As children start doing more complex tasks at school, they need to develop skills for taking part in school activities and managing their own behavior. The micro-skills students use to think, process information and take action are called Executive Function (EF) skills. EF skills are like developmental milestones. Certain skills become more critical as the class progresses to more challenging material. However, they’re rarely taught in the classroom. Students need a combination of life experiences and one-on-one guidance to develop EF skills.
There are many reasons why a child may not develop certain skills at the same time their peers do. Sometimes children just haven’t had the experiences they need to learn the skills they should have at their stage of development. Hereditary and developmental conditions like attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or learning disorders can affect EF skills. Trauma, exposure to toxins or substances, or even a lack of sleep or proper nutrition can also cause delays.
When children show signs of delays in Executive Function skills, different kinds of testing can help their parents, teachers, and specialists understand their thoughts and behavior. The information they gather from various sources will help them identify and provide the most effective kinds of support.
In this blog post, we’ll talk about five different types of assessments that can measure your child’s Executive Function skills and their performance in different settings.
What are Executive Function skills and how can they be assessed?
When evaluating Executive Functions, a psychologist or neuropsychologist should conduct a formal assessment. Parent and teacher interviews, behavior observations, and behavior rating scales add important perspectives to form a complete picture of a child’s abilities and needs. The collective goal is to understand your child’s unique strengths and weaknesses and their approach to challenges under different circumstances. When taken as a whole, test results should show how these things manifest in real life both at home and at school. Finally, the results should tell you what types of interventions will be most helpful.
The following are some examples of Executive Function skills that can be assessed:
- Self-monitoring
- Inhibition
- Planning
- Organization
- Flexible thinking
- Task initiation
- Emotional regulation
- Working memory
5 types of assessment for Executive Function skills
The testing environment can have a big impact on how your child performs. The right tests will differentiate between actual deficits your child has and performance deficits. A skill deficit means the child doesn’t know how to perform the desired behavior. A performance deficit means they know how but they don’t use their skills consistently.
The following types of testing can help identify your child’s strengths and weaknesses when it comes to Executive Function skills:
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Neuropsychological testing — Pediatric neuropsychologists are experts on brain development and how it interacts with learning and behavior. A neuropsychologist can assess your child’s skills in several areas, including Executive Function, academic achievement, and social-emotional function.
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Psychological testing — Psychological testing can assess cognitive functions as well as social and emotional processes. All of these can affect your child’s EF skill development. Your child’s results should tell you a lot about how they learn best and what their unique strengths and weaknesses are.
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Tests of specific executive functions — Evaluators may use simple tests to assess specific executive functions like working memory, set-shifting, or organization. To measure attention, they might play a video and ask your child to press a button whenever they see a certain image. To test their sequencing and organizational skills, they might ask your child to re-create a specific pattern using blocks or flash cards.
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Parent and teacher interviews — It’s important to gather both objective and subjective observations from experts and people who know your child well. As a caregiver, you can provide details about your child’s development up to this point and their behavior in different environments.
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Assessment — A professional may ask you to do an assessment on behalf of your child, like the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), and help you interpret the results. You can also use online assessments to help you decide what kinds of assistance or testing to pursue.
Your child’s Beyond BookSmart coach is an important advocate during Executive Function assessments
There isn’t a standard assessment process to measure Executive Function skills for school-aged children. The teachers and experts whom you work with should choose tests based on the activities your child has been struggling with. They may determine that your child has a condition that requires treatment, or they might not. What’s important is that you all reach an understanding of what your child is experiencing and how you can best support them.
At Beyond BookSmart, we help students hone their EF skills by personalizing our coaching services to their individual needs, learning differences, and emotional challenges. We match each client with a coach based on their age and their unique needs, background, and goals. Your child’s coach will get to know their personality and build a rapport within just a few sessions. They’ll use evidence-based best practices to work on goals you set together, so your child won’t be graded or scored on anything they work on with their coach. Each of our coaches has at least a master’s level degree or an equivalent. Your child’s coach can be a valuable source of expertise and insight into your child’s needs and abilities. They can be your ally in discussions with representatives from your child’s school and other professionals.
Are you looking for a partner who can assist you and your child in their EF challenges? Download our School Success Kit to learn more about these essential skills and how to improve them.
Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an inquiry call. Let’s talk through your questions about Executive Function skills assessments and types of support that may be helpful.
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