Executive Function Support Planner
Practical scaffolds for planning, starting and finishing — matched to which of the three is actually the problem.
Executive function scaffolds only work when matched to the point of breakdown — starting, planning, sustaining, finishing or organising are five different problems, and the common thread that helps all of them is externalising the plan rather than holding it in the head.
Executive Function Support Planner
Frequently asked
What is executive function?
An umbrella term for the skills involved in planning, starting, sustaining and organising activity. They develop through childhood and into the twenties, and the normal range at any given age is very wide.
Why do these strategies stop working?
Usually because the scaffold is aimed at the wrong stage. A child who can plan perfectly but cannot start is not helped by a better plan, and a checklist offered to a child who cannot finish reads as pressure.
Does needing support mean something is wrong?
No. These skills vary enormously between children of the same age, and external structure helps almost everyone. Nothing on this page indicates or rules out any condition.
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