What many of us were never trained in

Over the past year, I’ve noticed something come up again and again.

Educators and coaches will join a training and say, often with a mix of relief and surprise, “This feels like what I’ve been looking for.” Not because it offers new strategies, but because it finally explains whycertain things work and others don’t.

Many of them share some version of the same realization: they were never actually trained in executive function.

Not in how it develops.
Not in how foundational and advanced executive functions interact.
Not in how regulation, working memory, and flexibility shape everything else.

Instead, executive function often shows up as a list of tools. Planners. Checklists. Accommodations. Helpful, yes, but incomplete without understanding the system underneath.

When that understanding is missing, even thoughtful professionals can feel unsure. They try something that works for a while, then stops. They wonder if they’re focusing on the wrong skill or sending the wrong message. They blame themselves or worry they’re making things worse.

This isn’t a failure. It’s a training gap.

Executive function isn’t a set of strategies. It’s a developing neurological system. And without that lens, it’s easy to aim supports at behavior instead of the brain.