The Interventionist: DANYEL

7 simple, classroom-ready strategies to help boost executive function (EF) skills

🧠 1. Use Visual Schedules & Checklists

• What it supports: Planning, sequencing, and task initiation

• How to use: Display a daily visual schedule or step-by-step checklist for assignments.

• Why it works: Helps students see what’s next, reducing anxiety and forgetfulness.

⏳ 2. Break Tasks into Manageable Chunks

• What it supports: Task initiation and sustained attention

• How to use: Divide large projects into smaller steps with short deadlines.

• Why it works: Smaller goals make tasks feel achievable and build a sense of progress.

🔔 3. Provide Time Cues and Visual Timers

• What it supports: Time management and pacing

• How to use: Use tools like the Time Timer or color-coded countdowns for transitions.

• Why it works: Makes abstract time concrete, helping students stay on track.

💬 4. Model “Think-Aloud” Problem Solving

• What it supports: Cognitive flexibility and planning

• How to use: Verbally walk through your thinking process when solving a problem.

• Why it works: Teaches students how to plan, predict, and monitor their own thinking.

🪑 5. Create a “Working Memory Wall”

• What it supports: Working memory and recall

• How to use: Post key reminders, vocabulary, or formulas visually in a designated area.

• Why it works: Reduces memory load and helps students reference important information independently.

🎯 6. Teach Goal-Setting with Visual Cues

• What it supports: Organization and self-monitoring

• How to use: Have students set one small daily or weekly goal and track progress on sticky notes or a chart.

• Why it works: Builds motivation and accountability through visible progress tracking.

🤝 7. Embed Movement & Mindful Breaks

• What it supports: Self-regulation and focus

• How to use: Incorporate brief brain breaks, stretching, or breathing exercises between tasks.

• Why it works: Regulates energy, restores focus, and improves executive control.

Print the EF Classroom Checklist for Teachers, below.

🧠 Executive Function Classroom Checklist for Teachers

🗓️ 1. Planning & Organization

✅ ☐ I post a visual daily schedule or agenda in the classroom.
✅ ☐ I break large assignments into smaller, clearly defined steps.
✅ ☐ I provide graphic organizers or templates for writing and projects.
✅ ☐ I model how to use planners or digital calendars to track due dates.
✅ ☐ I allow students to use color-coding systems (folders, labels, or tabs) to organize materials.

⏳ 2. Time Management

✅ ☐ I use visual timers or countdowns during activities and transitions.
✅ ☐ I remind students of time left (“5 minutes to finish,” “2 minutes to clean up”).
✅ ☐ I provide check-in points for long assignments (e.g., halfway progress).
✅ ☐ I display daily/weekly goals visibly to keep students oriented.

🧩 3. Working Memory Supports

✅ ☐ I display key vocabulary, formulas, or directions on the board at all times.
✅ ☐ I give written and verbal directions for important tasks.
✅ ☐ I teach students how to use checklists or “repeat back” strategies.
✅ ☐ I use anchor charts or a “memory wall” for frequently used information.

💬 4. Cognitive Flexibility (Thinking Shifts)

✅ ☐ I model “thinking aloud” when solving new or unexpected problems.
✅ ☐ I use transition signals (verbal or visual) to prepare for change.
✅ ☐ I provide choices or alternatives to promote flexible thinking.
✅ ☐ I validate emotions when plans change (“It’s okay to feel frustrated—let’s plan a new way”).

🧍‍♀️ 5. Self-Regulation & Impulse Control

✅ ☐ I schedule movement or sensory breaks during long learning blocks.
✅ ☐ I provide fidget tools or calm corners for self-regulation.
✅ ☐ I teach and model mindfulness or breathing strategies.
✅ ☐ I use neutral, calm tone when redirecting behavior.
✅ ☐ I reinforce effort and progress, not just completion.

🎯 6. Goal Setting & Self-Monitoring

✅ ☐ I help students set small, measurable goals each week.
✅ ☐ I use visual progress trackers (graphs, charts, stickers).
✅ ☐ I schedule reflection time for students to review what worked and what didn’t.
✅ ☐ I praise self-correction and persistence to build metacognitive awareness.

🪄 7. Environment & Instructional Design

✅ ☐ My classroom layout minimizes distractions and clutter.
✅ ☐ I use consistent routines and transitions.
✅ ☐ I provide preferential seating for attention and engagement.
✅ ☐ I offer multiple ways to demonstrate learning (oral, written, visual).

💡 Reflection Prompt for Teachers

“Which executive function skill do my students struggle with most — and what one small change can I make this week to support it?”

DBT Skills for Neurodivergent Learners

1. Mindfulness

Mindfulness involves being present in the moment and fully engaging with what you're doing. For neurodivergent learners, mindfulness can help increase focus and reduce anxiety. Techniques include:

• Breathing Exercises: Simple deep-breathing techniques to help center and calm the mind.

• Body Scans: Noticing physical sensations from head to toe to ground oneself in the present.

• Sensory Awareness: Using sensory activities (e.g., noticing different textures, smells, or sounds) to enhance mindfulness.

2. Emotion Regulation

Emotion Regulation skills help individuals understand and manage their emotions. For neurodivergent learners, these skills can reduce emotional overwhelm and improve daily functioning. Techniques include:

• Identifying Emotions: Teaching students to recognize and name their emotions accurately.

• Opposite Action: Encouraging behaviors that are opposite to the emotion-driven impulse (e.g., doing something calming when feeling anxious).

• Building Positive Experiences: Creating opportunities for positive, engaging activities that can uplift mood and reduce negative emotions.

3. Distress Tolerance

Distress Tolerance skills are about surviving crises and accepting reality as it is, even when it's painful. These skills can help neurodivergent learners cope with stress and prevent meltdowns. Techniques include:

• STOP Skill: Stop, Take a step back, Observe, and Proceed mindfully.

• TIP Skills: Temperature (cooling down with cold water), Intense Exercise, Paced Breathing, and Progressive Muscle Relaxation to manage acute distress.

• Distraction: Using activities, mental exercises, or focusing on other things to distract from distressing situations.

4. Interpersonal Effectiveness

Interpersonal Effectiveness skills help individuals communicate their needs and establish healthy relationships. For neurodivergent learners, these skills can enhance social interactions and reduce conflicts. Techniques include:

• DEAR MAN: Describe, Express, Assert, Reinforce, stay Mindful, Appear confident, and Negotiate. This helps in making requests and saying no effectively.

• GIVE: Be Gentle, act Interested, Validate, and use an Easy manner to maintain relationships.

• FAST: Be Fair, no Apologies (unnecessary ones), Stick to your values, and be Truthful to maintain self-respect in interactions.

5. Self-Soothing

Self-Soothing techniques involve using the senses to comfort oneself in times of distress. For neurodivergent learners, these techniques can help manage sensory overload and emotional discomfort. Techniques include:

• Vision: Looking at calming images or environments.

• Hearing: Listening to soothing music or nature sounds.

• Smell: Using calming scents like lavender.

• Taste: Eating comforting foods or snacks.

• Touch: Using soft textures or weighted blankets.

6. Validation

Validation involves acknowledging and accepting one's feelings and experiences. Teaching neurodivergent learners to validate themselves and others can enhance self-esteem and improve relationships. Techniques include:

• Active Listening: Fully listening to others without judgment.

• Reflecting Emotions: Mirroring back the emotions you see in others.

• Normalizing: Acknowledging that their feelings are understandable given the situation.

Conclusion

DBT skills adapted for neurodivergent learners provide practical tools for managing emotions, handling stress, and improving social interactions. By incorporating these skills into their daily routines, neurodivergent individuals can enhance their well-being and lead more balanced, fulfilling lives.

10 Interventions for Students who Struggle to Remember Math Facts:

1. Flashcards: Use flashcards for daily practice of math facts. Regular review can help reinforce memory through repetition.

2. Mnemonic Devices: Teach students mnemonic devices or rhymes to help them remember math facts. For example, "8 and 8 fell on the floor, when they got up they were 64."

3. Math Fact Games: Incorporate fun and interactive math games that focus on math facts, such as math bingo, multiplication war, or online math games.

4. Repeated Practice: Provide opportunities for repeated practice using worksheets, timed drills, and computer-based programs that offer immediate feedback.

5. Visualization Techniques: Encourage students to visualize math facts using arrays, number lines, or drawing groups of objects to represent multiplication or division problems.

6. Peer Tutoring: Pair students with peers for tutoring sessions where they can practice math facts together, allowing for collaborative learning and reinforcement.

7. Chunking: Break down large sets of math facts into smaller, more manageable chunks. Focus on mastering one chunk before moving on to the next.

8. Real-Life Applications: Incorporate math facts into real-life scenarios, such as cooking, shopping, or sports, to make them more relevant and easier to remember.

9. Interactive Software: Use educational software and apps designed to reinforce math facts through interactive activities and adaptive learning paths.

10. Consistent Review: Schedule regular and consistent review sessions to reinforce previously learned math facts, ensuring that they remain fresh in the student's memory.

These interventions aim to make learning and recalling math facts more engaging and effective, helping students build a solid foundation in their math skills.

Intense support:

Have the student use a calculator to reinforce learning of the math facts. Have the student solve several problems each day using a calculator.

Have the student use a use a number line attached to his/her desk to add and subtract.

Use daily drill activities to help the student memorize math facts (with the flash cards etc...)

10 interventions for Neurodivergent Learners who struggle to generalize knowledge from one situation to another.

1. Teach Across Settings: Explicitly teach skills in multiple settings and contexts to help students understand how to apply their knowledge in different environments.

2. Use Concrete Examples: Provide numerous concrete examples and non-examples to help students see how a concept or skill can be applied in various situations.

3. Cue and Prompt Transfer: Use verbal or visual cues and prompts to remind students to apply previously learned skills or knowledge in new situations.

4. Role-Playing: Engage students in role-playing activities to practice applying skills in different scenarios. This can help them see the relevance and application of their knowledge.

5. Generalization Training: Plan for and systematically train for generalization by gradually changing aspects of the learning environment and materials.

6. Visual Supports: Utilize visual supports like charts, diagrams, and graphic organizers that can help students remember how to apply knowledge across contexts.

7. Teach Self-Monitoring: Teach students self-monitoring techniques so they can recognize when and how to apply skills in new situations independently.

8. Consistency and Routine: Establish consistent routines that incorporate the target skills in various contexts, helping students understand the broader application.

9. Collaboration and Communication: Work closely with all stakeholders, including other teachers, parents, and specialists, to ensure consistent reinforcement and practice of skills across different environments.

10. Task Analysis: Break down tasks into smaller, manageable steps and practice each step in a variety of settings to facilitate generalization.

These interventions can help neurodivergent learners bridge the gap between learning in one context and applying that knowledge in different situations, promoting better generalization of skills.

More intense strategies:

Provide a concrete representation for unfamiliar objects, pictures, and/or video. Make sure the students understands that object, people, idea, actions, etc.

Ask the student to help in making lists of some categories which fits inside larger categories ( flowers, trees, and bushes all are in a plant category).

I CAN HELP!

I’m Danyel. I’ve been teaching and working with kids and parents for over 20 years. I’m a certified Educator in Advance, Special and General Education and a mom of two. While I may know what I am doing now, I never forgot those feelings when I began. I was clueless about how to help children and families. When I learned ways to help, I knew it would change everything for other parents.

Fortunately, you don’t have to go through that same frustration. I’m here and can help.

Together we will discuss your concerns and daily struggles.

I’m here to make your day to day life a little easier and with much understanding.

I’m here to provide parenting support and guidance to help you when you don’t know what to do next.

Being a parent is wonderful but it doesn’t mean you always know what to do.

Are you looking for some extra support and guidance?

1. Do you have questions about your child’s development?

2. Do you need help creating a simple method for organizing your child's file (IEP).

3. Let's devise a master plan- for your child's special education program.

4. Learn how to use test scores to monitor your child's progress.

5. Obtain strategies to improve meeting outcomes.

What is parent coaching?

Parent coaching is a one-on-one relationship to help you with parenting concerns and questions.

Some parents seek parenting coaching for a specific reasons:

• Learning about the disability

• Researching, locating and accessing effective treatments and resources

• Coping with the emotional and physical demands of caring for an individual with a disability

• Getting to the innumerable appointments with medical providers, therapists, advocates,  and school personnel

• Advocating for appropriate school interventions, accommodations, and/or placements

• Paying for the many treatments and interventions not covered by health insurance or the school system

STRESS

The burden of stress is great for parents of those with special needs.  A recent study found that mothers of adolescents and adults with autism had levels of stress hormones comparable to soldiers in combat.

Finances are often a source of stress.   Frequently one parent, usually the mother, sacrifices her career to attend to the child’s needs with a resulting loss of income for the family.

The emotional impact is enormous and may include:

• Fear and worry about:

  • The  child’s pain and suffering

  • The child’s future

  • The question of whether you are doing enough or doing the right things to help the child

• Guilt over:

  • The limits of your ability to protect the child

  • The loss of attention toward other children, your spouse and aging parents

  • Your jealousy and resentment of those with “normal” children

• Feelings of isolation because you:

  • Miss out on many family-oriented activities because  your child’s disability prevents her/him from successfully participating

  • Encounter criticism and judgment of your parenting from others who don’t understand your child’s disability

  • Feel like an outsider around parents of typically developing children

• Grief over:

  • The loss of hopes and dreams you had for the child

  • Not having the parenting experience you’d imagined

  • Recurrent reminders of what your child misses out on leading to chronic sorrow (reference: BU )

What are my qualifications?

I have a Master’s in teaching and certified in Advance, Special and General Education, and a research identity in Special Education Law. My current position is a full-time Interventionist for a large school system.

I have worked closely with families and children in classroom and home settings. I enjoy parent and community training. Using parental training modules such as Love and Logic, Red Flags, Challenging Behaviors, and I Can Do It, Too just to name a few. Working together one-on-one to focus exclusively on helping parents with questions, concerns, and developmental issues.