The document summarizes strategies for improving executive function skills presented by Sarah Ward. It discusses situational intelligence and using S.T.O.P (space, time, objects, people) to read a situation. Mimetic ideational information processing allows mental rehearsal of future situations. Executive function involves future thinking using S.T.O.P. and imagining what tasks will look like when done. Strategies include getting ready, doing the task, and being done using a working clock to track time in increments. Midpoint check-ins and the 1 minute gauge rule help estimate task times.

1. Laurie Gross, M.A., M.A.T., Educational Therapist & Consultant
laurie@mylearningspringboard.com
646.478.8692, ext. 3
www.mylearningspringboard.com
Improving Executive
Function Skills
with

2. Inspired by…
Cutting Edge Approaches for
Executive Functioning
Presented by:
Sarah Ward M.S., CCC-SLP
cognitiveconnectionstherapy.com
Johns Hopkins University
September 27, 2014

3. We need to figure out how
to support students with
Executive Function challenges
Executive Function is all about…
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

4. WHAT IS SITUATIONAL INTELLIGENCE?
It’s the ability to read a room.
SITUATIONAL
INTELLIGENCE!
S
T
O
P
Space:
You need to be aware of it and what usually happens in it.
Time:
You need to be aware of when it is happening.
Objects:
You need to be aware of how things are organized.
People:
You need to be aware of the people involved. What are
they doing?
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

5. S.T.O.P. and Read the Room!
Space:
Where am I? What is going on? Is this expected? Unexpected?
Time:
Time of day? Routine or non-routine? What is happening at
this moment in time? What’s coming up? What pace is
required?
Objects:
How are things organized? What is the basis for their
organization?
People:
Read the person. What does their face look like? What is
their body, appearance, mood, pace saying?
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

6. Executive Function compromised kids
need the sequence of activities
spelled out for them.
The big picture of what is needed to
do isn’t instinctive .
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

7. Mimetic Ideational
Information Processing
This is a big deal!
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

8. What is Mimetic Ideational
Information Processing?
- Being a “mind mime” - Mime the idea in
your head.
- Mental pre-simulation of how the future
will play out.
- It is a mental dress rehearsal.
- A mental trial and error with out the risk
of error.
- You can try it out and pre-experience the
emotion of a situation.
- Without risk you can run a plan A and a
plan B and pre-experience how this feel.
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

9. We have to teach kids with EF
challenges how to
FUTURE THINK!
90% of planning occurs in a different
space from where we execute it.
We can help students develop future
situational thinking by using S.T.O.P.
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

10. Elements of Future Thinking
(The Mind Mime)
1. S.T.O.P. - What will it look like?
2. Episodic Future Thinking - What do
I look like doing it?
3. Prospective Visual Memory - How am
I moving to achieve this?
4. Future Emotion - How do I feel?
Motivation comes from imagining the emotional future.
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

11. Executive Function is
the ability to
pre-imagine the future.
“What do I need to do to get it done?”
The PASSAGE of TIME underlies all
executive function skills.
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

12. Strategies:
Remediating
Executive Function Skills
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

13. Get it DONE
Always start with
DONE!
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

14. Get Ready…Do…Done
Put on your FUTURE glasses to find out.
So, what does DONE look like?
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

15. What does
“Get Ready, Do, Done”
look like?
Example: Classroom/desk space
Get Ready DO Done
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

16. - Have I taken out my agenda book, all
my notebooks/homework folder?
- Have I set up my DONE space?
- Have I left my notebooks/folders
open in the DONE space so I can
quickly put my materials away when
I’m done?
HOMEWORK
&
Get Ready, Do, Done
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

17. - As I take out each assignment, have I
visualized what it will look like, and do I
know how I will feel when it is completed?
- Now that I know what it will look and feel
like when I’m done, what do I need to do to
GET READY for each assignment?
- Have I placed the assignment in my GET
READY space?
- Do I have what I need to do this assignment?
- How will I feel when I’m finished?
- DO!
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

18. The Passage of Time
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

19. Our kids don’t always sense the
passage of time and if they do, it’s
generally not accurate.
How do we help them?
The Passage of Time
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

20. The WORKING Clock
It’s analog.
It’s at eye level.
It’s meaningful.
The Passage of Time
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

21. Step 3:
Count in 5- or 10- minute increments
The WORKING Clock
Step 1:
Shade the available time
Step 2:
Create time markers - Start time, stop time, midpoint
Start time: Get Ready
Midpoint: Do
Stop: DONE
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

22. Midpoint Check-in
1. How am I doing at this midpoint
marker?
2. Am I still focused on the goal?
3. Has my priority changed?
4. Am I still answering the question?
5. Do I need to change my pace?
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

23. The 1 Minute Gauge Rule
How to figure out how long
an assignment might take.
Then:
Assign one minute/part to
get the basic idea of time.
Ask yourself:
How many sections are there?
How many parts/questions are there
in each section?
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

24. Rate the difficulty of each part/question with a 1, 2, or 3
Easy - 1 minute
Kind of hard - 2 minutes
Hard - 3 minutes
Round up/down to 5 minute intervals
Develop a mathematical equation and figure out how much
time you will need…
Use the CLOCK!
Remember!
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014

25. Laurie Gross, M.A., M.A.T., Educational Therapist & Consultant
laurie@mylearningspringboard.com
646.478.8692, ext. 3
www.mylearningspringboard.com
Improving Executive
Function Skills
with
Source: Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Co-Director of Cognitive Connections, 2014