In terms of the makeup of our brains, the frontal lobes (pre-frontal cortex) are the ‘executives in charge’ and can be compared to the leaders or supervisors of a business or organisation – without good leadership, the organisation becomes unstructured and inefficient. The behaviour linked EFs:
1. Response inhibition Response inhibition is the capacity to think before you act. EF skills are ‘interactive’ i.e. they work together and depend on each other - it is thought that working on improving response inhibition will also result in improvement of the other EF skills in teenagers (and EF skills continue to develop into our 20s). It stands to reason that without good response inhibition our goal directed persistence /planning and prioritisation / task initiation etc. will be impacted. Effective executive functioning coaching takes place when pupils are helped to understand themselves better. In a home scenario this means that the parent tries to stop being the teenager’s pre-frontal cortex (i.e. The executive in charge of the business, organising and problem solving everything on behalf of the teenager), and gradually withdraws their scaffolding, so that the teenager learns how to manage their own EF skills. Remote learning means that teenagers do not have to ‘hold it together’ in front of their peers as much as they do at school and therefore they may manage their behaviour and reactions less well – they can have meltdowns because they are at home, and they may act more foolishly than normal because they always have the interface of the computer screen to protect them from ‘real life’. Behavioural inhibition occurs in three ways: 1. Being able to stop or inhibit a response before it begins 2. Being able to stop or inhibit a response that has already begun
3. Being able to delay a response until a more appropriate time, as well as the ability to block out interfering or competing events. To use an example during this period of remote learning: A teenager begins to get lost in a zoom lesson, and instead of trying to remain calm and persevering to see if they get back on track, they may ‘act out’ foolishly in front of their peers to ‘save face’, feeling that the interface of the computer screen somehow permits this, or they may seek out the adult in the house in an anxious state. Another example is: The lack of presence of actually ‘being in the classroom’ at school, may make it easier for some to lose focus and for their attention to wander and drift.
What you might see in your child: • A willingness to risk-take when something seems fun • A difficulty resisting what they want • Being quick to get angry / upset / irritated • Not thinking things through • Reacting in the heat of the moment
Ideas about how to help with response inhibition difficulties: • In the presence of their peers a teenager will have a reduced impulse control, but try to limit this by establishing clear expectations, limits and consequences. • The likelihood is that a teenager will want to chose fun activities over those that are more challenging or (in their eyes) less enjoyable, but try to discuss ways to control or eliminate the distractions in order to get the task(s) done more efficiently - and allow rewards for managing to do this.
• Encourage an acceptance of delayed gratification by discussing prioritisation with your teenager using language: ‘First…then’ - ‘then’ being something that they want to do. • Help to prepare your teenager for scenarios which require impulse control by regularly reviewing some accepted rules, and what are and are not acceptable behaviours. • Visuals are a good way of helping your teenager to try to persevere in the face of adversity and are ways to encourage your teenager to have positive response inhibition control.
• Taking time to check in with your teenager each day about whether they were able to self-moderate is useful because it allows you to discuss how their behaviour might have been adapted / changed if they responded poorly, and also allows you to offer praise for inhibition successes, reinforcing the positive response inhibition.
Managing emotions self-check form (Purpose: to increase self-awareness of possible triggers) Item
Not a problem
Notes
Losing your temper Getting nervous in some situations (e.g. accessing zoom lessons, during zoom lessons, speaking up in class) Getting easily frustrated (e.g. when you don’t understand schoolwork, classmates irritate you etc.) Saying or doing something without thinking that you later regret Giving up quickly when a task is hard or boring Difficulty adjusting to changes in plans or disruptions to routines Not getting enough sleep Spending money as soon as you get it
Pupil self-help strategies: Tips • Be aware of your unique temptations and make plans to avoid them • Ask yourself, “Good choice or bad choice?” • Practice waiting (e.g. factor in a little more time or work before giving yourself the reward)
Self-talk • First work, then play • Learn from your mistakes • Stop and think
• Other strategies?
• Your own idea?
Tips Self-talk • Label the feeling and let it go • Take 10 • Where possible walk away from the • Take deep breaths upsetting situation, get a hold of yourself, and come back • Look into learning meditation techniques • This feeling / event will not last, it will pass • Pat yourself on the back when you stay • Big deal or little deal? cool • Other strategies: • Your own idea:
E.g. of Use of visuals Problem solving worksheet: Using the example of getting lost in a zoom lesson (but this can be adapted to the situation that regularly triggers a poor response inhibition reaction in your teenager): 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Identify the problem Brainstorm solutions Ask your teenager to choose the solutions that they prefer Talk about what will happen if the first solution does not work Make a visual reminder
Worksheet: What is the problem? e.g. I get panicky if I feel I do not understand a zoom lesson, and I check-out What are some possible things I could do to solve the problem? 1. Send the teacher a private message on zoom chat to tell them I’ve got a bit lost, and wait for them to help me 2. Take deep breaths to try to calm myself down, so I can stay in the lesson, knowing I can talk to my parent / carer after the lesson has ended 3. …. (whatever strategies works for your teenager) What will I try first? List the priorities 1, 2, 3 If this doesn’t work what can I do?
e.g. 1. I know I can use my group-chat afterwards and my classmates can help to explain. 2. I know I can email my teacher afterwards and say I got lost and am unclear‌ How did it go? Did my solution work? What might I do differently next time?
If this is a recurring issue for your teenager, this visual worksheet ought to be stuck onto the desk your teenager works at, so that it is a reminder to them about how to adapt in the moment of crisis. It should reinforce to them that they have the ability to self-help and selfmoderate.
Please feel free to email me (marsdenz@kesw.org) if you would like me to do any 1:1 input with your son/daughter to help them get back on track with any of these skills. Kind regards, Zoe Marsden Head of Learning Support and SENCO - King Edward's Witley