Back-to-School Isn't Just About School Supplies: Why Executive Functioning Matters More Than Ever
- Lauren Pammer
- 34 minutes ago
- 12 min read
Written By: Dr. Lauren Pammer, DrOT, MOT, OTR/L
Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through one of these links, Bee You Therapy may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
As August moves full steam ahead, families everywhere are checking off their back-to-school lists:
✔ New backpack.
✔ Fresh notebooks.
✔ Pencils, folders, and highlighters.
✔ The perfect first-day outfit.
But while we're busy making sure our kids have everything they need for the first day of school, there's one essential "school supply" that can't be purchased in a store:
Executive functioning skills.
Executive functioning is essentially the brain's management system. It helps us plan, organize, start tasks, manage emotions, remember important information, estimate time, shift between activities, and adapt when things don't go according to plan.
And as students get older, these skills become increasingly important.
At Bee You Therapy, we often remind families that school success isn't simply about intelligence.
A student can be incredibly bright and capable and still struggle tremendously with school because they haven't yet developed the executive functioning skills needed to manage everything being asked of them.
The good news?
Executive functioning skills can be taught, practiced, supported, and strengthened over time.
And the beginning of a new school year is one of the best times to start.
What Is Executive Functioning?
Think of executive functioning as the brain's air traffic control system.
An air traffic controller has to keep track of multiple airplanes at once. Which one needs to land? Which one needs to wait? Which one needs to change course? What happens when something unexpected occurs?
Our brains do something very similar throughout the day.
Executive functioning skills include:
Planning ahead
Organization
Time management
Working memory
Task initiation
Flexible thinking
Emotional regulation
Self-monitoring
Sustained attention
Prioritizing tasks
Every school day requires students to use these skills hundreds of times... often without anyone realizing just how much executive functioning is involved.
Think about something as seemingly simple as:
"Turn in your homework."
To do that successfully, a student may need to remember there was homework, write down the assignment, bring home the correct materials, start the work, complete it, put it into the correct folder, remember to bring the folder back to school, and then actually take the homework out of the backpack and turn it in.
That's a lot more than "remember your homework."
Why Executive Functioning Matters More Each School Year
As children grow, expectations increase dramatically.
In kindergarten, a teacher might remind students where to put their backpacks, when to get their folders, and when to line up.
By middle school, students may suddenly be expected to:
Manage multiple teachers
Remember assignments from different classes
Organize several folders or binders
Navigate changing schedules
Complete long-term projects
Keep track of homework
Manage extracurricular activities
Remember deadlines
Bring materials between home and school
By high school, even more responsibility shifts to the student.
And then comes college or adulthood, when many of the external supports they've relied on for years suddenly disappear.
The workload isn't always more challenging simply because the academic material gets harder.
The executive functioning demands get harder, too.
That's an important distinction.
It's Not Laziness
One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding executive functioning challenges is that students simply aren't trying hard enough.
Parents may hear:
"They just need to apply themselves."
"They're so smart. They're just lazy."
"If they cared more, they'd remember."
But many students with executive functioning challenges care deeply.
In fact, some are working incredibly hard just to keep up.
Imagine knowing exactly what you're supposed to do but feeling like you can't figure out where to begin.
Or constantly forgetting things even though you genuinely tried to remember them.
Or looking at an assignment that everyone else considers "easy" and feeling completely overwhelmed because your brain sees 15 different steps and doesn't know which one comes first.
A student may know what needs to be done while struggling with the executive functioning necessary to figure out how to make it happen.
That isn't laziness.
It's a skill gap.
And skills can be taught.
Signs Your Child May Be Struggling With Executive Functioning
Executive functioning challenges don't always look obvious.
Sometimes they look like disorganization.
Sometimes they look like procrastination.
Sometimes they look like emotional outbursts.
Sometimes they look like a teenager who simply "doesn't care."
Here are a few things families may notice.
They constantly lose things.
Homework.
Water bottles.
Chromebooks.
Folders.
Shoes.
Sports equipment.
The permission slip you handed them 30 seconds ago.
It isn't necessarily carelessness.
The organization system may simply not be automatic yet.
Homework takes hours.
The actual assignment might require 20 minutes.
Getting started takes 45.
Then there's a snack.
Then a pencil needs sharpening.
Then something needs to be checked.
Then there's frustration.
Then suddenly everyone is exhausted.
For some students, task initiation is significantly harder than the actual task.
They forget instructions almost immediately.
You say:
"Put away your shoes, pack your backpack, and feed the dog."
Five minutes later…
Nothing happened.
Or perhaps the shoes were put away, but everything else disappeared from memory.
That may involve working memory, not intelligence or motivation.
They constantly underestimate time.
"I'll get ready in five minutes."
"That project will only take 10 minutes."
"I have plenty of time."
And suddenly everyone is late.
Some people have difficulty accurately sensing and estimating the passage of time, sometimes informally referred to as time blindness.
Big emotions seem to appear "out of nowhere."
School requires an enormous amount of self-control.
Students are listening.
Sitting.
Transitioning.
Problem-solving.
Ignoring distractions.
Remembering expectations.
Navigating friendships.
Managing frustration.
Following directions.
By the time some students arrive home, their regulatory resources are depleted.
That's why families may see a child who "held it together all day" fall apart the second they walk through the front door.
The behavior may look disproportionate to what just happened.
But the trigger isn't always the whole story.
Sometimes it's exhaustion.
Back-to-School Is the Perfect Time to Build Executive Functioning Skills
The beginning of a school year naturally brings new routines.
New wake-up times.
New teachers.
New schedules.
New activities.
New expectations.
Rather than waiting until October when everyone is overwhelmed, August is a great time to begin creating systems.
Here are some places to start.
Create Predictable Routines
Brains love predictability.
Morning routines.
After-school routines.
Homework routines.
Bedtime routines.
The more predictable a routine becomes, the less mental energy a student has to spend figuring out what happens next.
Instead of repeatedly saying:
"Go get ready for school!"
Break "getting ready" into something concrete:
Get dressed.
Eat breakfast.
Brush teeth.
Fill water bottle.
Pack lunch.
Check backpack.
Shoes on.
Leave.
For some students, putting that routine on paper or a whiteboard can be transformative.
We're taking information that was previously held inside the brain and making it visible.
Practice Before the First Day
Students rehearse sports.
They rehearse music.
They rehearse theater performances.
Why not rehearse school?
Before school begins, practice:
Packing the backpack
Walking through the morning routine
Setting alarms
Organizing school supplies
Using a planner
Opening the locker, if possible
Logging into school technology
Knowing where important items belong
Practicing the route to school or the bus stop
For older students, you might even practice what happens after school.
Where does the backpack go?
Where do papers go?
When does homework happen?
Where does the Chromebook charge?
What needs to be prepared for tomorrow?
Practice reduces the number of new things the brain has to manage all at once.
Make Organization Visible
Executive functioning happens inside the brain.
For many students, that means it helps to put some of that information outside the brain.
This might include:
Color-coded folders
Homework checklists
Whiteboards
Family calendars
Sticky notes
Visual timers
Labels
Posted routines
Backpack checklists
Phone reminders for older students
The goal isn't to make your child perfectly organized.
The goal is to reduce the amount of information they're expected to independently hold in their working memory.
And sometimes a simple tool can help.
We've included some of our favorite executive functioning tools for students and families later in this article.
Focus on Progress, Not Perfection
Executive functioning develops gradually.
Think about learning to ride a bike.
We don't put a child on a bicycle for the first time and say:
"You know what to do. Why aren't you doing it?"
We teach.
We practice.
We support.
We make adjustments.
Eventually, we back away.
Executive functioning deserves the same approach.
There will be forgotten folders.
There will be late assignments.
There will be mornings when the water bottle is sitting beautifully on the kitchen counter while your child is already at school.
Instead of:
"Why did you forget AGAIN?"
Try:
"What could we change to help you remember tomorrow?"
That question shifts the conversation from blame to problem-solving.
And problem-solving is itself an executive functioning skill.
Teach Skills Instead of Assuming Them
As adults, we sometimes assume students "should already know" how to do certain things.
But organization isn't instinctive for everyone.
Neither is planning.
Neither is time management.
Students may need direct instruction on how to:
Break an assignment into smaller steps
Estimate how long something will take
Organize materials
Prioritize tasks
Start difficult work
Use a calendar
Prepare for tomorrow
Manage frustration
Ask for help
Recover when a plan doesn't work
These aren't character traits.
They're teachable skills.
Executive Functioning Isn't Just for Elementary School
One of the biggest misconceptions about executive functioning is that it's primarily a childhood or school issue.
It isn't.
In many ways, executive functioning becomes more important as we get older.
Middle school students juggle multiple teachers.
High school students manage academics, activities, friendships, jobs, and increasing independence.
College students suddenly lose many of the structures adults created for them.
And young adults must eventually manage things like:
Jobs
Appointments
Bills
Laundry
Grocery shopping
Cooking
Medication routines
Time management
Transportation
Household responsibilities
Social commitments
Executive functioning doesn't stop mattering after graduation.
Life simply asks more of it.
That's why our goal shouldn't be to create a student who never forgets homework.
Our goal is to help develop an adult who can recognize a problem, create a strategy, adjust that strategy when necessary, and advocate for what they need.
How Occupational Therapy Helps With Executive Functioning
When many people hear "occupational therapy," they think of handwriting, fine motor skills, or rehabilitation after an injury.
But the word occupation in occupational therapy refers to the meaningful activities people need and want to participate in throughout their lives.
For a student, those occupations include much more than handwriting.
They include:
Learning.
Getting ready in the morning.
Completing homework.
Managing materials.
Participating in activities.
Navigating friendships.
Regulating emotions.
Becoming more independent.
At Bee You Therapy, occupational therapy may address executive functioning by helping clients:
Develop organization systems that fit their lifestyle
Improve planning and prioritization
Strengthen attention and task initiation
Learn strategies for emotional regulation
Build routines that support independence
Practice time management
Increase self-awareness
Develop problem-solving strategies
Break large tasks into manageable steps
Identify accommodations and supports that work for them
Rather than simply telling a student to "be more organized," occupational therapy asks:
Why is organization difficult for this person?
Then we work from there.
Because every brain works differently.
The strategy that works beautifully for one student may be completely useless for another.
Our job isn't to force everyone into the same system.
It's to help people discover systems that work for their brain and their life.
What Parents Can Do Today
You don't need to completely overhaul your household before school starts.
In fact, please don't.
Start small.
Pick one problem that's creating the most stress.
Maybe it's getting out the door in the morning.
Maybe it's homework.
Maybe it's remembering everything that needs to go into the backpack.
Maybe it's transitioning away from electronics.
Then choose one strategy to try.
That could be:
Creating a morning checklist
Setting clothes out the night before
Using a visual timer for homework
Practicing packing the backpack together
Creating a designated backpack location
Building movement breaks into homework
Setting alarms
Using a family calendar
Creating a charging station for devices
Try it.
See what happens.
Adjust.
Small, consistent changes often create the biggest long-term results.
Executive Functioning Tools We Love for Back-to-School
There are a lot of products marketed toward children with ADHD and executive functioning challenges.
You do not need all of them.
And buying an organizational tool doesn't automatically teach organization.
A planner can't teach planning if a student doesn't understand how to use it.
A timer won't magically create time-management skills.
And an elaborate organization system that your teenager refuses to use isn't much of a system.
However, the right tool paired with instruction and practice can make executive functioning demands much easier to manage.
Here are some types of tools we often find helpful.
Visual Timers
For students who struggle to understand how much time has passed or how much time remains, a visual representation of time can be easier to process than repeatedly hearing:
"Five more minutes!"
Visual timers can be helpful for:
Morning routines
Homework
Getting dressed
Screen time
Breaks
Leaving the house
Transitions between activities
Dry-Erase Calendars & Planning Boards
For many people with executive functioning challenges:
Out of sight = out of mind.
A large calendar in a visible location can help make upcoming events concrete.
Use it for:
Tests
Projects
Sports
Appointments
Activities
Work schedules
Family events
Older students can gradually take more responsibility for adding their own commitments.
Checklists & Visual Routine Boards
"Get ready for school" sounds like one direction.
It isn't.
It's a series of individual tasks.
A visual checklist takes those steps out of working memory and puts them somewhere the student can reference independently.
For example:
☐ Backpack☐ Lunch☐ Water bottle☐ Chromebook☐ Homework☐ Shoes☐ GO!
Color-Coded Organization Supplies
Sometimes the simplest systems are the most effective.
For example:
Math = blue.
Blue folder.Blue notebook.Blue binder.
Now instead of remembering several individual pieces of information, the student has one visual category.
Planners for Teens & Young Adults
The best planner isn't necessarily the prettiest one.
It's the one the person will actually use.
Some students love detailed planners.
Others become overwhelmed by them.
Look for a system that allows the individual to quickly see:
What needs to happen today
Upcoming assignments
Appointments
Work schedules
Deadlines
Priorities
Homework & Organization Stations
One consistent home for school materials can eliminate a surprising amount of stress.
This doesn't need to look Pinterest-perfect.
A rolling cart, desktop organizer, supply caddy, charging station, or basket may be all you need.
The important part is that commonly used items have a predictable place to live.
Before You Buy Anything, Ask This Question
Here's the occupational therapist in me coming out:
What problem are we actually trying to solve?
Don't start with the product.
Start with the problem.
If your child can't find homework, they may need a better organization system.
If they know exactly what needs to be done but can't get themselves to begin, another planner probably isn't going to solve the problem.
If they're constantly shocked when 20 minutes have passed, a visual timer might help.
If they forget multi-step routines, a checklist may reduce the demand on working memory.
If they become overwhelmed looking at an entire week's assignments, they may need help breaking tasks into smaller pieces.
Match the tool to the skill you're trying to support.
That's why there isn't one magical executive functioning system that works for every student.
We're looking for strategies and tools that work with the individual's brain...not against it.
Affiliate Disclosure
Some of the product links in this article may be affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, Bee You Therapy may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only share products and tools that we believe may be useful to the families and individuals we serve. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Remember: Your Child Is Learning More Than Math
School isn't only about reading, writing, math, and science.
Students are also learning how to:
Solve problems
Manage emotions
Stay organized
Ask for help
Recover from mistakes
Adapt to change
Navigate relationships
Advocate for themselves
Manage their time
Build independence
Executive functioning supports all of those skills.
And just like reading or multiplication, growth takes time.
There will be forgotten folders.
Missed assignments.
Late projects.
Messy backpacks.
Mornings when nobody can find the left shoe.
Those moments don't define your child.
They give us information about which skills may still need support.
When Is It Time to Seek Help?
Everyone forgets things.
Everyone procrastinates sometimes.
Everyone has disorganized days.
The question is whether executive functioning difficulties are consistently interfering with everyday life.
Are they affecting school performance?
Creating significant conflict at home?
Making homework take hours every night?
Interfering with friendships?
Preventing your teen or young adult from becoming more independent?
Causing significant frustration?
Making your child feel like they're constantly failing despite trying?
When executive functioning challenges begin affecting participation in everyday activities, additional support may be helpful.
Occupational therapy can help children, teens, and young adults develop individualized strategies based on their strengths, needs, environment, learning style, and daily routines.
The goal isn't to create a perfectly organized person.
And it certainly isn't to create a perfect student.
The goal is to help individuals become confident, independent problem-solvers who understand how their own brains work.
Final Thoughts: The Most Important Back-to-School Supply Isn't in the Backpack
This back-to-school season, we're going to buy the notebooks.
We're going to label the folders.
We're going to find the perfect backpack.
We'll probably buy approximately 7,000 pencils that somehow disappear before October.
But while we're preparing everything our students will carry in their backpacks, let's also think about the skills they'll need to manage everything being asked of them.
Can they organize their day?
Can they figure out where to start?
Can they estimate how much time something will take?
Can they recognize when they're becoming overwhelmed?
Can they ask for help?
Can they recover when something doesn't go according to plan?
Those are executive functioning skills.
And they matter far beyond the classroom.
Executive functioning isn't about being "good at school."
It's about developing lifelong skills that support independence at home, in school, at work, and throughout everyday life.
At Bee You Therapy, we believe every student deserves strategies that work with their brain... not against it.
Because success doesn't mean doing everything the same way everyone else does.
Sometimes success means discovering the way that works for you.
Could Executive Functioning Support Help Your Child, Teen, or Young Adult?
If organization, planning, time management, task initiation, emotional regulation, or other executive functioning challenges are getting in the way of everyday life, our occupational therapy team at Bee You Therapy can help.
We work with children, teens, and young adults to build practical skills and strategies that support greater confidence and independence... not only during the school year, but throughout everyday life.
Ready to learn more?
Contact Bee You Therapy to schedule an evaluation or talk with our team about whether occupational therapy may be a good fit.
🐝 Bee You Therapy: helping individuals build the skills they need to BEE themselves.