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Emotional Regulation and Executive Function

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executive function and emotional regulation skills

Emotional regulation and executive function are connected in more ways than one. Development of social emotional skills includes an awareness of self and self-monitoring skills, among other areas. The regulation of those emotions is critical for executive functioning cognitive tasks. When we regulate behavior, the frontal lobe is at work with it’s impulse control, initiation, self-monitoring, and other cognitive skills. Furthermore, emotional skill development includes the ability to self-regulate. These skills mature and develop throughout childhood and into adulthood.

Executive function and emotional regulation is deeply connected. This article includes resources on executive functioning skills and emotions.

Emotional Regulation and Executive Function

In a previous blog post, shared a little background information on social emotional learning and regulation. We’ll go more into this relationship below. We’ll also cover social emotional learning and occupations that our kids participate in each day…and how executive functioning skills and regulation impacts functioning at home, work, and school. You will also want to check out these social skills activities for interventions to build areas related to social-emotional skills.

Here is a social emotional learning worksheet that can help kids identify emotions and begin to address emotional regulation needs.

Emotional regulation is essentially a person’s ability to manage stress. This is not a skill we are born with.

For children, particularly those who have anxiety, autism, ADHD, ASD, early childhood trauma, Sensory Processing Disorder, and other special needs, it can be especially challenging.

Poor emotional regulation can lead to social issues, meltdowns, problems at home and school, negative behavior, anxiety, and later in life, even addictions and difficulty with relationships. 

Sometimes, emotions become intense and out of control. They become dysregulated and impact the ability to manage behaviors and cognitive thought processes, or the executive functioning skills. Emotional and sensory dysregulation requires mental skills like focusing, following directions extremely difficult. When the emotions take over, our brain has trouble communicating between the limbic system and the frontal lobe.

Social emotional learning is defined as a process for helping children gain critical skills for life effectiveness, such as developing positive relationships, behaving ethically, and handling challenging situations effectively.

The specific skills that allow kids to function and complete daily occupations (such as play, learning, participating in social situations, rest, dressing, writing, riding a bike, interacting with others…) are those social emotional skills that help children to recognize and manage emotions, interact with others, think about their feelings and how they should act, and regulate behavior based on thoughtful decision making.

One piece of addressing underlying needs in kids is the fact that the behaviors that we see have an underlying cause that can be found as a result of regulation of emotions, making decisions, and acting on impulses. Social emotional skills are not always a cut and dry aspect of development.

Today, I wanted to expand on that idea. So many times, we run into children on our therapy caseloads or in our classroom (or hey, even in our own homes!) who struggle with one area…or several. Remembering that beneath the behaviors, troubles with transitions, acting out, irritability, sleep issues, inflexible thoughts, frustrations, etc…can be emotional regulation components.

Let’s consider some of the ways our kids may struggle with social and emotional competencies. We might see kids with difficulty in some of these occupational performance areas (occupational performance = the things we do…the tasks we perform):

  • Academics/learning
  • Management of stress in learning/chores/daily tasks
  • Creating of personal goals in school work or personal interests and following through
  • Making decisions based on ethical and social norms in play, learning, or work
  • Understanding/Engaging in social expectations (social norms) in dressing, bathing, grooming, etc.
  • Social participation
  • Conflict resolution with friends
  • Empathizing with others
  • Responding to feedback in school, home, or work tasks
  • Making good judgement and safety decisions in the community
  • Showing manners
  • Understanding subtle social norms in the community or play
  • Transitions in tasks in school or at home
  • Ability to screen out input during tasks
  • Cooperation in play and in group learning
  • Considering context in communication
  • Emotional control during games

Wow! That list puts into perspective how our kids with sensory processing concerns really may be struggling. And, when you look at it from the flip-side, perhaps some of our children who struggle with, say, fine motor issues may have sensory concerns in the mix too.

Break it down

Let’s break this down even further. There is a connection between social emotional skills and executive functioning skills. When you read through that list of occupations, many of the areas of struggle have a component related to impulse control, working memory, attention, focus, metacognition, and persistence, etc. This chart explains more:

Executive function and social and emotional learning relationship in behavioral regulation and emotional regulation skills.

Image from here.

And, that is just one aspect of friendship/social participation. Consider the connection of social/emotional skills and executive functioning skills in activities of daily living, social participation, learning, play, or chores!

Emotional regulation is a topic that can get hairy, and fast. Emotional regulation is essentially a person’s ability to manage stress. This is not a skill we are born with. For children, particularly those who have anxiety, autism, ADHD, FASD, early childhood trauma, Sensory Processing Disorder, and other special needs, it can be especially challenging.

Poor emotional regulation can lead to social issues, meltdowns, problems at home and school, negative behavior, anxiety, and later in life, even addictions and difficulty with relationships.

>>When you’re a parent or teacher watching a child you care about struggle, it can be a helpless feeling. Some kids just don’t know what to do with their big emotions.

>>Perhaps you’ve tried everything you can think of and you’re still being held hostage by your child’s emotional outbursts.

>>Or, maybe you are a therapist working with dysregulated children having emotional meltdowns and a fixed mindset who really need the tools to manage overwhelming emotions.

What we do know is that more and more research is showing that emotional regulation and learning are linked.

  • In 2007, researchers stated, “Our findings suggest that children who have difficulty regulating their emotions have trouble learning in the classroom and are less productive and accurate when completing assignments,” (Graziano, Reavis, Keane, & Calkins, 2007).
  • “The ability to regulate emotions is an essential prerequisite for adaptive development and behavior” (Sousa Machado & Pardal, 2013).
Emotional regulation and executive functioning are deeply connected and critical of each other in completion of most every task and childhood occupation.

Social Emotional Learning Strategies

When we equip our students with tools to identify their emotions and self-regulate, we are giving them tools for life and promoting a positive environment for learning.

What might this look like at home, in online schooling, or in a classroom setting?

1. Connect emotions to behavior- Children may not have the language knowledge or understand how to explain what they are feeling. They may need concrete examples or scenarios to help them understand how their emotions are tied to their behavior.

  • Does a storm make them feel nervous or scared?
  • How do they react when they feel anxious about a test or quiz?
  • When they argue with a sibling, how do they react?

Once they are able to understand their emotions and how they are feeling, they can start using emotional regulation tools and strategies.

One way to connect emotions to behavior is to start by identifying emotions, facial expressions, and feelings that are associated with these names and features. These emotions play dough mats create a multisensory means to teach these skills.

2. Be flexible and patient- Flexibility is something we have all been thrown into more than usual lately. But working with children on emotional regulation and understanding their emotions takes patience and being flexible. You may need to change up how you introduce emotions, or maybe a strategy you thought would work isn’t.

3. Set the tone and share your own feelings- This may feel uncomfortable for some of us, but sharing our own feelings with our students and clients and modeling the responses and strategies we are encouraging them to use will have a huge impact.

…it’s ALL connected!

A Sensory Strategy Guide

Having a toolkit of ideas to pull from so you can change things as needed is why we created the Classroom Sensory Strategies Toolkit.

Executive Function and Emotions

Let’s break this down even further. There is a connection between social emotional skills and executive functioning skills. Critical thinking is a huge part of this. When you consider the daily occupations of kids, many of the areas of struggle have a component related to impulse control, working memory, attention, focus, metacognition, and persistence, etc. Big emotions can impact task performance in each of these areas in different ways.

  • Play
  • Cleaning up after oneself
  • Social/family relationships
  • Learning
  • Chores
  • Homework
  • Schooling at home
  • Reading
  • Grooming/Hygiene
  • Dressing/Bathing
  • Caring for materials

And, that is just some of the daily jobs that occupy a child or teen’s day. When we consider the connection of social/emotional skills and executive functioning skills in activities of daily living, social participation, learning, play, or chores, there is a lot going on!

Self-regulation skills of both sensory regulation and emotional regulation depends on various subcategories of executive functioning skills, including inhibition/impulse control, task initiation, working memory, mental flexibility, and self-control. We know that all of these mental skills are deeply inter-connected and that executive functioning is like the air traffic control center of the brain…it keeps us operating as we should.

Impulse Control– Attention and impulses are another set of executive functioning skills that are very closely related.  When the distracted child can not focus on a specific task or conversation, or situation, then the tendency to impulsively respond is quite likely.  A great tool for assessing and monitoring impulses in the child with attention struggles is the impulse control journal.

Working memory– This executive functioning skill is the ability to act on past memories and manipulating the information in a new situation. Processing short term memories and using it allows us to respond in new situations. 

Attention– Executive functions are heavily dependent on attention. Distractions can come in many forms. The child who is overly sensitive to sensory input may over respond to the slightest sounds, textures, sights, scents, tastes, or motions.  Children who are excessively distracted by their sensory needs will struggle to attend to simple commands. Other children are able to “keep it together” in a classroom or home setting yet their concentration is challenged. 

Self-Monitoring– This executive functioning skill goes hand in hand with attention and focus. Self monitoring allows us to keep ourselves in check in a situation.  We need to stay on task and focus on that a person is saying and respond in appropriate ways.  If the child with attention issues can not focus on what a person is saying for more than a few minutes, than the ability to respond appropriately can be a real issue.

Emotional Control- Kids with attention issues may not be able to attend for extended periods of time on a situation that enables them to control their emotions.  They can perseverate on the emotions of a specific situation or may not be “up to speed” on the situation at hand or be able to process their emotions as they attend to a different situation.  Issues with emotional control can then lead to behavioral responses as they struggle to keep their emotions in check.

Prioritizing- Planning out and picking the most important tasks of a project can be a struggle for the child with attention issues.  It can be easy to become overwhelmed and distracted by the options for importance.

Processing Speed- Processing speed refers to the ability to receive, understand, and process information in order to make a decision or response.  It also involves using working memory in a situation or experience.  Children who experience attention struggles may experience difficulty in retrieval of information (using working memory) and responding using that information (initiation). This carries over to missed information, difficulty keeping up with a conversation or lesson in school, or a fast-moving game or activity. 

Task Initiation– Children with attention difficulties can be challenged to start tasks.  It can be difficult to pull out the starting point or the most important parts of a multi-step project so that just starting is a real struggle.

Task Completion- Similar to the initiation of specific tasks, completing a task or project can be a real challenge for the child who is limited in attention.  Reading a multiple chapter book can seem overwhelming and quite difficult and just never is finished.  Cleaning a room can be a big challenge when there are visual, auditory, or other sensory-related distractions that make up the project.

Emotional regulation is a topic that can get hairy, and fast. Emotional regulation is essentially a person’s ability to manage stress. This is not a skill we are born with. For children, particularly those who have anxiety, autism, ADHD, FASD, early childhood trauma, Sensory Processing Disorder, and other special needs, it can be especially challenging. Poor emotional regulation can lead to social issues, meltdowns, problems at home and school, negative behavior, anxiety, and later in life, even addictions and difficulty with relationships.

Executive function and emotional regulation activities for kids

Further development of executive functioning and emotional regulation can be fostered by the methods described here, as well as by some basic strategies:

  • Routines
  • Modeling behavior
  • Establishing a support system
  • Creative play
  • Emotional regulation strategies
  • Opportunities for movement and motor skill development
  • Practicing wellness, healthy habits, and wellbeing
  • Family Connection
  • Mindfulness and Growth Mindset
  • Social networks and interactive play
  • Coping tools for worries, stress, or changes to routines

Emotional Regulation and Executive Function Strategies

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    Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

    How to Use Visual Reward Charts

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    Visual reward chart ideas for visual schedules

    Visual reward charts are a powerful tool in helping kids accomplish tasks like potty training, tying shoes, chores, or other tasks, and can be used in conjunction with visual schedules. The use of this hands-on visual schedule can be effective in building intrinsic motivation and even executive functioning skills. Here, we’ll take a better look at visual reward charts, how to create one, and other tips for visual schedules with an identified reward.

    Use visual reward charts in visual schedules.

    In OT, we talk about personal motivators as a therapeutic intervention. We ask our clients what they want to work on as their therapy. We take what is important to them and strive to accomplish personal goals. Visual reward charts that use personal goals as an end result is very much aligned with occupational therapy. A visual reward chart can be a great motivator when integrating a personal goal with therapeutic interventions (or working on specific tasks at home, like chores, making the bed, potty training, or other tasks).

    Visual Reward Charts

    I discovered early on in my occupational therapy journey that positive reinforcement and visual reinforcement were powerful ways to shape behaviors and to achieve goals. When I become a mom I found that rewarding targeted behaviors also worked incredibly well with my own children.

    This tool really appealed to me because I am a visual, goal-orientated person. I love to make lists and tick off the tasks that I have completed and I have the habit of putting a star or smiley face on my calendar when I make it to gym and manage to squeeze a workout into my day.

    I gain a sense of achievement when I look back over the month and see the stars dotted throughout the weeks. I am also motivated to try harder when I look back at the month and there are not that many smiley faces staring back at me!

    Reward charts can be highly motivating and very helpful in establishing specific behaviours and reinforcing necessary habits. But reward charts have also received a fair amount of criticism from those who are concerned that children will expect to receive a reward at every turn. The worry that children will become completely reward-focused has been followed up with research on extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation in the early years of development.

    While it is clear that both extrinsic and intrinsic motivators are necessary in shaping children’s willingness to learn the role of reward charts remains under review.

    Why Visual Reward Charts?

    Visual reward charts build intrinsic motivation. In my experience each child I work with is completely unique. Some children are self-driven and easy to motivate and reward charts aren’t necessary. Some children are inspired by working towards a goal and visually tracking their progress. In these cases reward charts have been an absolute hit.

    Develop executive functioning skills– Visual schedules that offer a personal goal or reward at the completion can be an effective way to shape a child’s actions in a given situation. Visual reward charts can provide a clear outline of the steps toward a goal that the child wants to accomplish. This can be a powerful tool in addressing initiation, task completion, and other executive functioning skills.

    Visual schedules improve functioning- You’ve probably seen potty schedule reward charts, chore charts, reading reward charts, or savings charts (kids save up their money in order to purchase a wanted item). All of these visual charts use the concept of a visual schedule; Complete tasks for a certain period of time and at the end a benefit is gained. The benefit is personal autonomy.

    There are many forms of reward charts that work to a functional goal:

    • Potty training chart
    • Chore charts
    • Reading reward chart
    • Math facts reward chart
    • Money savings chart
    • Tying shoes chart
    • Brushing teeth chart

    Visual prompts are helpful in teaching the steps of toothbrushing.

    Visual schedules can help with toilet training.

    Schedules can get kids organized an on time for morning routines.

    Visual charts offer a picture so children can “see” their progress– Working on a task can be abstract, especially for those with communication challenges. Visual chart that show time spent completing each therapy item, first-then charts, and visual schedules for autism or other neurodiverse individuals that need a visual breakdown of where they are in accomplishing a specific task.

    Visual reward charts offer multisensory feedback- When children accomplish a portion of a task or complete a job in an activity (such as completing each activity of the therapy session, practicing handwriting for a certain number of trials, or performing steps of a task like potty training, they can move velcro image pieces to a visual chart, place stickers on a reward chart, or mark off that they completed those trials. That physical movement, plus the visual component, plus possible auditory feedback (Good Job!) offers positive reinforcement with multisensory feedback to the child. They will be motivated to continue and feel a sense of pride for moving the needle toward their goal.

    How to Set up a Visual Reward Chart

    There are strategies that impact how successful a reward chart is when it comes to achieving personal goals.

    • The reward chart must be simple and specific. To really gain the benefit of a reward chart you need to engage the child in the process of drawing up the chart.
    • The targeted task needs to be specified and not unrealistic for the child to achieve. The performance tasks should be discussed with the child and the child needs to understand why they are important for them to complete the activity. Explaining why the behavior is important makes the chart more meaningful for the child.
    • Only target one action or behavior at a time and focus on tasks that will have a positive impact on the child and family’s well-being.
    • Once the child has a clear understanding of what is expected of them, create a visual reminder of what that task is. Take a photograph of them performing the activity or draw a picture of it.
    • For older children’s description can be written on the chart.
    • Next decide on the number of times the action needs to be performed in order for them to receive a reward. Keep the number low for younger children and children who are new to reward charts. Expecting them to complete an activity 40 or 50 times before receiving a reward is unrealistic. Chances are they will give up long before they reach their goal.
    • Then decide on the reward. Most children have an idea of something they would like to work towards and this should be mutually agreed upon at the beginning of the exercise. A few of my children have said ‘surprise me’ and the added anticipation of not knowing their reward has been motivating for them.
    • When deciding on a reward make sure that it’s realistic and in keeping with the task. No trips to Disneyland for brushing your teeth. I try and avoid rewarding with sweets so that I don’t encourage a dependence on unhealthy food. Every child is unique but if you connect with the child you will find the right thing to get them working towards completing their chart.
    • Place the chart somewhere that is visible to the child and you are ready to go.
    • Make sure that you mark the chart as soon as the targeted behaviour is performed. Children become despondent if they have done their part and they have to wait three days to their action to be acknowledged.
    • Next be involved as the child completes the chart and focus on providing positive comments about the targeted behaviour they are performing.

    When the chart is complete tell them how proud you are of their efforts and make a fuss of the fact they have worked towards achieving their goal. It is important that don’t become reliant on rewards and but focusing on the process they went through. Then, you can shift some of that extrinsic motivation to an awareness of how capable they are.

    For other ideas on how to use positive reinforcement in conjunction with reward charts have a look at this resource.

    A reward chart in action

    The reward charts that I use are usually tailor made for the child and specific behaviour we are working towards. As I have already mentioned it’s important to keep the reward chart simple and specific.

    A recent example of a chart I developed was to encourage a young four year old to get dressed in the morning. We established that he was capable of putting on his underwear, shorts and shirt but was really not interested in dressing himself each morning.

    I took a photograph of him in his clothes and we stuck it on a page. This provided a clear simple visual of the outcome we were working towards.

    We drew ten circles on the page and agreed that when he woke up and dressed himself in the morning he could color in a circle. This number of circles seemed attainable to the child. Remember that a visual chart with hundreds of blocks on it can be daunting.

    We spoke about the fact that once all the circles were colored in he would have dressed himself independently ten times. Here we were focusing more on the process that the reward chart would be encouraging.

    He loves dinosaurs and when we discussed a reward he asked if he could receive a dinosaur T-shirt when all of the circles were colored in. This seemed like a relevant reward given the task he was completing! We stuck a small picture of a dinosaur at the bottom of the page so he could remember the goal he was working towards. And that was his reward chart.

    He was very excited about his chart and managed to complete the chart in eleven days. He woke up in the mornings and apart from one morning that he was feeling quite grumpy he dressed himself independently! His mom made a big deal of how proud she was and how grown up he was that he had dressed himself so well. She made a show of sending a message to his grandparents to tell them about his accomplishment as well. And she bought him a dinosaur shirt which is a firm favorite of his. What a cool reminder of what he is capable of!

    In this case the reward chart worked well. It was presented in a positive way and the child was fully immersed in the process. Adjusting the reward chart according to the child’s age, interest and goal will go a long way towards helping them establish good habits.

    Main points to remember about visual reward charts

    • Engage the child in the process
    • Target a specific behaviour
    • Have a visual representation of the behaviour
    • Decide on an appropriate number of repetitions of the behaviour
    • Decide what the reward is
    • Place the chart in a visible spot
    • Mark the chart as soon as the behaviour is performed
    • Praise the child’s efforts
    • Provide them with the reward when the chart is completed

    Contributor to The OT Toolbox: Janet Potterton is an occupational therapist working predominantly in school-based settings and I love, love, love my job. I have two children (if you don’t count my husband!), two dogs, one cat, two guinea pigs and one fish. When I am not with my family or at work I try to spend time in nature. The beach is my happy place.

    Executive Function Activities (at the Beach!)

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    executive function activities

    Executive functioning development is partly learning through experience, and partly trial and error. But did you know you could foster powerful executive function activities through everyday experiences? Here, we’re chatting how to foster executive functioning skills through play…and even at the beach! Add these ideas to improve executive functioning skills this summer.

    Executive function activities don't need to be boring. Use these executive function activities at the beach or while on vacation.

    Heading out of town on vacation to the beach soon? Check out these cool ways to work on executive functioning while you’re there! Once you get back, get to work on these seashell souvenirs!

    Looking for engaging executive functioning activities doesn’t need a trip to the beach. Some of these ideas can be set up in your own backyard. But, if you are going on a vacation or trip this summer, why not use it to foster development of skills through executive functioning activities?

    Executive Functioning Activities: Planning and Prioritizing for a Vacation

    Trips to the beach can be a great opportunity for families to enjoy some time away! They can also be a fun way to integrate some therapy. Sensory processing, motor skills, executive functioning—the options are endless! Sensory processing and motor skills might seem more obvious than executive functioning. Let’s take a deeper look at a few popular activities at the beach and how they can use executive functioning!

    You can start working on executive functioning even before you leave for the trip! These are excellent ways to work on planning and prioritization skills. Especially important in planning for a vacation is the prioritization aspect: when to pack, when to set aside time to wash necessary clothing, making the time to plan out a trip and make reservations can all impact the success of a vacation.

    • Have your child look up the forecast
    • Work on creating a packing list
    • Schedule time to gather needed items
    • Work together to organize vacation items into available bags.

    This can be a great way to get them involved! It also challenges their ability to delay gratification, as they will need to wait until it is time to go, even if that is a few days away. Time management will also be necessary so that packing doesn’t take all day!

    Executive Function Activities: Build Sandcastles

    Kids love building sandcastles! This activity requires a lot of executive functioning skills.

    A child needs to use impulse control so that no one gets sand thrown in their eyes and to avoid the castle from being smashed prior to completion.

    The child also needs to develop a plan and organize their ideas prior to or as they build in order to get the product they would like.

    They need to recall where they put their shovels or buckets, as well as sequence multiple components as they build.

    They also need to problem solve, as the sand might not be their desired consistency! Sandcastles—a great, complex way to work on executive functioning!

    Executive Function Activities: Skipping Stones

    Remember trying to skip stones during calm days on the water? This is another great way to integrate the use of executive functioning skills.

    Stones need to meet specific criteria in order to be the best candidates. Or, this can become an area for problem solving or making predictions (foresight) to see what type of stone might skip best.

    Certainly, there is a significant amount of impulse control needed in order to ensure safety of others in the area! Work on emotional control through contests of who gets their stone the farthest, especially if a child has difficulty losing.

    Don’t have the motor planning or coordination to skip stones? No problem! Toss stones into a pool of water instead.

    Boogie boards/knee surfing Executive Function Activity

    Boogie boarding or knee surfing can be another activity to work on executive functioning in a hidden way! A child needs to plan their motor movements before they take place, as well as consider timing of waves. Safety awareness will also be important, along with persistence, since this can be a challenging activity!

    The beach is a great way to work on a variety of developmental skills, whether sensory processing, motor skills, or executive functioning! Enjoy some of these activities on your upcoming trip and enjoy the benefits of the beach!

    Impulse Control Journal the OT Toolbox

    The Impulse Control Journal…a printable resource for helping kids strategize executive functioning skill development. When saying “calm down” just isn’t enough…

    When a child is easily “triggered” and seems to melt down at any sign of loud noises or excitement…

    When you need help or a starting point to teach kids self-regulation strategies…

    When you are struggling to motivate or redirect a child without causing a meltdown…

    When you’re struggling to help kids explore their emotions, develop self-regulation and coping skills, manage and reflect on their emotions, identify their emotions, and more as they grow…

    Grab the Impulse Control Journal to build organizational strategies, planning, prioritization, habits, and mindset in kids.

    Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

    Ice Cream Working Memory Activity

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    ice cream activity for working memory skills

    This ice cream activity is also a working memory activity that combines the two themes into a hit of a therapy tool…a lot like combining ice cream and sprinkles! If building working memory skills this summer is on your to-do list, than this interactive ice cream ice cream activity is sure to be a hit! Add this to your summer OT activities and let’s build executive functioning skills!

    Ice cream activity that is a working memory activity too!

    Working Memory Activity

    Working memory is a skill that can be difficult for many children but is used and needed for so many functional tasks. Working memory is an executive functioning skill that kids need for safety completing assignments reading participating in self-care tasks interacting with others and basically every task that we complete throughout the day.

    We use working memory to complete school tasks, self-care tasks, and everyday living tasks!

    Processing short term memories and using it allows us to respond in new situations.  Working memory allows us to learn, play, and interact with the world around us. The skill allows us to self-regulate, and pull strategies that have worked (or didn’t work) for us in the past. Using working memory skills we can use past information in reading in order to read, spell, know math facts, phone numbers, faces, addresses, sight words…and so much more.  We can remember our way back home, state capitals, mnemonics, phone numbers, addresses, and friends’ names.  We can then use that information to answer questions based on what we know and apply that information in new situations. All of these abilities are working memory at work!

    Ice Cream Working Memory Activity

    That’s where this ice cream activity that address is working memory is comes in handy.

    This ice cream working memory activity is a free virtual slide deck that can be used with teletherapy or to facilitate face-to-face therapy sessions as well as home programming or school activities.

    In the ice cream working memory slide deck kids can move through the slides and work on various skills while they complete each slides instructions. The slide deck is designed to support and practice skills including:

    • working memory
    • visual attention
    • visual scanning
    • eye-hand coordination
    • direction following
    • sequencing

    This slide deck is able to be graded to expand the activities and make them easier or harder for individual students based on their needs.

    You can grade the activities by asking students to complete two or more tasks for each slide.

    For example you can read the directions on the slide and then add additional steps or additional details that they need to remember and recall. Each ice cream ice cream on the slide deck is movable so this interactive slide deck is an interesting and fun way to work on specific skills for kids. When you open this slide deck in your Google Drive you can edit it in order to move the individual ice cream cones.

    This is an engaging and motivating way for kids to work on listening sequencing motor planning and direction following. And this slide deck can be adjusted so that it addresses specifically different needs for kids you can for example move the ice cream cones to other areas on the slide that were give them to individual children based on descriptive colors or positions so that you’re working on other skills as well such as body awareness and position in space or other listening and comprehension skills.

    Working Memory Activity for handwriting

    When we write or copy material, we need to recall how to hold the pencil including verbal cues or physical cues we’ve experienced in the past. The ability to recall those cues during a similar task involved working memory. The ability to translate those cues to a muscle memory involves working memory as well.

    You can see how working memory plays a role in letter formation, number formation, line use, spacing, sizing, pencil grasp, margin use, capitalization, punctuation, and overall legibility in handwriting.

    Ice Cream Activity for Working Memory Skills

    The slide deck with an ice cream theme is very engaging and fun for kids and it can be used to work on other areas to such as handwriting and visual motor skills.

    There are several slides in the slide deck that work address on hand writing and copying skills kids can copy the different ice cream terms in and work on handwriting skills such as:

    • letter formation
    • letter size
    • line awareness
    • copying from a distant or near point

    There are also drawing activities to address visual motor skills.

    Kids can copy the simple and complex forms on the slide deck and work on details that are needed for copying work such as handwriting or lists in the classroom. When kids copy from a form they are working on visual motor skills in order to copy the form but they are also furthering their working memory skills by not missing any pieces of the drawing.

    There are so many ways to use this engaging and motivating ice cream activity to work on working number memory skills!

    Would you like to add this ice cream working memory activity to your therapy Toolbox? Enter your email address into the form below and you can access this therapy tour on your Google Drive. It’s able to be used in teletherapy sessions home programming face-to-face therapy sessions or in the home or classroom.

    FREE Ice Cream Activity for Working Memory

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      More Ice Cream Activities

      Want more movement activities? Check out these fun ideas:

      Use these Fine Motor Kits for hands-on activity kits to develop fine motor skills, strength, dexterity, and manipulation. Kids LOVE these fine motor kits for the motivating activities. Therapists love them because it’s fresh, fun ways to work on pinch, grip, manipulation skills, and much more. Try some of these themed therapy kits:

      fall fine motor kit
      Fall Fine Motor Kit
      winter fine motor kit
      Winter Fine Motor Kit
      Spring Fine Motor Kit
      Spring Fine Motor Kit
      Summer fine motor kit
      Summer Fine Motor Kit
      Pumpkin activity kit
      Pumpkin Fine Motor Kit
      Outer Space Fine Motor Kit
      Space Fine Motor Kit

      Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

      Tips to Improve Prioritization

      by
      prioritization in kids

      Prioritization is a challenge for many. Here, we are talking all about tips for prioritizing tasks and time management. Did you ever has so much to do that you didn’t know where to begin? Prioritization is a huge part of accomplishing a task, but also getting started and task completion. These executive functioning skills can stall the most organized person. For our kids and teens, these skills can be a challenge that impacts learning and functioning. With a few tools and strategies, prioritization can become second-nature.

      prioritization in kids

      Previously, we have talked about planning and prioritization. You’ll find some tips and ideas on that blog post. But the process of thinking through a multi-step task and ordering the steps to completion can be the breakdown area for some kids. That ability to identify high priority tasks and rate them compared to low priority tasks can be quite difficult.

      That ability to prioritize tasks can become so challenging in the face of a giant to-do list. How does prioritization impact functioning? How does executive functioning development impact the ability to prioritize tasks so that things can get done? Let’s explore prioritization skills and how to develop this essential skill.

      What is prioritization

      Prioritization is the process of figuring out what parts of a task or activity are the most important and what is the first thing that needs to be done and what is the most important part of the project that needs to be completed.  Prioritization is an executive functioning skill that requires several other executive functions. 

      Prioritization is the ability to identify tasks in an order that makes sense.

      When tasks are identified as high priority tasks or low priority tasks and then ranked, a job can be accomplished. For some, writing out these tasks is essential. For others, breaking those high and low priority tasks into mini-goals is also essential to Executive functioning skills development 

      Prioritization is a skill necessary for classroom activities, homework, multiple step projects, and tasks like cleaning a room or playing games.  Kids who struggle with one piece of the many parts that make up prioritization will have difficulties figuring out what is the important parts of a task in order to even get started.

      To pick out important parts, begin a project, and complete a part of a project, it’s important that the child has the following skills:

      • Initiation
      • Sustained attention
      • Task completion
      • Working memory

      In addition to these executive function skills, a child needs attention and focus in order to propritixe part of an activity.

      The key to prioritization is understanding and determining a specific task or part of the task that is most importat. 

      tips to improve prioritization

      Tips for improving prioritization

      It can be overwhelming for a child who struggles with any of the executive function skills that enable prioritization. Big jobs or even big activities like reading a chapter book can seem like a giant looming over them and getting started just doesn’t happen!

      prioritizing tasks and time management

      Prioritizing tasks impacts time management and vice versa. If a child struggles to identify which task is high priority in a project or functional task, they can struggle with task completion. For tasks that have a specific end date or deadline (such as homework or a bigger school project), this directly impacts the child’s ability to effectively manage their time. Then, the task isn’t completed.

      To help a child with the ability to complete big tasks, help them break down the steps. 

      Start by listing out all of the parts of a task.  Cleaning a room requires toys to be cleaned up from the floor before vacuuming can be done.

      It can be helpful to sit down with your child and list out all of the parts of an activity to teach and model prioritization.

      1. Use a blank piece of paper and together, write down all of the individual pieces that make up a big job or project.  Once they are all written down, don’t let that list overwhelm your child! 
      2. Then, add numbers for each job task.  Order them in order that they must be completed or in order of importance. 
      3. Once a starting point is identified, it can be easy to set small goals to complete that part of the job.
      4. Set up a time slot for the individual tasks to be completed.  It can be helpful to use a timer to help with initiation.

      Prioritization Strategies

      There are different strategies for addressing prioritization of a multi-step task, involving breaking out the individual tasks into steps. 

      Try these strategies to help children prioritize tasks:

      • Doing the easiest task job first might be helpful for the child who feels a sense of accomplishment and then gets a self-esteem boost. 
      • Other kids might do the smaller jobs first so that a bigger portion of the overall job is completed.
      • Another strategy is to do the more complex parts first when the child has more attention and focus on the project.
      • Use a graphic organizer.  Put the big job in the middle and write out completed parts in smaller circles that shoot off from the center.  Kids can color in each circle as they compete the individual smaller jobs.
      • Make lists
      • Use a calendar with color-coded sections for more complex jobs or ongoing tasks such as parts of a large homework project.
      • Use a graphic organizer to draw out tasks and sub tasks.
      • Use sticky notes to write out the small jobs of a larger task.  Kids can pull off the sticky notes as they complete each job.

      More ways to help with prioritization

      Want to really take executive function skills like planning and prioritization to the next level of success? The Impulse Control Journal is your guide to addressing the underlying skills that play into trouble with planning and prioritization. 

      The journal is an 80 page collection of worksheets and prompts to discover what’s really going on behind executive functioning skills like planning, organization, prioritization, working memory, and of course, impulse control. 

      Impulse Control Journal the OT Toolbox

      The Impulse Control Journal…a printable resource for helping kids strategize executive functioning skill development. When saying “calm down” just isn’t enough…

      When a child is easily “triggered” and seems to melt down at any sign of loud noises or excitement…

      When you need help or a starting point to teach kids self-regulation strategies…

      When you are struggling to motivate or redirect a child without causing a meltdown…

      When you’re struggling to help kids explore their emotions, develop self-regulation and coping skills, manage and reflect on their emotions, identify their emotions, and more as they grow…

      Grab the Impulse Control Journal to build organizational strategies, planning, prioritization, habits, and mindset in kids.

      This is a HUGE digital resource that you can access and print to use over and over again.

      Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

      Improve Executive Functioning Skills this Summer

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      improve executive functioning skills this summer

      Summer is coming! And, I have some fun ways to improve executive functioning skills during the summer months, while the kids are on a break from school. Working on executive functioning doesn’t need to involve boring projects, long checklists, or tedious tasks that make the kids run. These executive functioning activities can help to improve the skills that translate to better planning, prioritization, and staying on task during day-to-day functional tasks and when back in the classroom.

      How to Improve Executive Functioning Skills This Summer

      When school ends for the year, we can all have wonderful intentions of a great summer filled with enriching activities to continue our student’s growth. Sometimes, that means having plans that are hard to achieve. Sometimes, that means having absolutely no plans, but then realizing this is a bit too unstructured!

      Whatever camp you are in, a middle ground is a more attainable place to be. Check out these ways to work on executive functioning skills this summer.

      Under each activity idea below, you’ll find strategies to improve executive functioning skills. Use these tips to work on areas like:

      • Planning
      • Prioritization
      • Organization
      • Task Completion
      • Attention
      • Working memory

      Then, when children see success that they’ve made in fun and meaningful tasks, they can carry those skills over to other tasks. Be sure to point out hard work, worthy attempts, and small successes. This auditory input can help to get a point to stick later down the road.

      Get started with some fun summer games. Planning a weekly game night with the family can get this on the calendar and make game playing an event. Think about even adding themes or special fun snacks to the game night events.

      Interest Based Occupations to Work on Executive Functions

      Occupational therapists use meaningful occupations (or the tasks that occupy one’s time) as a therapeutic tool to improve independence, functioning, safety, and meaning in one’s life. The use of motivating interests play a strong role in building essential executive functioning skills, too!

      Use your child’s interests to improve executive functioning that carries over to less preferred activities (like school, homework, and even chores).

      Whatever your child’s leisure interests, there is likely an easy way to integrate executive functioning growth opportunities!

      sports to work on executive functioning skills

      Do you have a budding athlete in your family?

      • Have them set up a tournament for your family or neighborhood: create the brackets (requires planning and organizing, working memory, and initiation)
      • Winning/losing (requires emotional regulation and impulse control)
      • Create the court or field (planning and organizing, organization of materials)

      Art to work on executive functioning skills

      How about your budding artist? There are so many fun summer-themed crafts for all ages!

      • Have your child think flexibly about different materials they can use, especially if you do not have all of the items needed to make a certain masterpiece!
      • Plan projects
      • Set a completion date and write out steps with small goals that need to be achieved before the next step can be accomplished
      • Use a large project such as a mural, pottery, or painting garden planters to expand executive functioning development over weeks or months

      Reading to work on executive functioning skills

      Have a bookworm?

      • A summer book club could be fun! They could create a plan for each club meeting, including creating the invitations and agenda, working on their skills of initiation, time management, planning and organizing, and working memory.
      • Mark off on a calendar when library books need to be returned
      • Schedule time daily for reading and make it relaxing: a book picnic in the yard, taking books to the park, or reading under twinkle lights can be fun and interesting, and all need to be planned out with thinking ahead.

      Chores to Improve Executive Functioning Skills

      Summer is a great time to start integrating family chores without the pressure of starting a new routine in the middle of a school year. Activities like cooking and recycling are approachable for many ages.

      Cooking to work on executive Function

      Find a recipe that works for your family’s ages, needs, and foods. Then, to work on executive function, try some of these tips:

      If cooking is something that you would like to try with kids, be sure to pick out a recipe that is motivating to the child. Here are tons of cooking with kids recipe ideas.

      1. Break up the recipe into the planning stages, the executing stages, and the eating stages!
      2. With each step of the recipe (including preparation and clean-up), assign different family members different jobs, like making the list (while giving them 3 steps to remember and write down for a working memory challenge).
      3. Work on planning and prioritization by estimating when each step will need to start for more complex recipes (time management).
      4. Think about the items and recipe ingredients that are needed as well as steps of the process, including smaller tasks like emptying the sink or dishwasher after you finish cooking (organization of materials).

      Recycling to work on executive function

      Take the opportunity to teach your children about recycling. Here are tips to use recycling as an opportunity to build specific executive functions:

      1. Can they identify what items should go in the garbage versus the recycling (working memory)?
      2. Can they initiate and show impulse control in this task, such as taking the extra steps to the recycling bin, rather than just throwing that can in the garbage?
      3. Use a calendar to mark off the day when recycling materials should be collected and the bin taken to the curb or recycling center.
      4. Use a list to identify materials that can be recycled.

      Summer Learning and Executive Functioning Skills

      While neither a strong academic focus nor a lack of academic focus tends to be the best for any child, there are ways to integrate academics into the more relaxed environment of summer activities.

      Have some sidewalk chalk? Work on sight words (both from previous grade and the soon-to-be grade), letter formation, math problems, you name it!

      If slime is still a trend in your house, find a good recipe and have your child use their executive functioning skills to complete and reflect on the creation. What went well? What did they struggle with or would they change?

      Make a ninja or obstacle course! This takes incredible amounts of executive functioning skills: initiation, shifting, impulse control (“No, Johnny, it probably would not be best to put that plank on top of the playground as a launchpad.”), emotional control/failure tolerance, time management, working memory, planning and organizing, and organization of materials.

      Have fun this summer, stay safe, and keep the growth going!

      Impulse Control Journal the OT Toolbox

      The Impulse Control Journal…a printable resource for helping kids strategize executive functioning skill development. When saying “calm down” just isn’t enough…

      When a child is easily “triggered” and seems to melt down at any sign of loud noises or excitement…

      When you need help or a starting point to teach kids self-regulation strategies…

      When you are struggling to motivate or redirect a child without causing a meltdown…

      When you’re struggling to help kids explore their emotions, develop self-regulation and coping skills, manage and reflect on their emotions, identify their emotions, and more as they grow…

      Grab the Impulse Control Journal to build organizational strategies, planning, prioritization, habits, and mindset in kids.

      Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

      Impulse Control Worksheets

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      impulse control worksheets

      This past week, I’ve shared a few impulse control resources and these impulse control resources are just one more tool to add to the toolbox! I wanted to pull out a few of the helpful controlling impulsive behavior worksheets from The Impulse Control Journal to share with you. Use these in isolation, or grab the whole 80 page packet to use to help with areas such as habits, mindset, goal setting, and focusing on addressing impulsive behaviors that impact learning, social emotional learning, and more.

      Free impulse control worksheets to help kids and teens with impulse control skills.

      Impulse Control Worksheets

      These free impulse control worksheets are just a snippet of the materials you’ll find in the Impulse Control Journal.

      Included in this sample pack are 5 pages:

      • When is Impulse Control Hard
      • What Does Impulse Control Look Like Worksheet
      • BIG Emotions Journal Writing Page
      • Feelings Journal Writing Page
      • Coping Skills Journal Writing Page

      Each page is printable and you can use them over and over again to target impulsive behaviors and actions.

      Use the impulse control worksheets as teaching tools for kids and teens to show how responses to situations, emotions, and mindset impact impulsive actions, and how to use specific coping strategies to allow learning and functioning in situations. When is Impulse Control Hard

      Free impulse control skills worksheets for teens and kids.

      When is Impulse Control Hard Worksheet

      This page in the packet describes situations when impulse control skills can be difficult. This is important because it helps individuals realize that they are not alone, and that controlling impulsive behaviors isn’t something to be worried about, ashamed of, or that they are the only ones having trouble controlling their impulses.

      The worksheet includes a teaching portion: If you think about it, you might start to notice a pattern of times and places when using impulse control is hard.

      Users can then check off any times or places that using impulse control is difficult. This can change depending on the day, the situation, emotions, events, etc. Users can also fill in any times not on the list.

      Then, the worksheet asks about when using impulse control is easiest and when it is hardest. This is a good exercise to journal and build a toolbox of experiences using working memory. What are some strategies that DID help the user to be safe or make good choices in a a particular situation? What impacted poor choices? These are all areas that can be expanded upon.

      What Does Impulse Control Look Like Worksheet

      This worksheet helps kids understand what impulse control is and how specific situations can lead to different impulsive behaviors or actions to different people. The executive function worksheet then describes different ways to use impulse control skills in different situaitons. The worksheet allows users to check off different ways they have demonstrated impulse control skills in the past.

      This is a great way to teach, but also to build working memory skills. What has worked in the past can be pulled from to use as a tool in the future.

      Next, the worksheet asks about times that the individual has used good examples of impulse control. It also asks about specific times or events where poor impulse control was used. This worksheet can be used on a daily or weekly basis to help with working memory in building coping tools for impulse control.

      BIG Emotions Journal Writing Page

      Another worksheet in the packet is one on BIG emotions. These are the emotions that can be difficult to manage in a way that impacts actions and behaviors. The worksheet includes a quote from Fred Rogers:

      “When we talk about our emotions, they become less
      overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary.”

      -quote by Fred Rogers

      Kids can use the worksheet to journal about their biggest emotions, using the journal prompts. There is also a drawing prompt as well.

      The big emotions prompts touch on interoception as well. Interoception, or the sense of the internal state of the body, is a sense that can impact how we “feel” on the inside with big emotions. Sensations connected with emotions might include:

      • Butterflies in the stomach
      • Heart racing
      • Holding your breath
      • Breathing fast
      • Stomach churning
      • “Seeing red”
      • Tensed muscles

      Here is more information on emotions and interoception. The worksheet asks questions like this because it can help users to connect the dots between big emotions and impulsive actions.

      There are also pieces on this worksheet that include concepts of empathy awareness. It asks users to recall times when others may have experienced big emotions. It can be helpful to connect to others and see that impulsive actions are something that everyone deals with at one time or another.

      Feelings Journal Writing Page

      There is also a feelings worksheet. This worksheet is intended to help users realized that feelings are great to experience, whether they are feelings of happiness, sadness, or anger, etc. Sometimes some of our kiddos might get into a thought process where if they are in a “red zone” (relating to the Zones of Regulation program), they might get it in their head that being in a red zone is a bad thing, when it’s definitely not!

      There is a quote by Jonathan Martensson on this worksheet page:

      Feelings are much like waves, we can’t stop them from coming, but we can choose which one to surf.

      – quote by Jonathan Martensson

      The journal page goes on to include writing and drawing prompts about feelings and emotions.

      Coping Skills Journal Writing Page

      And finally, there is a coping skills worksheet. This page includes writing prompts and a drawing prompt about coping tools that can be used in situations when impulse control might be needed. This worksheet page helps users draw from past experiences and to build their working memory “bucket” of tools they can use in the future. There is also a quote from John Wooden:

      Don’t let what you can’t do stop you from doing what you
      can do.

      -quote by John Wooden

      This letter to future self is a great activity to look at what one is doing currently and to identify changes that one wants to achieve. Using those goals as incentive to be a different or changed version supports development. Then, use that future version with a goal ladder to break down the steps to achieve that version.

      You may also want to grab the Impulse Control Journal, which is where these worksheets come from. It’s a huge resource designed to develop and strengthen executive functioning skills as well as habit building, goal setting, mindset, and of course, impulse control. I love this journal because it helps kids and teens to recognize their strengths, build upon them, and realize they have the capability to do what they need to do and what they want to do.

      Impulse Control Journal the OT Toolbox

      The Impulse Control Journal…a printable resource for helping kids strategize executive functioning skill development. When saying “calm down” just isn’t enough…

      When a child is easily “triggered” and seems to melt down at any sign of loud noises or excitement…

      When you need help or a starting point to teach kids self-regulation strategies…

      When you are struggling to motivate or redirect a child without causing a meltdown…

      When you’re struggling to help kids explore their emotions, develop self-regulation and coping skills, manage and reflect on their emotions, identify their emotions, and more as they grow…

      Grab the Impulse Control Journal to build organizational strategies, planning, prioritization, habits, and mindset in kids.

      Free Impulse Control Worksheets

      So, what do you think? Would you like to add this printable worksheet set to your therapy toolbox? You’ll need to enter your email address into the form below to access this file.

      Free Impulse Control Worksheets

        We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.
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        Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

        Stop and Think

        by
        Stop and think worksheets

        This stop and think activity is just that: a resource to help kids stop and think! Getting kids to stop and think is a social emotional skill that is needed for self-regulation and emotional intelligence. I love to use these printable executive function worksheets to teach impulse control skills to children.

        Stop and think worksheets for kids to help them with working memory, impulse control and teaching strategies to stop and think before acting.

        Stop and Think Activities

        These stop and think worksheets are activity based, meaning you can print them off and use them again and again within games, functional tasks, classroom learning activities and everyday daily occupations.

        These worksheets can be used in collaboration with Zones of Regulation activities and strategies to help kids with emotional and behavioral regulation.

        Included in the Stop and Think worksheets are several pages of resources for teaching children the valuable self-regulation skill of stopping what they are doing and thinking before acting out impulsively. The free worksheet packet includes:

        • Impulse Control Red Flags
        • Stop and Think Questions for Kids
        • Stop and Think Cards
        • Tools to Stop and Think
        • Daily Reward Chart

        When to stop and think

        As we know, executive functioning skills do not fully develop until early adulthood. This is because the cognitive functioning center of the brain in the frontal lobe continues to develop into the twenties. You can probably think about specific incidents during your young adult years where impulse control, prioritization, planning, inhibition, and other executive functioning skills were not at their prime. You may have made some inappropriate or unwise decisions during those years.

        Our children are developing these skills and won’t fully be developed until much later, so it is natural to see issues with impulsivity, foresight, cognitive flexibility and other skills that are inappropriate. To help children develop these skills on an age-appropriate level, however allows kids to have the working memory for classroom lessons, the impulse control for safety and homework completion, and the self-monitoring skills to not interrupt. All of these skills and abilities take practice, modeling from adults, and repetition.

        When children are given opportunities to practice stopping and thinking before their actions, they have that chance to develop these skills effectively participate in occupations such as learning, self-care, social participation, and within safe environment.

        Some examples of red flags for when these skills can be addressed include the following:

        • Speaks out or blurts out answers
        • Interrupts others
        • Quits or gives up on tasks, assignments, games, etc.
        • Shoves in lines
        • Cuts in front of others while waiting in lines
        • Jumps up from seat
        • Asks questions about irrelevant topics
        • Shows physical impulses
        • Hyperactive behavior
        • Hypo-active behavior
        • Jumps to conclusions
        • Reacts strongly to criticisms
        • Gets sidetracked by strong emotions
        • Personal boundary issues
        • Jumps from one task to another
        • Easily distracted

        The Stop and Think worksheets includes these examples, as well as others. This page in the free packet can be a teaching list for children to see when they might apply the ability to stop and think before they act.

        Stop and Think Questions for Kids

        Also included in the worksheet set are stop and think questions. Children can use them within a situation, activity, game, or event to pause and answer the questions given the situation in which they find themselves.

        There is space to answer the questions in a blank writing area, and you can cut out the questions as a visual model for future situations. Sometimes having that visual prompt listing out the questions is a good prompt for children, teens, and young adults. These stop and think questions can even be useful for adults to address mindfulness, mindset, emotional regulation, and executive functioning.

        This letter to future self is a great activity to look at where one is and where one would like to be as a future version of themselves. Pair that future version with a goal ladder to break down the steps to achieve that version.

        Stop and Think Cards

        Next, you’ll find stop and think cards that can be cut out and used for students to write out their current situation, as they think through their emotions, behaviors, and the environment or situation. Questions include:

        • What am I supposed to be doing?
        • What am I doing?
        • I feel___because____.
        • What might happen?
        • What tools can I use to help me?

        These cards give users the chance to literally stop, and think!

        Try using the stop and think questions and cards within activities like these:

        Tools to Stop and Think

        Next, you’ll find a printable page that can help within the moment. These are the tools that kids (or teens or adults) can use after they pause and think. The list of coping tools are strategies that implement sensory input or input in the way of heavy work, oral motor input, or vestibular movement.

        These are calming and regulating sensory strategies that allow one to refocus and get to a calm and alert state of “ready to go”. There is also space to write in specific tools that work for the individual.

        Other tools to help kids stop and think include:

        Stop and Think Reward Chart

        Finally, the last page of the Stop and Think Worksheets set is a reward chart sheet. This is a visual prompt for achieving goals as a result of stopping and thinking in the moment. This reward chart may not work for every child or every individual using these stop and think strategies, but it is a tool that is available.

        Helping kids to set goals for stopping and thinking is so valuable and this reward chart page can be used in that process.

        Would you like to use this printable resource in your interventions, home programing, or classroom? You can grab this resource, print it off, and use over and over again.

        Simply enter your email address into the form below and the file will be delivered to your inbox. NOTE: Due to increases in email and internet security for those using work email addresses, the email that delivers this file may be blocked. If you typically use an email ending with .edu, .org, .uni, .gov, etc. consider using a personal email address instead for deliverability.

        Free Stop and Think Worksheets

          We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.
          Built with ConvertKit
          Impulse Control Journal the OT Toolbox

          The Impulse Control Journal…a printable resource for helping kids strategize executive functioning skill development. When saying “calm down” just isn’t enough…

          When a child is easily “triggered” and seems to melt down at any sign of loud noises or excitement…

          When you need help or a starting point to teach kids self-regulation strategies…

          When you are struggling to motivate or redirect a child without causing a meltdown…

          When you’re struggling to help kids explore their emotions, develop self-regulation and coping skills, manage and reflect on their emotions, identify their emotions, and more as they grow…

          Grab the Impulse Control Journal to build organizational strategies, planning, prioritization, habits, and mindset in kids.

          Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

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