teacher began. "An interview is a very special event. Before I came to work in this school I had an interview with the principal. What do you think happens at an interview?"

One student volunteered, “People asked you questions to see if you know how to be a teacher.”

“You are right. They asked me questions like “What did you learn about teaching? How will you teach …” You know what? After that I met Ms. S for the first time and we talked about each other. It was not the same as the interview with the principal but it was like an interview.”

“I know! You asked each other questions. That's why it was also like an interview!" pat came one answer.

"Well, Ms. S and I are going to show you. Watch how we talk to each other because you have to help us make a list afterwards."

Then we began our role play:

Ms. B: Good morning, I’m Ms. B. Nice to meet you.
Ms. S: Good morning, Ms. B. I’m Ms. S. Nice to meet you too. You are new here. Did you find the school easily?
Ms. B: Yes I did, thank you. My friend who lives in this city showed me how to get here.
Ms. S: Oh, I thought you lived in this city?
Ms. B: No, I live and work in a small town about three hours north of here.
Ms. S: Then the other new staff member must be from here. I must have confused you with her. Did you drive this morning or did you stay overnight at your friend’s place?
Ms. B: I came last evening and stayed with my friend. Do you live near school?
Ms. S: I live about 20 minutes away. Not far at all. I have a question—are you going to be my co-teacher this year?
Ms. B: Yes, I think we are going to be working together. This will be a new experience for me. I worked with children but not in a classroom. Have you been a classroom teacher for long?

Our role play continued for a few minutes before we stopped for a discussion.

“You asked each other questions about where you live, where you work, what you like…” one student commented.

“That’s right. We were meeting for the first time. And we were going to work together—so we wanted to know more about each other. Let’s make a list of how we talked to each other," Ms. B said as I started writing.

The list follows in the next post...

Ask, Comment, Request, State...

My four year old niece saw me putting away the ice cream bars into the freezer. “Please may I have one?” she asked. Without thinking about it, I said, “Oh yes…you don’t have to ask me. Just take what you want.” After a few minutes, her mom reminded me gently, “Don’t you think that would confuse her when she goes to other people’s homes?” She made a very god point.

Focussing on the purpose behind your child's pragmaic language:

To Greet: A greeting is much more than a hi or hello. In some cultures that is all that is required of young children. In others there are formalities to be followed, even at a young age. How you greet a friend is different from how you greet an elder. How you greet a familiar elder in a formal setting is different from how you greet them at a social gathering. Be explicit and talk about the different forms of greeting.

To Ask: We ask questions to for various reasons—to have our needs met, to gather information, to ask permission, to clarify, to direct others…

Help your child frame questions to suit the purpose by providing the neccessary prompts:

• “Please, may I…?
• “Where is…?
• What does that mean?”
• What will happen if..?
• Can you do…?”
• What is the next step?

We often make statements but convey the question by our intonation. A child who is very literal will take your statment at face value and not understand that you are asking a question. Make a concerted effort to frame questions with the correct syntax rather than using your intonation.

It is important to teach your child to recognize differences in tone, volume and inflection—will talk more about this later.

Young children often make comments in place of quesions. Rephrase their sentence into relevant questions. Remind them a comment is a statement which gives information or expresss opinions, feelings, etc, while a question asks for the same.

To Inform: Ask leading questions so your child has to answer in sentences with relevant information.

• What did you do in science class today? (More specific than “What did you do in school today?”)
• Tell me three things about your drawing. (The number helps the child organize his thoughts to meet expectations)
• What do you think about…? What would you do if..? (Express opinions/feelings)

To Request: To have successful social interactions, a child must know and use 'polite' words in apropriate social situations. Role playing is a great strategy to teach and reinforce these skills. Next, help your child to pratice these in real life situations.

Ask leading questions so he/she has to form the right answers.

• What do you want?
• Would you like this or that (making choices)?

Provide scripts to assist in framing correct responses:

• I would like some...please.
• I want...
• Thank you. I'll have...

More strategies to follow...

Ms. S

“allooooo, ow youuuuuu?” the sixteen month old asked with a big smile on her face…

This little girl never fails to amaze me. Yes, she has tremendous vocabulary for her age and understands a lot...but it has been a pleasure to watch her grow from using single words to phrases and short sentences at almost two years of age.

I watched the process as a bystander—I remember her mother telling me, “I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing by talking so much. I don’t have a point of reference you see. Everyone in my family has older children and I don’t think I paid much attention to these aspects when the kids were small.”

A parent talking too much, did she say? Here’s what happened:

“Oh you are yelling to tell me that you want something? Well this is how you ask, Please may I… Now you say it.”
“Ok, you said Peezzz…you can have the toy.”

“Do you like the beans? Good, I packed it because you like it and it makes you happy.”

“Please wait, I’ll finish talking to aunty and then I’ll come to you.”

“Is it your turn or is it my turn?”

“Oooh, she looks angry in this picture!!! Look at her face—her eyebrows (pointing to the eyebrows on the face) are touching…she looks angry.”

As you can see, this mom was right to trust her instincts. She modeled the appropriate skill, cued her daughter to approximate the words or gestures, and pointed out the non verbal aspects of communication. She used her voice to highlight certain words and concepts, to emphasize emotions and expressions and to indicate when to use a quiet voice and a loud voice.

Did the child understand and use all these skills right away? No! But she had plenty of opportunities to observe, practice and learn the correct skills.

What can you do to aid the development of pragmatic skills in your child? Start by being aware of how you communicate. Next, get to know your child’s strengths and weaknesses. Then, model, model, model…and be consistent.

Suggestions to follow:)

Ms. S

"Grandpa, you shake your head to say no, not yes!"

The little girl, who had grown up in America, looked quite puzzled. “I asked grandpa if we could go to the store to buy some crayons. He shook his head from side to side and said yes. But isn’t that a no?”

Many of us who straddle two cultures have tried to explain the differences in social and cultural norms to our children. Most often they respond with a “But why?” in their journey to understand how to behave/speak/express in a certain way. Ultimately it is to be polite and to be part of that society.

My all time favorite is a recollection from my childhood. An older cousin came to visit and we were all in awe of him—we had heard stories about what a great guy he was, etc, etc. He had to finish some project work (yes, he studied at the IIT!) and didn’t stay for long. My grandmother served him lunch first so he could head back.

Soon after the young man left and all of us sat to eat. And realized that there was no salt in any of the dishes—my grandmother had forgotten in all the rush! Then started the complements. “What a polite young man! He showed no expression on his face that there was anything wrong with the food. He is so humble…blah, blah.” All the other adults joined in until one of my younger cousins said, “But if he had said something, or at least made a face, his food would have tasted better!” I can’t argue with that one:)

Non verbal rules include our body language, eye contact, proximity to the others, facial expressions and gestures. These vary across cultures.

• Eye contact: One of the most common cues you hear from parents is “Look at the person and answer.” It can also go the other way—staring at others makes them uncomfortable.
• Proximity: Children need to be reminded to stand at a reasonable distance when they engage with others. If they are too far away, all the other non verbal cues are had to read. If they are too near, this too makes the other person uncomfortable.
• Body language: A child’s posture says a lot about how she is attending or feeling. Body language can emphasize and clarify what the child is trying to express. What if the two don’t match? What if the child can’t pick up what her peer is scared or shy? What if the child doesn’t understand aggressive posturing if involved in a disagreement?
• Facial expressions: Our expressions say much about how we communicate. Whether we are calm and collected or very excited, our facial expressions usually match our words, filmy villains excepted:) Expressions indicate our emotions and their intensity. If children can’t match these to the words, they can’t use this vital tool in communication. Nor can they understand the full import of what the other person has to say.

Next we'll look at general tips on how to develop pragmatic skills in young children.
Ms. S

Rhythm and Predictability...

I was highlighting a list of travel choices for a five year old Thomas the Tank Engine afficionado when I happened on this article about children with autism and their fascination for trains...how endearing is this?

Click here to read.

Ms. S

Does my child understand the rules of conversation? Of course she knows how to talk...she uses words to form sentences, in a specific language....

The five year olds were beginning to enjoy the use of idiomatic speech…"You crack me up! Ha, ha, ha…" they rolled on the floor laughing. "Anil, a six year old, had some difficulty understanding what went on. "But I don't see a crack in you."


Subsequently we found that there were other instances where Anil felt left out or that he was picked on. When they noticed his vulnerability, some of the boys did tease him (especially when they thought no one was watching). But angelic looks in five year olds can be warning signals. My co teacher and I were more observant of Anil’s interactions. Sure enough, we found that both parties needed some explicit teaching.


Anil couldn’t understand the subtleties in his peers’ interactions—when they joked or kidded around, he thought they actually meant what they said. He responded by asking, “But why?” The others thought this was funny and continued their jokes or idiomatic speech. This excluded Anil further, and he felt they were picking on him.


The speech therapist worked with Anil to understand and use common idioms. But our classroom became the practice ground. We set up role plays and used pictorial representations of idioms. In our everyday interactions, we asked our students to identify what we meant. (“I feel so blah!”) We borrowed joke books from the library and read aloud a few at lunch time everyday. The kids loved sharing those with their family.


We also discussed the difference between ‘kidding’ and ‘teasing.’ Anil learned that when his friends were kidding or joking, they weren't being mean. It helped him and the rest of the class to understand that ‘teasing’ hurt others’ feelings and there were consequences for teasing. Towards the end of the school year, Anil was able to participate and kid around with minimum support from the adults.

Take a minute to analyze one of your conversations with your friend, family member, child, coworker, boss…Do you converse with them in the same way? No way!

Let’s look at some the rules we follow in our coversation:

We

• take turns
• wait for the other person to finish before responding
• interrupt politely
• respond to what is being said (stay on topic)
• introduce a topic before expounding on it
• understand the variations between comments and questions
• answer questions
• clear doubts/misunderstanding
• ask for help

We also regulate our voice/volume/tone to suit the other speaker and the setting.

We are aware of

• cultural and language norms as we use appropriate forms of address (formal/informal)
• group dynamics as we adapt our language to the age of the speaker, our relationship with the speaker, and the setting
• what the speaker is really trying to say, and modify our responses…we read between the lines
• logical sequences in speech..our conversations and narrations make sense

What happens when there is a gap in the acquisition of these skills? Communication breaks down leading to behavioral challenges. In some children, the skills deficits are obvious. Parents and educators are able to identify the need for intervention at a young age...but there are a lot of children who fall between the cracks—everything seems so average...adults are more concerned with the behavioral challenges these children present. If you take a closer look, the behaviors occur because the child is unaware of the sophisticated language skills needed to negotiate his or her world. 

There’s more to be said about pragmatics…

Ms. S

Thoughts on the recent study on Autism

Remember the study on autism which said the environment too plays a role? I'm glad to see some introspection on the 'environment.'

Sometime back, there was a promotion to write about the harmful effects of cholrine in our water purifiers...in a country like India where waterborne diseases are so common, how do we evaluate which is the bigger culprit? So how do we pick and choose our battles with the environment?



There are a million variatiosn in our diet, the products we use, our personal habits, our cooking and storing methods, the pots and pans we use...our lifestyles have become so complex! How do we set the boundaries for our children's health and safety?

 Click Here for another opinion piece along this line.

I will continue the series on pragmatics ofcourse...

Ms. S

The Why and How of your Child's Pragmatic Language...

As the finale to the circus theme, my class did a circus presentation with the children enacting different circus characters. When we realized there wre too many offers for clowns and lion tamers, we handed out chits with roles written on them.

 To encourage ownership, we encouraged them to talk to each other...“If you are not happy with your selection, you can negotiate with someone else for their role. If that person agrees, then you get to exchange your roles. But if that person says no, you have to keep your role,” we explained to the students.

One of the more anxious kids piped in, “What does negotiate mean?” This was the opening my co teacher and I had been waiting for. We explained the meaning and role played how we negotiated for different work related chores in the classroom and some instances from our home. Then we supported our students, as their needs required (some of our students needed more guidance for effective communication).

Sometime later, a parent came in to speak to us. "This 'negotiating' activity you did in class has really helped my son. He is very soft spoken and gets over ridden by my other children. I've seen him explain the rules to the others and use it at least twice this past week...in their play.  He seems to feel more in control and accepts 'No' with less analysis. It is feels good to see him be more assertive."

The Why or Purpose behind your child's pragmatic language: 

Children use language to meet needs, comment, greet, gather information, express feelings, socialize, make requests, persuade, negotiate, ask questions...the complexity of these increase as they grow older.

The above example shows how learning to negotiate is not just a function of how you put words together. It has an underlying purpose—to solve conflicts, reduce anxiety and accept boundaries. If we had handed out the roles without any discussion, there would be no sense of ownership for the children. If we gave in to the children and had 6 clowns and 4 lion tamers, there would be so many other unexplored roles. Besides this was a great teachable moment—children have to learn to adapt to the needs of others from a young age.

The How or Quality of your child's pragmatic language:

• Does the child initiate interactions? How—by the use of gestures, pointing or speech?
• Does the child attend to the other speaker? Does the child wait for the other person to finish and then respond?

This is a very important skill in socialization—the child learns the rules behind polite conversations. It is also important in the learning atmosphere because when he listens to the complete direction, he knows what to do. What happens when a child who interrupts or starts to respond before the teacher finishes talking? He misses out on part of the direction; his response/work may not be accurate.

• Does the child respond appropriately in one on one interactions and in groups?

Parents and teachers underestimate the importance of this particular skill. As children grow older, there is a greater expectation in the classroom (and at home) to follow directions given to the whole group. This impacts attention, time management, staying with the group, and leads to greater independence in their study habits.

Let's look at the next example. It is fairly common among young children.

Bharat looked bewildered. “But you are my friend. I like playing with you. Why don’t you want to go to the park with me?” he asked the other seven year old. “Because you talk, and talk, and talk… You don’t let me share my ideas for play or listen to what I have to say. So I never get a chance to do anything I want,” his friend complained.

In any conversation, group study or assignment, the participants must share the interactions. Children who are unaware of the need for balance are unable to sustain friendships, work partnerships, etc.

To be continued...

Ms. S

My child needs Pragmatic Skills? Which centre can I send him to?

The University bus filled up quickly every evening. Most of us rode the bus for nearly an hour before we reached home. After the first few weeks we got to know our fellow passengers—which year, course or department they belonged to. While we formed new friends or at least acknowledged others, there was one young man who made us feel uncomfortable…when he looked at someone, he stared…and stared. It made us feel uncomfortable.

He seemed immune to comments on his behavior and continued to stare at the group of people nearest to him. He didn’t participate in the conversations, but was definitely listening in. At one point one person asked his batch mates why this young man stared so. The friend replied, “Oh he is a harmless guy. He just doesn’t realize that what he does makes people uncomfortable. When you get to know him you realize he is very polite…just say hi or ask him for his opinion when you see him listening to your discussions.” It made us feel better because it reduced the ‘creep’ factor.

Pragmatic skills are hard to measure—because the human element is so variable. Children can be taught these skills—to meet their personal and social needs. Some children need specific social skills training to reinforce these skills over and over again. If you're a parent of a child with Asperger's you know what I'm talking about. But delays or gaps can occur in any random sample of the population—and children just needs a gentle nudge. They don't need a coaching class—just awareness on the parts of cargivers and teachers.

My fellow student on the bus didn’t know how to initiate conversations. He stared at us with the hope that someone might ask him a direct question and thus involve him in the discussion. Also, he couldn’t evaluate how his staring made everyone uncomfortable. We were grad students, so our responses were tempered.

Imagine if it is a primary school student or high school student? What would the reactions of his peers be? In all probability they would conclude that he was shy or weird. There will be ripples in his social and emotional development, and affect his academic performance and behavior.

So what do we look for and how do we evaluate our children’s use of these skills?

Maybe because of my years in the classroom with young children, I like to look for the following in the child’s communication skills:

• the purpose and the method (why and how)
• comprehension and use of non verbal rules
• comprehension and use of verbal rules

To be continued...

Ms. S

Is Your Child's Language Purposeful?

"How many words should a 2 year old know?" " My child can say the whole rhyme—he is only 30 months old" "O my daughter is only 28 months old and she can say her ABCs."

I loved to listen to parents’ comments while waiting to pick up my nephew from his pre-k class. At that time I smiled at the thought of parents being proud of their children’s accomplishments…and wondered at how personal it becomes when it is your child:)

Yes developing cognitive skills is a primary function of language in young children. But what about the other important function—communication?

Using expressive language skills (speech, gestures, pointing) in social situations involves more than just indicating your needs. Parents and educators ignore one of the most important set of skills which impacts communication, behavior, learning and emotional wellbeing—Pragmatic Skills.

Pragmatic skills help us understand more than just what the words say—how is something said? Is it appropriate to that situation? Are the social rules understood and followed? Are the participants aware of the cultural norms? Do they read non verbal cues and respond accordingly?

Making sure children develop the pragmatic skill milestones is as important as the vocabulary count or naming the letters.

Children who have difficulties in their pragmatic language are not effective communicators. They don't understand the unwritten rules by which social interactions are governed, have a hard time adapting to changes in situations and say the wrong thing, can't pick up on noverbal cues, don't know when and how to ask for help...the end result of all this is that they get frustrated, their self esteem suffers and their behavioral patterns become more and more challenging.

Parents and teachers should be aware of how the child functions in this area and teach the neccessary skills explicitly.

My next set of posts are going to be All About Pragmatics.

Ms. S

Early Childhood Intervention

A while ago, my friend and I visited an orphanage in one of India’s major cities. She was considering adopting a child and happened to work in the school attached to the ‘holding house’ where abandoned babies were cared for.


It was a safe and secure place with padlocks and all. This was a precautionary measure against child trafficking and seemed to work well.

My friend wanted to get some information from the young woman who managed the place and then we looked around. It was something to think about. I won’t say it was depressing but it was stark.
Everyone’s basic needs were cared for; the older children were at school and their things were neatly arranged or put away. But it seemed to lack in cheer. Maybe it would have been different if we had seen the older kids playing about the place. It was just too quiet and too dark for a place with children.

Later we met a speech therapist who worked in tandem with the pediatrician there. We got talking about the holding house and she mentioned that a lot of these places provide food, clothing and shelter. They are managed by people who have the best of intentions and feel it is God’s work, etc. But they don’t have the training in early childhood learning to understand the importance of engaging with children from birth. The babies lie in their places and are ignored as long as they are quiet. The crucial stages of developing language, both for cognition and communication, are delayed because they don’t have appropriate role models—peers or adults.

We don’t need a lot of money for the most fantastic toys, an ordinary ball can be used to teach so many concepts and skills—gross motor, turn taking, color, shape, positions…but we do need the time and the know-how. Children who don’t learn to use language to communicate their needs at a young age will not know how to use language to problem solve or advocate for themselves in social situations. Lack of these skills will impact the child’s mental health (besides all the baggage from being abandoned).

If you volunteer at an orphanage, please take books, basic toys and play, play, play…and talk, talk, talk…

Aaaah...Vacation Travel and Executive Function Skills

“Oh, I left my book behind…I haven’t finished it,” my 15 year old exclaimed two hours after we left on the road trip. When we asked why he didn’t bring it, he replied, “I thought you were packing it”. Then it became an exchange of “But you should look after your own belongings” and “You always do this” with all the other adults joining in.


Ultimately we bought another copy of the book in the next town. This was but one example from several incidents through out the vacation,” the mom described their vacation.


“My son couldn’t find clean clothes (because he didn’t add his dirty clothes to the laundry pile), didn’t want to eat while everyone was at the restaurant but announced that he was very hungry while driving in the middle of nowhere (he didn’t want any snacks at the store either), needed several prompts to get started with basic tasks and had difficulty adapting to different social settings…I think I’m starting to understand more about this ‘Executive Functioning’ you keep talking about. We have to work more on helping him to help ourselves,” the dad added.

I liked the dad's observation—helping our kids helps us too.

When we have a productive day, it makes us feel good about ourselves. The skills we need to be productive—identifying the tasks for that day, planning for the tasks, prioritizing, organizing materials, starting and completing the tasks within the given time frame…adapting to unexpected changes to our schedule, reviewing and correcting our work…Research shows that we continue to develop these executive function skills well into our twenties.

It is important to work on these skills in your children’s daily activities. Hormonal changes in teenagers make it even more crucial for parents and teachers to work on these explicitly and repeatedly. Changes to schedules, vacations, special events are great teachable moments.
We can’t teach skills which we don’t have—so parents and teachers, how do you rate your executive functioning skills?

Ms. S