Improve Executive Functioning Skills in Children with ADHD

Description

Children and teens diagnosed with ADHD have challenges in their executive functioning. These may show up as problems following directions or remembering a sequence of activities. Children may have difficulty learning from past mistakes, staying focused for the duration of a task, or maintaining emotional control in stressful situations. They may struggle with the organization of personal items or to-do lists, with being flexible with unexpected changes, and with managing their time efficiently. These difficulties, in turn, manifest into problems at home, school, work, and with social skills.

Executive functioning skills are the missing link between intentions and actions. In this presentation, we will identify executive functioning skills and discuss how ADHD and related neurodiversity diagnoses impact them. We will identify how to evaluate executive functioning and discuss intervention strategies and ways that we can increase support to improve the development of executive functions throughout childhood and adolescence and into early adulthood. The participant will learn three ways to empower individuals of all ages to strengthen executive functioning skills.

This course is presented in lecture form with questionnaires and handouts developed by the instructor to assist the participant in working with children and families. 

At the end of this course, the participant will be able to:

1. Define Executive Functioning and identify executive skills

2. List ways in which executive skills are impacted by ADHD and related diagnoses

3. Identify how to evaluate executive functioning skills

4. Discuss each skill in detail and identify intervention strategies to enhance development of executive skills

5. Differentiate common issues related to executive functioning skills across childhood and adolescence

6. List 3 ways to structure treatment to empower individuals to strengthen their executive functioning skills

2.0 Hours

Speaker Bio: Abigail Wool-Biringer, MA, OTR/L

Abigail Wool-Biringer earned her Master of Arts in Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern California in 1997. She began her career in acute care inpatient hospital work and has worked in outpatient neuro rehab, skilled nursing, and acute rehabilitation as well. Abigail saw a need in the occupational therapy community, and in 2004 she developed a continuing education business to provide classes in feeding and swallow disorders. She spent 4 years teaching seminars to other occupational therapists while also being a stay-at-home mom. She began working exclusively with the pediatric population in 2010, treating children in home health, in the clinic and in school. In 2019, Abigail began her own home-based therapy and parent coaching company, Kids Empowered 4 Life LLC. She works with children of all ages, with a special interest in executive skills dysfunction that accompanies ADHD and autism spectrum disorder. She believes that executive functioning skills are the missing link to much of the interventions offered, that entire families are impacted by them, and that the key lies in empowering children, teens, and their families with individual strength-based interventions. Abigail sees education as an important part in working with families. She also understands the need for professional education to other therapists who seek relevant information to guide their treatment of kids and teens with ADHD. 

In her spare time, Abigail enjoys running, hiking, gardening, sports, reading, doing 2000-piece puzzles and spending time with her sons and husband.