By middle school, students like Jason encounter increasing academic expectations. Middle schoolers begin to juggle more than one teacher, more demands, and greater academic expectations. Jason, a seventh-grader, struggles with managing his workload and often procrastinates, leading to last-minute stress. He has difficulty starting his homework assignments and has difficulty with completing long-term project assignments.
Issues such as managing workload, starting homework, and completing long-term projects do not just occur during middle school years. What does this look like for students across the grade levels?
Different age groups face unique challenges:
- Younger Students (K-5):
- Difficulty following multi-step instructions.
- Trouble transitioning between tasks.
- Middle School Students (6-8):
- Increased workload leads to challenges with prioritization.
- Struggles with emotional regulation during social and academic pressures.
- High School Students (9-12):
- Managing complex schedules and long-term projects.
- Balancing extracurricular activities with academic responsibilities.
Each of these challenges requires targeted strategies to help students build their executive functioning skills. As students get older more demands are expected of them. However, not all students have learned the skills necessary to manage these expectations and many students lack the skills necessary to be successful throughout the middle and high school years.
These skills can be taught and mastered over time. Through consistent practice, modeling, and reinforcement strategies. Our tutors can support students to enhance and strengthen their executive functioning skills. If your child struggles like Jason, we can help them be more confident and successful students. Contact our office today, 215-657-1981, to learn more about our executive functioning skills programs.