top of page

How Autistic Students Can Overcome Executive Dysfunction

Writer's picture: Sean McCormickSean McCormick

Thank you to our sponsors who keep this newsletter free to the reader:


Learn how to become an Executive Function Coach by downloading our comprehensive framework to start your coaching business. Learn more.


 

In this post, I'll share practical strategies to support Autistic students in improving their flexible thinking, emotional regulation, and completion of activities of daily living (ADL).


Research shows that enhancing these skills can add years to Autistic lives, lead to better academic performance, improved social interactions, and increased independence.


ADL skills are malleable and dynamic...setting high expectations for maintaining such skills during the life course may have implications for health maintenance and even survival.

What is Autism?

Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a developmental condition that affects communication, behavior, and social interaction, with symptoms ranging from mild to severe.


The American Psychiatric Association (APA) classifies autism spectrum disorder (ASD) into three levels based on the severity of symptoms and the amount of support needed:


Level 1

Also known as high-functioning autism, people with level 1 ASD may be able to live independently with minimal support. They may need help with social interaction, organization, and planning.


Level 2

People with level 2 ASD need substantial support to communicate and deal with change. They may struggle with verbal communication, have restricted interests, or exhibit repetitive behaviors.


Level 3

Also known as severe autism, people with level 3 ASD need very substantial support. They may have limited ability to communicate and interact socially with others. They may also have signs associated with levels 1 and 2 but are more severe.


The levels of support model can help educators and healthcare professionals determine the right approach to working with Autistic individuals.


Note...

Levels of support don't necessarily predict what the future will look like for an individual or what specific support they will need. Since executive function skills are malleable, the level of support may change during the lifetime of an Autistic individual.


How many students have Autism?

About 1 in 36 children are identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to estimates from the CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network.


How many children have Autism?
How many children have Autism?

Other facts about Autism:


  • ASD is nearly 4 times more common among boys than among girls.

  • ASD is reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.


How does Autism impact education outcomes?

According to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), the percentage of students with disabilities identified with autism increased from 4.97% in SY 2008-09 to 10.51% in SY 2018-19.


Are the number of students with Autism increasing?
Are the number of students with Autism increasing?

Additionally, in SY 2017-18, students identified with autism, ages 14-21 exiting school were less likely to drop out and more likely to receive a certificate than all students with disabilities.


Lastly, students identified with autism were less likely to be served inside the regular class 80% or more of the day than all other students with disabilities.


These facts beg the question, how do we ensure Autistic students access general education, graduate with diplomas, and launch into adulthood? 


Why do executive function skills matter for Autistic students?

Executive function skills are crucial for success in both academic and everyday life. For autistic students, these skills can significantly enhance their ability to:


  • manage daily routines,

  • adapt to new situations,

  • and communicate effectively with others.


Improved executive function skills can lead to higher survival rates and better quality of life for Autistic students, as students become more adept at handling the challenges they face through self-regulatory strategies.


“Even after controlling for age and health status, we found that limited self-sufficiency in activities of daily living was an important predictor of mortality for adults with ASD.”

It is essential that parents, educators, and administrators in K-12 education understand the importance of explicitly teaching these executive function skills to youth with ASD, as studies have indicated that 40% or fewer individuals with ASD attend college.


For youth with an ASD, 34.7% had attended college and 55.1% had held paid employment during the first 6 years after high school.
Youth with an ASD had the lowest rates of participation in employment and the highest rates of no participation compared with youth in other disability categories.

Why do Autistic students struggle with in school?

Here are some common struggles that Autistic students struggle with across various educational environments:


Rigid Thinking Patterns

Autistic students often rely on routines and may struggle with flexible thinking, making it difficult to adapt to new or unexpected situations.


This may look like discomfort with loud classrooms where other students "call out" or teachers "wing it."


As adults, rigidity can pose problems in situations where flexibility is necessary, such as:


  • managing challenging customers or clients

  • negotiating financial agreements

  • having light-hearted conversations meant to build rapport

   

Emotional Regulation Challenges

Overwhelm can lead to emotional dysregulation, causing students to withdraw or react negatively in social settings.


Unless teachers or other school staff are trained on how to respond to the emotional dysregulation of Autistic students, this can lead to isolation from peers and general education teachers.


Limited Social Skills

Picking up on social cues and effectively communicating with others can be challenging, hindering their ability to form meaningful relationships.


“...research attests that students with ASD often experience elevated rates of social exclusion and bullying (e.g. Humphrey & Hebron, 2015), low levels of peer support (Symes & Humphrey, 2012), and may perceive the sensory school environment as overwhelming (Goodall, 2019).

Because of these challenges, it is critical that educators are provided the tools, resources, and trainings to properly support Autistic students.


How educators and parents can help Autistic students develop executive function skills

For the proactive parent or educator that is ready to start making small, meaningful shifts in their approach to supporting Autistic students, here are four things they can do:


Create opportunities for flexible thinking

Start by incorporating game time in your classroom routine. Game time is an effective tool in that it has clear rules and guidelines, yet also allows for flexibility and creative thinking.


Strategy games or role-playing scenarios allow Autistic students to work with peers in a structured manner, while encouraging fun and relationship development.


If you are a special education teacher or administrator, check out my guide on how to set up a Resource Class to promote executive function skill development:



For more in-depth support for educators, check out the training programs offered through the Executive Function Coaching Academy or our workshops for educators.


Give students the "what," but not the "how"

When giving instructions or assigning projects, focus on telling students the "what," but not the how.


For example, you might assign them to give a three minute presentation on someone who inspires them. You can still lay out key project benchmarks such as:


  • Share figure with me for approval

  • Create outline of presentation

  • Submit draft 1


But allow the student to choose the format -- maybe the student is good at coding and wants to make a website.


Maybe they have a secret talent for drawing and want to make a visual.


Giving them the "what", but not the "how", allows them to figure out different ways to reach a solution, fostering creativity and problem-solving.


Of course, make sure to provide supports using a system of least prompts throughout the process so they don't get stuck.


Value emotional regulation as much as you do taking a test

Autistic students find it beneficial to know that emotional regulation is often more valuable than a high IQ or grades.


Many students do not know that emotional intelligence is a skill they can develop through deliberate practice.


For example, a survey of 2,662 U.S. hiring managers found that emotional intelligence (EQ) is a key factor in hiring decisions:


Fifty-nine percent of employers would not hire someone who has a high IQ but low emotional intelligence.
For workers being considered for a promotion, the high emotional intelligence candidate will beat out the high IQ candidate in most cases – 75 percent said they're more likely to promote the high emotional intelligence worker.

In your class, you can help them start to recognize their emotions by doing class-wide "check-ins" when they sit down. This could take the form of:


  • doing a brain dump in a journal

  • ranking their mood on a scale

  • choosing an emoji to represent their current mind state


Then, when dysregulation occurs, reframe it as an opportunity to practice these skills rather than a setback, encouraging them to see imagine putting on their emotional "resilience" glasses to manage big feelings.


You can learn more about this process by checking out my detailed guide on how to build an alter ego and the power of self-distancing to gain emotional clarity.


Teach the power of systems

Introduce a student dashboard to keep track of assignments and goals, using planners for middle schoolers or apps for high schoolers.


For more details on how to set this up, check out my article, How To Have The Best Semester Yet: Create A Student Dashboard (part 1).


There are many things students could do for themselves if they had a system to set up to organize their information including:


  • Planning for college

  • Organizing their course schedule

  • Setting up a budget

  • Creating a password organizer

  • Having their teacher emails on a spreadsheet

  • And much more.


Additionally, helping them identify a long-term vision—whether it’s for a project or a personal goal—and ask them to chart a path to get there, encourages strategic thinking and planning.


Summary

Working on those ADL skills is crucial for increasing an Autistic student’s independence and quality of life. However, many students with ASD require direct instruction to develop and master these skills.


Parents and educators -- you have the power to help! Focus on teaching one skill at a time, providing step-by-step guidance, and creating consistent routines.


Get started today by trying at least one of these strategies:


  1. Create a game time in the home or classroom to encourage flexible thinking

  2. Challenge students by sharing the "what," but not the "how" for tasks

  3. Explicitly teach emotional regulation skills and their benefits

  4. Teach a systems approach for managing their goals and tasks


Hope this helps 🤙🏻


P.S. These are skills that executive function coaches work on with their students. If you want to try working on them with your students, consider joining hundreds of other educators and parents who have completed my Semester Success Blueprint Course. In less than 2 hours, this comprehensive course will teach you and your student the system I developed to help hundreds of students learn how to manage school effectively and raise their self-awareness and engagement with school.






About Me

Hey! I'm Sean 👋


I'm a former public school special education teacher who realized that executive function skills are more important than knowing when George Washington crossed the Potomac.


Since then, I've made it my mission to teach anyone who will listen about how to develop these key life skills.


In 2020, I founded Executive Function Specialists to ensure all students with ADHD and Autism have access to high-quality online executive function coaching services. We offer online EF coaching and courses to help students and families.


Realizing I could only reach so many people through coaching, in 2021 I started the Executive Function Coaching Academy which trains schools, educators, and individuals to learn the key strategies to improve executive function skills for students.


In 2023, I co-founded of UpSkill Specialists, to provide neurodivergent adults with high-quality executive function coaching services.


When not pursuing my passions through work, I love spending time with my family, getting exercise, and growing my brain through reading. You can connect with me on LinkedIn.

85 views
bottom of page