WLA/SPED*NET: Building Skills for Independence - Executive Functions Your Teen Needs Before Graduation

Executive function is the thing that decides whether a teenager who can do the work actually gets it done.

This workshop is for parents of high school students, with and without ADHD and learning disabilities, and the library's framing is that executive function skills are one of the biggest predictors of how the years after high school go, at college, at work and in ordinary daily life. Those are the mental management skills behind staying organized, managing time and meeting deadlines; planning, prioritizing and finishing things; regulating emotion and handling stress; problem solving when a plan falls apart; keeping relationships in good repair; and becoming steadily more independent.

The library's point is that these difficulties are common among teenagers generally, not only among students with a diagnosis, and that the skills are teachable with the right strategies and support. Mary Murphy, PhD, a clinical psychologist and college professor, leads the session.

Good to know. Free, and registration is required. Register online or call 203-762-6334.

This session was briefly off the library's calendar in late October while it was being rewritten, and it has since been reposted under a new title. The date and time have not changed.