Colin Feheley and Alexis A. Reid presented at the CAST UDL Symposium a session entitled “EF & Affect: Supporting Students to Learn How to Learn.” Reid is a CAST national faculty member, educational therapist, and advocate of accessibility. The session’s goals were to learn about executive function and feature learner voices. Colin Feheley is a senior and intern. Reid shared a graphic with the title “behaviour is communication.” Reid mentioned that there are a lot of stressors right now and that we need to recognize them and allow time to process them. Reid explained that Scott Barry Kaufman conceptualized Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a sailboat: people, love, exploration in the sail, and self-esteem, connection, and safety in the boat’s bottom. The idea was that we should learn how to explain security and growth. One question from the audience was where does belong fall in the hierarchy, and Reid mentioned that it would likely fit with connection.
Reid shared an infographic entitled “A Day in the Life of a Chil With Executive Functioning Issues” and then discussed what we may do differently. The suggestions included wind down activity, gratitude activity, takeaway/highlight of the day… Executive functions in the brain involve the development of specific regions in the brain… even in the late 20s! Reid shared that Executive Function (EF) involves:
- Working memory: the ability to take in new information and use it in a new way.
- Inhibitory control: the ability to stop what you are doing to make a change.
- Mental flexibility: the ability to adjust what you are doing to progress along a path to accomplish a goal.
Next, Reid interviewed Feheley, who struggled with emotional and learning concerns early on. Feheley spoke about being a lacrosse coach and learning about self-advocating and listening. Feheley explained that having anxiety has increased their awareness of organized courses. Feheley advised teachers to be patient.
Reid spoke about executive function skill activation is often thought of as planning, organization, and time management yet includes numerous tasks. Further, sometimes there are differential diagnoses and other complicating factors that impact executive function. The two critical periods for scaffolding executive function support are early in education. Reid shared a Padlet board with the slides and additional information.
