Rachel-DayanimA graduate of Columbia University Teachers College with a degree in Special Education and a coaching certificate from JST Coaching, Rachel Dayanim has worked extensively to help children, adolescents and young adults with learning challenges find success. With over twenty years of experience in various school environments, consulting for organizations and coaching with Beyond Booksmart, Rachel is the founder New Day Coaching and currently serves as the Director of Support Services for an independent high school in Brookline, Massachusetts. Feel free to contact Rachel directly to set up a free initial consultation to determine how she might help you reach your full potential.

“You cannot teach a man or woman anything; you can only help them to find it within themselves.” – Galileo

 

What are Executive Functions?

The Executive Functions are a set of processes associated with successfully managing oneself and one’s resources in order to achieve a goal. It is an umbrella term for the neurologically-based skills involving mental control and self-regulation.

These skills include:

  1. Activation- organizing, prioritizing and activating to work
  2. Focus- focusing, sustaining and shifting attention to tasks
  3. Effort- regulation, alertness, sustaining effort and processing speed
  4. Emotion- managing frustration and modulating emotions
  5. Memory- utilizing working memory and accessing recall
  6. Action- monitoring and self-regulating action

(Based on the model created by Thomas E. Brown, PhD)

Research has shown that students who struggle academically are generally as intelligent as their peers. However, they are hampered from performing at full capacity because they are missing certain tools and strategies needed to succeed.  Often, students are taught phonics as a tool for successful reading and may drill math facts as the foundation for more sophisticated computational mathematics that follow. Unfortunately, the skills and behaviors needed to successfully function in school, in the workplace and in life are often overlooked. It is generally assumed that students will acquire these skills along the way, but for many children and adults, the path is steep and difficult to navigate independently.