I watched Daniel Levitin talk on YouTube about his book, “The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in an Age of Information Overload.” I learned important information that anyone can use to improve their executive functioning skills for increased productivity. Now I’m reflecting and extending what I learned from Daniel’s talk, which included three topics: 1) Two modes of attention, 2) Brain extenders, and 3) Decision making. Two modes of attention The two modes of attention include the task positive network for tasks that require focused attention, and the task negative network that is utilized when you’re not doing a specified task. Creativity and problem solving are more likely to occur when your mind is wandering via the task negative network. I definitely find this to be true when I’m[...]

This school year I have speech-language students with executive functioning (EF) needs including organization, time management, metacognition, and more. In the past, I targeted these skills indirectly via strategies I thought were useful, but now I need to target them directly with evidence-based strategies and resources. So, I decided to search online and ask colleagues for recommendations. Here’s what I discovered that I think others would also appreciate for targeting EF skills: Interview with Sarah Ward that includes her top 3 EF strategies: http://tinyurl.com/nllojdo Webinar - Executive Function Skills: Practical Treatment Ideas: http://tinyurl.com/or3j5t6 Slideshow handout - Executive Function Skills in the Classroom: http://tinyurl.com/ocxsjty Slideshow handout - Executi[...]