Executive function skills are essential mental abilities that enable individuals to achieve their goals. These skills include the ability to plan, prioritize tasks, remember details, adapt strategies to meet goals, avoid distractions, delay immediate rewards for future gains, manage time effectively, regulate emotions, and more. Executive function skills are used every day to learn, work, and manage aspects of daily life.
Academic environments, in particular, require strong executive function in order to thrive. Students who are diagnosed with Executive Functioning Disorders face considerable challenges in their educational pursuits. As a student progresses through each grade or year in an educational system, executive functioning skills become even more critical. Planning how to complete nightly homework assignments presents a challenge. Completing the task of submitting an assignment to a teacher can be difficult. Working on a long-term project requires careful planning and effective time management. Preparing to study for an exam, including creating a study plan, prioritizing study material, eliminating distractions, and monitoring one's level of comprehension, all require executive function skills.
Students who are diagnosed with Executive Function Disorder are entitled to receive the educational services and support they need to thrive in an academic setting. By law, these students are eligible for disability accommodations at both the K-12 and university levels. Unfortunately, the process of securing those services and support is not that simple. Navigating the complexities of education law to obtain those accommodations from an educational institution can be a long, frustrating, uphill battle.
Students who suffer from Executive Functioning Disorders and their parents often have to fight for their rights under the law. Understanding those rights and the disability accommodations that these students are entitled to under the law is a critical first step toward securing the accommodations these students deserve.
The National Student Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm works tirelessly to help families receive disability accommodations, support, and services for their student who is diagnosed with Executive Functioning Disorders. Contact our Student Defense Team online today and tell us about your case, or call us at 888-535-3686.
What Is An Executive Functioning Disorder?
Executive Functioning Disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects a person's ability to manage time, organize tasks, and regulate their emotions. Individuals with Executive Functioning Disorder often struggle with planning, problem-solving, and initiating tasks, which can impact various aspects of their daily lives. This disorder is believed to be caused by differences in the brain's development and functioning, particularly in the areas responsible for executive functions.
Deficits in planning, organization, and time management are common characteristics of an Executive Functioning Disorder. Students who are diagnosed with an Executive Functioning Disorder may have difficulty creating and following through with plans, which leads to disorganization and forgetfulness. These students often need help with time management, underestimating the time needed to complete tasks, or becoming easily distracted, both of which can result in missed deadlines or unfinished projects. Additionally, students who suffer from an Executive Functioning Disorder may find it challenging to organize their thoughts or belongings, leading to clutter and inefficiency in their day to day environment.
How Is An Executive Functioning Disorder Diagnosed?
The standard procedure for determining if a student has an Executive Functioning Disorder typically involves an evaluation by a qualified healthcare professional, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, or neuropsychologist. The evaluation process is comprehensive and may include several different components, including but not limited to any of the following:
- Interview: A qualified healthcare provider may interview the student, with or without the student's parents, for the purpose of gathering information regarding the student's developmental history, academic performance, and social functioning. The healthcare provider may also discuss any symptoms that the student may be experiencing.
- Medical and Developmental History: The healthcare professional will review the student's medical and developmental history, including any past or current medical conditions, medications, and any family history of neurodevelopmental disorders.
- Behavioral Observation: The healthcare professional may spend time observing the student's behavior in various settings, such as at home, at school, or during testing. This observation is designed to help the healthcare professional assess the student's executive functioning skills.
- Standardized Tests: In some cases, standardized tests are administered that assess specific aspects of executive functioning, such as planning, organization, time management, and problem-solving. These tests provide the healthcare provider with an objective measure of the student's executive functioning skills as compared to their peers.
- Questionnaires: Parents, teachers, and the student may be asked to complete a questionnaire that assesses executive functioning skills and identifies any difficulties or impairments.
- Consideration of Additional Information: Information from other sources, such as school records, previous evaluations, and reports from teachers or other professionals working with the student, may also be considered as part of the evaluation.
Based on the results of the evaluation, the healthcare professional can determine whether the student meets the criteria for a diagnosis of executive functioning disorder.
Students With Executive Functioning Disorders Are Entitled to Equal Access to Education
The academic environment can be daunting for students with Executive Functioning Disorder, as these students often require specialized support to help them succeed. Students with Executive Functioning Disorder are protected under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which protects students from discrimination based on their disability and ensures that these students have equal access to education.
Students With An Executive Functioning Disorder Are Entitled To A Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), students who suffer from an Executive Functioning Disorder are entitled to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). Schools must provide eligible students with disabilities with an education that is tailored to their individual needs at no cost to the parents. To meet those needs, schools are required to provide an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for students who are diagnosed with an Executive Functioning Disorder.
Students With An Executive Functioning Disorder May Be Entitled To An Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, students with an Executive Functioning Disorder may be eligible for an Individualized Education Program (IEP). An IEP is a detailed document that outlines the different components needed to address the student's distinct learning needs.
The IEP is developed by a team that includes the student's parents, teachers, and other school personnel. The team considers the student's strengths and weaknesses, the results of any evaluations or assessments, and input from the student and their parents when developing the IEP. The IEP must be reviewed and updated at least once a year to ensure that it continues to meet the student's needs. Parents have the right to participate in the development of the IEP and to request changes to the IEP if they believe it is not meeting their child's needs.
An Individualized Education Program typically includes the following elements:
- Current Academic/Functional Performance: This is a detailed look at the student's current skills, strengths, weaknesses, and abilities. This performance analysis serves as the starting point for tracking the student's progress and identifying the student's needs.
- Goals: Specific, achievable objectives that the student is expected to achieve within a year.
- Special Education and Related Services: Detailed outline of the special education services the student will receive. It includes any changes to the general education curriculum and specifies any related services that are required, such as speech therapy or occupational therapy.
- Participation with Peers: This section addresses the extent to which the student will participate in regular, general education classes and activities with nondisabled peers.
- Dates/Locations of Support Services: This states when special education services will begin, where the services will be provided, how often they will be offered, and their duration.
- Progress Measurement: This addresses how the student's progress toward the specified goals will be assessed and when the student's parents will receive updates on their child's progress.
Students with an Executive Functioning Disorder who do not qualify for an Individualized Education Program under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act but who still require accommodations to access education may be eligible for a Section 504 plan.
Accommodations for Executive Functioning Disorder
Students with Executive Functioning Disorder may struggle to complete assignments, study effectively, and manage their time during exams. It is important that students with Executive Functioning Disorder receive appropriate support and accommodations to help them manage their symptoms.
Some of the accommodations that may be offered for Executive Functioning Disorder may include—but not be limited to—any of the following:
- Extended time for assignments and tests: Students may be given additional time to complete assignments or tests to account for difficulties in planning and organization.
- Use of organizers or planners: Providing students with tools such as planners or digital organizers to help them keep track of assignments and deadlines.
- Breaking tasks into smaller steps: Teachers can help students break down larger tasks into smaller, more manageable steps to aid in organization and planning.
- Visual aids: Visual aids such as charts, diagrams, or color coding can help students with EFD better understand and organize information.
- Preferential seating: Placing students with Executive Functioning Disorder in a location in the classroom that minimizes distractions can help them focus and stay organized.
- Verbal or written instructions: Providing instructions in multiple formats can help students with Executive Functioning Disorders better understand and remember tasks.
- Extra support from teachers or aides: Some students with Executive Functioning Disorder may benefit from additional support from teachers or aides to help them stay organized and on track.
Specific accommodations offered to students with Executive Functioning Disorder may vary depending on the individual needs of the student and the resources available at the educational institution.
Students Have Rights: Steps To Take If A School Will Not Accommodate A Student's Executive Functioning Disorder Disability
If you have a child who has been diagnosed with an Executive Functioning Disorder and their school denies a disability accommodation, there are steps you can take. First, the school must submit a written explanation of their decision to deny services to you. The school is also required to provide information regarding the process for challenging that decision. Review the school's reasons for denial and if these are not sufficient to you, ask the school for an in-depth explanation.
Parents who disagree with their school's evaluation may pursue an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE). An IEE is conducted by an individual who is not employed by the school. This evaluation is usually conducted at the parent's expense, although parents may request that the school cover the cost of the evaluation.
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, every state is required to have a Parent Training and Information Center that is designed to provide parents with the information they need to work with schools that provide special education services.
The Experienced National Education Law Team At The Lento Law Firm Helps Students With Executive Functioning Disorder Receive Accommodations They Are Entitled To Under The Law
When your child is suffering from an Executive Functioning Disorder and is struggling to thrive within the rigors of an academic environment, you may feel that the educational system is working against you. The mere process of trying to figure out the steps to take to get your child support can be daunting. And your efforts to secure disability accommodations may be denied. But you are not alone.
The National Student Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm works tirelessly to help families obtain the necessary disability accommodations and support for their student who is diagnosed with Executive Functioning Disorders. Our legal team has extensive experience assisting students in schools across the country who are facing obstacles to receiving access to the education they are entitled to under the law. Don't spend another day trying to navigate this cumbersome system on your own. Contact the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team online today and tell us about your disability accommodation case, or call us directly at 888-535-3686.
