What Reading Intervention Taught Me About Executive Function (and Vice Versa)
The Missing Piece in Reading Support
This month, I had the honor of working with reading interventionist Emily Muccanti to help build out a training for educators in her program. Emily asked me to record a video training on executive functions and reading during middle school—and the moment she said it, I knew this was a conversation we needed to have.
Because reading challenges aren’t always about phonics.
And executive function challenges aren’t just about planners and homework.
They intersect, and far too often, we miss it.
Reading Needs EF—And EF Needs Reading
As I reflected on this collaboration, I started thinking about the many students I’ve coached over the years—students who technically could read, but still struggled with comprehension, pacing, or transferring reading into writing.
Let me tell you about a few:
1. The Sci-Fi Lover Who Couldn’t Finish His Assigned Book
I once worked with a middle schooler whose mom proudly told me he read a full book every weekend—for fun. But when he was assigned reading in school, he fell apart.
Why?
His working memory and cognitive flexibility were creating breakdowns.
He couldn’t hold onto details paragraph by paragraph.
He struggled to “read between the lines”—to infer, connect, or sense tone.
And school reading required detail and precision—not just enjoyment.
2. The Teen Post-Hospitalization with Processing Speed Challenges
Another student had just returned from a mental health hospitalization. Her mom suspected slow processing speed. Reading felt overwhelming.
We worked on:
Breaking reading into small, digestible chunks
Using audiobooks + visual reading to engage multiple senses
Adjusting audio speed for comprehension, not speed
This was about building access, not just effort.
3. The Strategist Who Knew It Wasn’t a Tutor Job
One of my trained EF Strategists reached out about a student whose dad wanted to hire a tutor for reading and writing. But the coach’s instincts told her this wasn’t a foundational reading issue—and she was absolutely right.
The real challenge was:
Working memory – the student couldn’t hold onto what they just read long enough to use it
A lack of reflection pauses – they moved too quickly through texts without checking for understanding
No system for retaining or organizing information – so what they read didn’t stick
Together, the strategist and student worked on:
Inserting checkpoints during reading to pause and summarize
Using note-taking scaffolds to hold key ideas
Creating a repeatable structure to translate reading into writing without overload
These weren’t reading deficits. They were executive function roadblocks—and once addressed, comprehension and written expression improved dramatically.
Tutors Focus on Content.
Reading Specialists Focus on Mechanics.
EF Coaches Focus on Processing.
We:
✅ Teach how to break down texts for meaning
✅ Coach memory strategies for recall
✅ Support flexible thinking when interpreting tone, nuance, and intention
✅ Help students translate reading into writing with tools and scaffolds
And that’s why executive function strategists need to understand reading—and reading specialists need EF insight.
Final Thought
If you support students with ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, anxiety, or even just the stress of being a student today, you’re already seeing executive function challenges—even if you don’t have that language yet.
📅 Our next cohort of Mastering Executive Function begins August 11.
It’s a 30-hour deep dive into how the brain works, what gets in students’ way, and how to coach them with compassion and skill.
📘 Click here to learn more or register
🛒 And don’t forget—you can now preorder our Executive Function Card Deck, including tips for working memory, reading, writing, and flexible thinking.
