When Email Overwhelm Almost Derailed a College Dream

🧠 Lesson Learned: Email Is a System, Not Just a Skill

What looked like procrastination or irresponsibility was actually an Executive Function overload. This wasn’t about motivation—it was about missing infrastructure.

Once we created a simple email organization system, everything changed:

✅ Folders: One for “To-Do,” one for “College Updates,” one for “Done”
✅ Filters/Rules: Automatically flagged messages from the college domain

✅ Daily Email Time: A scheduled 5-minute inbox check built into their routine
✅ Color-Coding + Subject Line Highlights: So tasks stood out visually

And most importantly…
We practiced reading with action in mind: What is this email asking me to do, and when?

🎯 For Educators and Parents

Don’t assume a student struggling with email is just “ignoring it.” For many neurodivergent learners, email is not intuitive. It’s an advanced task that pulls on working memory, organization, task initiation, and planning—all at once.

Try this:

• Help them create folders or labels and sort emails together

• Model how you scan emails and decide what needs action

• Talk through strategies out loud: “Hmm, I see this one is just an update. This one I need to respond to today.”

• Consider tools like email filters or even forwarding important emails to a shared adult account during high-stakes transitions