Welcome back to our Executive Functioning at Home Series, where we are seeking out the best ways to support the growth of executive functioning skills at home by creating a safe environment for learning and practicing. 

In Part 1 we discussed ways that the different executive functioning categories can apply in a home setting. 

In Part 2 we talked about ways we can create environments that support skillbuilding across those categories. 

In Part 3 we took a closer look at opportunities to practice different executive functioning skills across the day. 

For the final (for now!) part of our series we want to talk about troubleshooting options for supporting executive functioning skills growth.

One reality of practicing any skill is that things don’t go right all the time, and we sometimes need to address a particular challenge or issue that comes up. Executive functioning is no different, and sometimes in the process of working on executive functioning skills we discover we need to address a particular challenge before we can make meaningful progress. Here are a few examples of common situations that can arise, and some starting strategies for addressing them moving forward.

One of the trickiest parts of managing a whole routine is when we are still struggling with the basics of the task at hand! We all have our day-to-day tasks that we find more challenging than others, and the tasks that go wrong can have an impact on everything else we can do that day! 

There are a number of different strategies that we can use to address this issue, including using adaptive thinking to consider what we might do when a given task goes wrong and trying working memory tools to offer reminders of what to do for a particular task. 

The most crucial thing is that a given task does not feel like a huge stumbling block to the rest of our day, whatever support we may need to make that happen!

Sometimes the challenge of our day-to-day schedule isn’t so much completing the tasks at hand but completing them in a reasonable timeframe to get on with the rest of our day! When we are struggling to fit all of our tasks into a schedule there are a number of different approaches we can try. 

We can give ourselves more time by waking up earlier or rearranging our schedule. We can try breaking down our schedule into individual time segments. We can move some tasks to earlier or later in the day. 

And if our schedule is so full that none of those things are possible we can consider the possibility that we are overcommitted and need to reduce our workload!

Sometimes the hardest part of doing what we need to do in a given day is deciding what we need to do! If the person you are supporting is running into trouble with decision makin, there are a number of strategies worth trying! 

One way to help can be narrowing down the decisions so that there is less information to process at once. Alternately, offering a decision in a different setting than it was first offered can sometimes make processing easier. 

Finally, it is important to treat deferral as a decision in its own right, and to respect the self-advocacy of the person we are supporting when they ask us to make a choice whenever that is possible.

There is nothing wrong with not being able to complete a task independently, and it would be a mistake to operate from the standpoint that independence is always the end goal. 

Sometimes people do need support, and when they believe that support is the best option for them we should not hold up total independence as the inherently preferred alternative. 

We can still promote independence in areas where it remains a goal, and we can work on completing a given task independently as long as that is also the goal of the Autistic person we are supporting.

Day-to-day tasks can be frustrating and annoying, and working on executive functioning skills can be frustrating and annoying. Work on them together and sometimes it leads to personal friction, even when everyone agrees they want the same thing! 

If working on executive functioning leads to a breakdown or argument it is OK to reset, take a break and give everyone the chance to share what they would like to change about future effort. 

It’s also a good idea to remind each other of all the things we agree to reinforce that we are on the same team as we adjust our strategies.

This is a broad category for situations where you wish you could offer as much space for practice as possible but the reality of a schedule, or available resources, or a personal need cannot be ignored. 

These situations are often some of the most difficult because none of us have control over when we are having a tough time, and higher stress situations can just make things worse! 

One helpful strategy in these situations is to compromise on some portions of a routine if it makes things easier for this unique situation, knowing we can work on those things again in the future. 

In a pinch, we can also agree to discuss a given situation in the future when we have more time to brainstorm what we will do if we find ourselves in that situation again so we can be prepared. Sometimes there is no way around the outside world, but we can manage those unique situations as they arise!

We hope this post has offered some ideas for navigating the most common challenges that can arise when practicing executive functioning skills at home. 

Although there is no clean solution for any given situation, these starting points can help us navigate the obstacles that are getting in the way of the needs and goals of the person we are supporting. 

If you’d like to share the way you have navigated some challenges pertaining to executive functioning at home then we would love to hear from you! Just drop us a line at hello@autismgrownup.com and we will see you for the next series!