De Facto Leaders

What if choosing between language and executive functioning for your students wasn't an "either/or" decision? And how can we effectively balance academic content with broader cognitive skills? It's a complex challenge, and the answer isn't always obvious. In this episode, I share commentary and a clip of my conversation with Jill Fahy, where we discuss the impact of executive functioning skills on the college experience. Jill is a licensed speech-language pathologist and professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Eastern Illinois University. She is also the co-director of the Autism Center and Director of the Students with Autism Transitional Education Program, where she develops and delivers transitional programming in social skills and executive functions for college students. In this episode, you’ll discover: ✅ Should we work on language or executive functioning first? The answer isn’t straightforward. ✅ Balancing academic content areas and broader cognitive skills: Why both parents and professionals need to learn about executive functioning as it relates to their context. ✅ Educating the public on cognition and evidence-based practices, and why it’s so easy for vulnerable individuals to grasp on to pseudoscience. ✅ How to use “asset stacking” to address the need to work on multiple interconnected areas at once (e.g., content area skills, language, cognition). You can connect with Jill via email at jkfahy@eiu.edu. You can read her article, Assessment of Executive Functions in School-Aged Children: Challenges and Solutions for the SLP from ASHA Perspectives here: https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/sbi15.4.151 You can learn more about the Students Transitional Education Program at Eastern Illinois University here: https://www.eiu.edu/step/ and the Autism Center here: https://www.eiu.edu/autismcenter/ In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program for related service providers who want to take a leadership role in implementing executive functioning support. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efleadership We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more: 🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Every time I give a session on executive functioning, I have clinicians and teachers ask me the same thing: “How can I motivate students who don’t seem to care or don’t want to try new things?” Or something like “How can I convince students why this (insert task) is going to be important to them in the future?” The short answer is that you don’t “convince” them of anything. At least not in the moment. Instead, you create the experiences and opportunities that are going to help the student acquire the skills, experience the consequences, and develop the confidence to deal with uncertainty/unfamiliar situations. When students appear resistant to try things, or seem to “not learn from past mistakes”, this can often be tied to weak episodic memory. Episodic memory—the ability to see a mental picture of a past event, allows students to think back on past experiences and use them to prepare for the future. When you struggle to do this, it’s difficult to recall past mistakes or feedback in the moment. It’s also difficult to think back on past experiences when you might have done something well, which may make you feel less prepared for tasks that are challenging or less familiar. This may cause nervousness or resistance toward difficult tasks if you can’t “see” back into the past (episode memory) or think into the future to know what you should be doing now (future pacing). Unfortunately, on the surface, this may look like defiance, apathy, or lack of motivation. That’s why in fourth episode in my “Five Skills to Create Your Executive Functioning Intervention Framework”, I discuss the fourth skill: Episodic Memory What I’ll uncover in this episode: ✅ The critical role episodic memory plays in executive functioning: applying prior knowledge, anticipating consequences, and adjusting behavior. ✅ How difficulties with episodic memory impact a student’s confidence and willingness to try new things, or their persistence with challenging tasks. ✅ Why episodic memory interacts with other executive functioning skills, including future pacing, time perception, and self-talk. In this episode, I mentioned my free training for school leaders who want to create a research-based executive functioning implementation plan for their school teams. You can sign up for the training here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efleadership We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more: 🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Students with executive functioning challenges often intend to complete tasks or meet expectations—but struggle to execute consistently. The reason? They aren’t mentally envisioning future scenarios, predicting the steps needed to reach a goal, and thinking about what they need to be doing NOW in order to meet that goal. This cognitive skill, called future pacing, allows students to visualize the process and outcome of their actions, building a critical link between planning and follow-through. In the third episode in my “Five Skills to Create Your Executive Functioning Intervention Framework”, I break it down in detail. What I’ll uncover in this episode: ✅ What future pacing is—and why it's essential for supporting goal-directed behavior and flexible thinking. ✅ How future pacing interacts with skills like time perception, self-talk, and episodic memory. ✅ Why students with executive functioning deficits often struggle to anticipate obstacles, sequence steps, or understand how present actions impact future outcomes. ✅ Practical ways to teach students how to mentally rehearse tasks—bridging the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it. ✅ How building future pacing into interventions improves self-regulation, motivation, and task persistence. In this episode, I mentioned my upcoming free live virtual training hosted by Parallel Learning that’s coming up on August 14, 2025 from 6:30-8:00 PM EST. It’s called “Executive Functioning: Beyond Checklists and Planners”. You’ll earn a free CEU, get to learn about a company that offers remote work opportunities, and get to learn some of the concepts I teach in my paid programs. You can sign up for the training here: https://parallellearning-20474008.hs-sites.com/ashakickoffwebinar25?utm_source=partnership&utm_medium=partner_karen_dudek&utm_campaign=webinar_ashadrkaren_8.14.2025&utm_content=blank I also mentioned my free training for school leaders who want to create a research-based executive functioning implementation plan for their school teams. You can sign up for the training here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efleadership We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more: 🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

I’m often asked if I can create an “executive functioning lesson plan” that a clinician could do within a 20-minute therapy session with a student or group of students. I understand why people ask me for things like this. This traditional “pull-out” model of therapy is what many clinicians have been taught in our preservice training, and it’s often what’s focused on in professional development for clinicians. This model works well for many skills. It also plays a part in executive functioning intervention. But it’s not enough. Doing “executive functioning” lesson plans without some type of support plan in place for other settings would be like a soccer player doing drills and conditioning without ever playing soccer. Does the right isolated work provide support and a foundation? Yes. Is it necessary? Also yes. But is it enough on its own, without direct application in the situation when those skills will be needed? Absolutely not. I know school teams are overwhelmed, and embedding support across a students’ day requires systems and collaboration that aren’t often in place in many schools (yet). It’s a lot to ask, but it’s what needs to happen. And with the right plan, it’s possible-which is what I show school leaders how to do in the School of Clinical Leadership. That’s why in this second episode in my series on “Five Skills to Create Your Executive Functioning Implementation Framework”, I cover the second skill: Self Talk What I cover in this episode: ✅ The two distinct types of self-talk: Strategy self-talk and Self-belief self-talk ✅ How self-talk integrates with other executive functions like time perception, future pacing, and episodic memory ✅ The connection between self-talk and principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)—and how to embed those principles into daily routines, not just therapy rooms ✅ Why explicit instruction and modeling of self-talk helps students shift from reactive to proactive problem-solving ✅ How deficits in self-talk can derail time management, task initiation, and flexible thinking—despite external supports ✅ How to start working on self-talk with your students right away-even if you haven’t built strong team collaboration systems yet. In this episode, I mentioned my upcoming free live virtual training hosted by Parallel Learning that’s coming up on August 14, 2025 from 6:30-8:00 PM EST. It’s called “Executive Functioning: Beyond Checklists and Planners”. You’ll earn a free CEU, get to learn about a company that offers remote work opportunities, and get to learn some of the concepts I teach in my paid programs. You can sign up for the training here. I also mentioned my free training for school leaders who want to create a research-based executive functioning implementation plan for their school teams. You can sign up for the training here. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more: 🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Executive function is often defined as “having good time management skills”. While this isn’t completely off-base, it’s a vast oversimplification. The REASON people are good at time management is because they have the ability to estimate and sense the passage of time. Most “textbook” definitions of executive functioning don’t fully call this out, and as a result many educators and clinicians have a difficult time figuring out how to design instruction and intervention that supports executive functioning. Instead of embedding support across the day, interventions get siloed in special education, or lumped into long lists of cookie cutter classroom accommodations that overwhelm general education teachers. Kids don’t generalize skills from one setting to another, even though people think they’re working on “time management”, and well-meaning adults find themselves giving constant “five minute warnings” as they try to help their students keep up with the pace of classroom activities or even basic functional tasks (e.g., getting things together, making transitions). Let’s be honest: If “five minute warnings” were an effective method of teaching executive functioning and “time management”, we wouldn’t have to be doing them constantly. What if there was a way to help kids develop these skills, so we could fade all the prompting? The good news is, there is. The first step is recognizing that the core skill we’re teaching is TIME PERCEPTION. When you google a definition of executive functioning, you’ll likely get a list of 8 or 9 skills. Things like attention, working memory, shifting, ideational fluency, and self-regulation. It’s important for educators, clinicians, and school leaders to understand these terms and what they are, but then they need to organize these abstract cognitive skills into concrete skills that can be both taught explicitly and layered across a students’ day. That’s why the framework I teach organizes executive functioning into 5 areas: 1. Time perception 2. Self-talk 3. Future pacing 4. Episodic memory 5. Encoding. In this first episode of a 5-part podcast series, I discuss the first one: Time perception. In this episode, I’ll reveal: ✅ What “time perception” means in the context of executive functioning (beyond simply knowing how to tell time). ✅ How time perception deficits interfere with task initiation, sustained attention, and task completion. ✅ Why students may appear "defiant" or "unmotivated" when the real issue is inaccurate time estimation/perception. ✅ How poor time perception creates barriers for following schedules, meeting deadlines, or pacing tasks appropriately. ✅ Intervention principles to help build a student’s internal sense of time as part of a larger EF support plan. In this episode, I mentioned my upcoming free live virtual training hosted by Parallel Learning that’s coming up on August 14, 2025 from 6:30-8:00 PM EST. It’s called “Executive Functioning: Beyond Checklists and Planners”. You’ll earn a free CEU, get to learn about a company that offers remote work opportunities, and get to learn some of the concepts I teach in my paid programs. You can sign up for the training here. I also mentioned my free training for school leaders who want to create a research-based executive functioning implementation plan for their school teams. You can sign up for the training here. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more: 🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

In this episode, I sit down with Jessica Lane, founder of Data-Informed Impact, to unpack the critical role of data in K-12 education—and how to use it responsibly, effectively, and equitably. Jessica shares her expertise on building a strong data culture in schools, improving data literacy, and creating clear, ethical data visualizations that empower—not overwhelm—educators and leaders. We explore the often-overlooked human side of data: how to build trust around data use, avoid duplicative processes that drain educators’ time, and leverage data to evaluate systems. Jessica also offers insights into how different stakeholders—teachers, administrators, district leaders—use data from both micro and macro lenses, and how EdTech plays a role in the broader data landscape. Whether you're a classroom teacher, building leader, or part of a district team, this conversation will help you think critically about using data as a tool for improvement—not just compliance. Key Topics Covered: ✔️ Building a positive and ethical data culture in schools ✔️ Improving data literacy for educators and leaders ✔️ How to design accessible, meaningful data visualizations ✔️ Strategies to streamline administrative processes and reduce redundancy ✔️ Student data use and privacy ✔️ Understanding the micro vs. macro data needs across K-12 stakeholders About Our Guest: As the founder of Data-Informed Impact, Jessica Lane is known for turning webs of data into easy-to-leverage visual dashboards, systems, and training for K-12 schools – fully equipping leaders and teachers to close the student success gap together. Having created custom solutions for 160 schools across the United States and Canada since 2020, she’s an educational data expert. With 10+ years of experience from all angles of the classroom, Jessica’s a former data coach, instructional coach, certified math teacher, and holds a Master of Education in learning and technology. Proudly data-informed and people-driven, she believes that data can tell great student success stories, if we let it guide, not decide, how to lead education forward. Jessica currently lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she can often be found excitedly exploring spreadsheets, brain studies, Brené Brown books, and puzzles. And when she’s not partnering with schools, she’s caring for her darling daughter, Emmy, or one of her 50 houseplants. You can connect with Jessican on her website at: https://www.data-informedimpact.com/ Learn about her Data Culture Framework here: https://www.data-informedimpact.com/3-domains-of-dii Learn about her Re-Teaching Cycle Template and other Templates here: https://www.data-informedimpact.com/templates Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/informedimpact/ We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more: 🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

In this episode, we’re joined by literacy expert Dr. Molly Ness, author of Making Words Stick, to unpack the science behind orthographic mapping and what truly effective spelling instruction looks like. If you've ever found yourself wondering whether “irregular” words really exist—or how to teach spelling in a way that actually transfers to reading and writing—this episode is for you. Dr. Molly Ness is a former classroom teacher, a reading researcher, and a teacher educator. She earned a doctorate in reading education at the University of Virginia, and spent 16 years as an associate professor at Fordham University in New York City. The author of five books, Molly served on the Board of Directors for the International Literacy Association and is a New York state chapter founder of the Reading League. Dr. Ness has extensive experience in reading clinics, consulting with school districts, leading professional development, and advising school systems on research-based reading instruction. She is also the host of the End Book Deserts podcast. In 2024, she founded Dirigo Literacy, a literacy consulting firm supporting schools, districts, and states align with and implement the science of reading. 🔑 Key Topics We Cover: ✅ Why Overusing the Term “Irregular” Leads to Ineffective Practices Labeling too many words as irregular encourages rote memorization and bypasses opportunities to build deep, transferable decoding skills. ✅ The Least to Most Reliable Ways to Decode Words Dr. Ness explains the hierarchy of decoding approaches, from unreliable guessing strategies to the most effective use of grapheme–phoneme correspondences and morphemic analysis. ✅ Phonological Representations & Print: Why We Need Both Orthographic mapping depends on students having clear, accurate phonological representations of words. Dr. Ness emphasizes why instruction should always integrate print with sound-based practice. ✅ Embedding Vocabulary Without Derailing Encoding Work Learn how to layer vocabulary instruction into decoding and spelling lessons without losing focus—or getting lost in semantic tangents. ✅ Dr. Ness’s 4-Step Process for Teaching Spelling (from Making Words Stick). Get Dr. Ness’s book “Making Words Stick” here. Connect with Dr. Ness on Instagram @a_reading_mother Learn more about Dr. Ness’ other books and advocacy work on her website here. In this episode, I mention Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program for SLPs that helps clinicians create a research-based framework for language therapy that supports phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax, and orthographic knowledge. You can learn more about the program here. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more: 🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Ever feel like your school is trying all the “right” strategies—social skills groups, planners, behavior charts—but students still struggle with time management, motivation, and peer relationships? You’re not alone—and there’s a reason why. This episode is a clip from my free training, “Create a Research-Based Implementation Plan for your School Team.” It’s designed for school leaders who want to guide their teams in embedding executive functioning support across both general and special education settings—without burning out staff. This episode is for you if you’re ready to: ✔️ Help students truly benefit from academic instruction ✔️ Support social-emotional growth alongside learning ✔️ Avoid overwhelming your team with another “initiative” In the training, I'll reveal: ✅Why social skills groups fall flat—and how to really boost students’ emotional regulation and peer connections. ✅The truth about planners, lists, and behavior charts—and why they’re not improving student’s time management or motivation. ✅The 3 key elements school teams need to support executive functioning across gen ed and special ed—without burning out your staff (in this episode, I share element #1). This episode is the first half of the training in audio format, but to view the whole training with the video, you can go to drkarendudekbrannan.com/efteams. We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more: 🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

In this eye-opening episode, I sit down with Dr. A. Jordan Wright, psychologist who brings both professional insight and lived experience to the conversation—having been diagnosed with ADHD in college. Together, we explore the often-overlooked stories of kids who manage to compensate for ADHD symptoms well into adolescence or adulthood, only to receive a diagnosis later in life. We also dive into why early educational settings are crucial for embedding executive functioning supports and how these skills can be proactively taught rather than reactively addressed. Our guest offers a compelling argument for why executive functioning should be considered the new social-emotional learning—essential, foundational, and deeply tied to lifelong success. We also spend a good portion of the episode discussing best practices for assessing executive functioning in a way that is robust and sensitive to diverse learning needs—moving to deeper understanding. Topics Covered: ✅ Being diagnosed with ADHD in college and why high-performing kids with ADHD are often missed ✅ The case for embedding executive functioning support into early education ✅ Executive functioning as the new SEL: What educators need to know ✅ Best practices for executive functioning assessment, including surveys, non-standardized methods, and optimal functioning measures. Dr. A. Jordan Wright is the Chief Clinical Officer at Parallel Learning and leading clinical psychologist who specializes in psychological assessment (including learning disabilities and ADHD) and therapy. Dr. Jordan received his Ph.D. from Columbia University. He is on faculty at New York University, where he leads the Clinical/Counseling Psychology PhD program, training doctoral students in psychological assessment and counseling, and he founded and runs the Center for Counseling and Community Wellbeing, the low-fee community mental health training clinic at NYU. Dr. Jordan has authored multiple widely-used books on psychological assessment, including Conducting Psychological Assessment: A Guide for Practitioners (2nd ed.; Wiley, 2020); Essentials of Psychological Tele-Assessment (with Susie Raiford; Wiley, 2021); Essentials of Psychological Assessment Supervision (Wiley, 2019); and, with Gary Groth-Marnat, the sixth edition of the Handbook of Psychological Assessment (Wiley, 2016), the most widely used text in graduate training on assessment. His most recent book is Essentials of Culture in Psychological Assessment (Wiley, 2024), which focuses on areas of diversity, culture, privilege, and oppression in how we evaluate and understand individuals. You can learn more about Parallel Learning’s comprehensive services for providers on their website here: https://www.parallellearning.com/ You can find Dr. Jordan’s free White Papers from Parallel Learning on executive functioning assessment, self-care for clinicians, telehealth best practices, plus much more here: https://www.parallellearning.com/white-papers If you’re a clinician looking for new career opportunities, you can take a look at Parallel Learning’s “Careers” page here: https://www.parallellearning.com/careers In this episode, I mentioned “The School Leader’s Guide to Executive Functioning Support”, a 7-day course to help school leaders launch their executive functioning implementation plan. You can learn more about the course here : https://drkarenspeech.lpages.co/school-leaders-guide-to-executive-functioning-support/ We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more: 🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

In this episode, I interview Connie, a student from the Language Therapy Advance Foundations program. She shares her practical experiences and results achieved with her students. Key highlights include: ✅ Engaging a Disengaged Student: Connie discusses her strategies for working with a high school student who was bored with therapy, emphasizing the use of engaging books to enhance vocabulary learning. ✅ Time Efficiency: Learn how Connie cut her preparation time in half by implementing the frameworks taught in our program, allowing for more focused and effective sessions. ✅ Achieving Generalization: Connie reports significant progress in several of her students who had previously plateaued, particularly in their ability to generalize syntax skills. This episode offers actionable insights for language therapists looking to improve engagement and outcomes in their practice. Ready to elevate your language therapy skills? Join Language Therapy Advance Foundations and start transforming your therapy approach today. Learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/ We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more: 🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

Many clinicians, educators, and school leaders know they should be working collaboratively, but don’t know how to find time to do it. If you have a friend or colleague who seems to have magical productivity powers, I promise there’s a method to the madness. Most likely, they’ve just gotten really good at a concept I call “asset stacking”. It starts with asking yourself the question, “What can I create now that can save me time or effort later?” In this third episode in the 3-part clinical leadership, I share how the concept of “asset stacking” can be used by both current and aspiring clinical and educational leaders to make an impact on the systems they’re working in. Key Points: ✅ Creating a long-term strategic vision for your professional growth ✅ The concept of asset stacking and how to use it to impact systems ✅ Multiple service delivery models that position you as a leader ✅ Developing a master plan that aligns your expertise with system needs Takeaways: ✅ Asset stacking compounds your influence over time ✅ Your unique combination of skills creates distinctive value ✅ Service delivery innovation positions you as a thought leader Action Step: Begin your leadership master plan by identifying your unique "stack" of professional assets and one system-level challenge they could address. In this episode, I mentioned “The School Leader’s Guide to Executive Functioning Support”, a 7-day course to help school leaders launch their executive functioning implementation plan. You can learn more about the course here: https://drkarenspeech.lpages.co/school-leaders-guide-to-executive-functioning-support/ We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more: 🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

In this second episode in the 3-part clinical leadership series, I explore the 'lesson planning trap'—a common situation where clinicians focus so much on perfecting individual sessions and miss broader opportunities for impact. I experienced this myself, spending years creating detailed therapy plans while seeing little change at the systems level. Then I realized the importance of distinguishing between planning for individual therapy and planning for effective service delivery. This insight transformed my practice and leadership approach. Today, I’ll share how you can take your intervention skills and scale them for lasting change in your school or organization. Key Points: ✅ Applying effective intervention principles to enhance service delivery. ✅ Understanding the difference between therapy planning and service delivery planning. ✅ Introducing scalable protocols that maximize your impact. ✅ Evaluating your current strategies for scalability. ✅ Utilizing intervention principles in team leadership situations. In this episode, I mentioned “The School Leader’s Guide to Executive Functioning Support”, a 7-day course to help school leaders launch their executive functioning implementation plan. You can learn more about the course here: https://drkarenspeech.lpages.co/school-leaders-guide-to-executive-functioning-support/ We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more: 🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

In this episode, we address the common experience of being overlooked in crucial conversations about the students we serve. Whether you're a clinician or educator who feels unheard while trying to contribute, aspiring to be in a leadership role, or currently in leadership and experiencing impostor syndrome, this discussion challenges you to embrace your role as a leader—regardless of your job title. We'll start this 3-part clinical leadership series by clarifying some misconceptions about leadership and explore how to change your approach. Key Points: ✅ Why are important team members excluded from key team decisions about services and programs in schools and other organizations? ✅ How to stay relevant and visible to colleagues so they see you as an asset. ✅ Overcoming three core limiting beliefs: 👉"Leadership is someone else's responsibility." 👉"Decision-making is a privilege." 👉"Only those in power can lead." ✅ How these beliefs hinder successful collaboration. ✅ Steps to view yourself as a leader in your current position. Takeaways: ✅ Leadership is a mindset, not just a formal role. ✅ Your expertise is invaluable and needed by your team. ✅ Simple actions can significantly boost your visibility and impact. ✅ Every member of an organization can drive change. In this episode, I mentioned “The School Leader’s Guide to Executive Functioning Support”, a 7-day course to help school leaders launch their executive functioning implementation plan. You can learn more about the course here: https://drkarenspeech.lpages.co/school-leaders-guide-to-executive-functioning-support/ We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more: 🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

In this episode, we dive deep with educational consultant and innovator Dr. Kate Anderson Foley, who challenges conventional wisdom about student support systems and offers a fresh perspective on educational leadership. Dr. Anderson Foley's shares revolutionary ideas about restructuring intervention frameworks and explains why some traditional approaches may be limiting student potential. Episode Highlights: ✅ The Double Helix Model - Dr. Anderson Foley introduces her groundbreaking concept comparing educational support systems to DNA's double helix structure, demonstrating how interwoven approaches create stronger outcomes than linear interventions, and why we shouldn’t label students according to tiers. ✅ Restructuring RtI Tiers - We explore Dr. Anderson Foley's compelling case for removing the traditional tiered structure of Response to Intervention, discussing how these artificial divisions can create barriers to providing students with appropriate support at critical moments. ✅ Cross-Pollination of Services - Dr. Anderson Foley flips conventional thinking by arguing that what's often labeled as "duplication of services" actually represents valuable cross-pollination of educational approaches, creating richer learning environments and multiple pathways for student growth. ✅ High-Quality vs. Traditional Tutoring - We distinguish between standard tutoring and "high-quality tutoring," examining the specific elements that transform supplemental instruction into transformative educational experiences. ✅ Agile vs. Waterfall Leadership - Dr. Anderson Foley contrasts traditional "waterfall" leadership models with agile approaches, explaining how educational leaders can create more responsive, adaptive systems by implementing initiatives in shorter releases and using data to make adjustments sooner, rather than later. Our conversation challenges listeners to reconsider fundamental assumptions about educational interventions and offers practical strategies for transforming support systems to better serve all students. Dr. Anderson Foley's innovative perspectives provide valuable insights for educators, administrators, and policy makers seeking to create more effective and equitable educational environments. Dr. Anderson Foley is Founder & CEO of the Education Policy & Practice Group, an international keynote speaker, and Harvard Medical School Institute of Coaching Fellow. A transformational leader, she has guided school districts and states toward equitable services for all learners, with a focus on breaking barriers for marginalized children. Beginning as a special education teacher pioneering inclusive practices, Dr. Kate advanced to administration where she advocated for reform at local, state, and federal levels. As a senior educational leader for Illinois, she helped create preventative systems addressing opportunity gaps for all learners regardless of background or circumstance, and contributed to equity-based school funding reform. Dr. Kate partners with organizations worldwide, providing expertise in improvement processes, professional learning communities, and asset-based education policies. She teaches Special Education Law to aspiring educational leaders and authors books including "Ida Finds Her Voice," "Fearless Coaching," and "Radically Excellent School Improvement," which offers a blueprint for comprehensive school improvement that ensures every student thrives. 👉Learn more about Dr. Kate’s books, professional development, and services on her website here: https://www.edpolicyconsulting.com/ ✅Learn more about her book, “Radically Excellent School Improvement” here: https://www.edpolicyconsulting.com/resources 📥Connect with her by email at: kate@edpolicyconsulting.com 📞Connect with her by phone at: (440) 55401789 🧠In this episode, I mentioned “The School Leader’s Guide to Executive Functioning Support”, a 7-day course to help school leaders launch their executive functioning implementation plan....

In this episode, I’m excited to announce the release of my new compression course, “The School Leader’s Guide to Executive Functioning Support.” You can learn more about the course here: https://drkarenspeech.lpages.co/school-leaders-guide-to-executive-functioning-support/ In this session, I’ll be sharing why I created this program, what parents and professionals have shared with me when I talk about executive functioning, and how I approach educating professionals about this important and relevant topic. *Plus I share things school communities and staff WISH their administration knew 🙂 Imagine a school where: ✅ Students are better equipped to handle challenges and setbacks ✅ Teachers spend less time managing behavior and more time on meaningful instruction ✅ Academic performance improves across the board ✅ Your team feels empowered and supported, rather than overwhelmed by another initiative Introducing: The School Leader's Guide to Executive Functioning Support After years of developing frameworks to support these essential cognitive skills and helping professionals implement them in their own schools, I've created a comprehensive guide specifically for school leaders like you. This 7-day course will walk you through: 1. Understanding the critical role of executive functioning in student success 2. Identifying areas where executive functioning support can have the biggest impact in your school 3. Pinpointing challenges with common strategies such as social skills groups, behavior charts, and organizing tools. 4. Practical tools and techniques that can be immediately implemented in classrooms 5. Methods for measuring and demonstrating the impact of executive functioning support 6. Long-term planning for sustainable implementation and continued growth By the end of the 7 days, you'll be ready to design a plan for launching executive functioning support in your school, setting the stage for transformative change. Are you ready to transform your school and set your students up for long-term success? Don't let another day go by without giving your team and students the support they need to thrive. The future of your school starts with the decisions you make today. The School Leader’s Guide to Executive Functioning Support is a 7-day course to help school leaders launch their executive functioning implementation plan. You can learn more about the course here: https://drkarenspeech.lpages.co/school-leaders-guide-to-executive-functioning-support/ We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more: 🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

In this episode, I sit down with Eric Smith from GrowNOW ADHD, to explore innovative approaches to social skills and executive functioning through the lens of a community-based program: Executive Functioning Summer Camp. Eric shares his insights on challenging existing service delivery models and discusses the importance of practical, real-world applications for clients. Eric is a Speech-Language Pathologist, ADHD/Executive Functioning Specialist, and Director GrowNOW ADHD's EF Camp with over 7 years of experience in the field. He has worked in a variety of settings including Private Practice, Early Intervention, and Schools. Key Discussion Points: What are the benefits and limitations of a traditional therapy model and how can we expand the way we do intervention to improve generalization? • How the summer camp model facilitates real-world connections. • How much structure and support should adults be providing, and when does it make sense to use a “lesson plan”? • The concepts of “healthy risk” and “healthy discomfort”. • Why it's crucial to incorporate diverse experiences to better prepare our clients for adult life AND to help clinicians stay engaged in their work. • Using the explicit instruction framework (“I do, We do, You do”) to mentor clinicians and coach parents. You can learn more about GrowNOW Executive Functioning Summer Camp here: https://www.grownowadhd.com/adhd-kids-summer-camp/ Connect with Eric at: eric@grownowadhd.com Past episode mentioned in this episode: Failure to launch, screen addiction, and preparing kids for life after high school (with Michael McLeod): https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-207-failure-to-launch-screen-addiction-and-preparing-kids-for-life-after-high-school-with-michael-mcleod/ Building accountability, and motivation in kids with ADHD (with Mike McLeod): https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-008-building-accountability-and-motivation-in-kids-with-adhd-with-mike-mcleod/ Time management and device use boundaries for kids with ADHD (with Mike McLeod): https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-009-time-management-and-device-use-boundaries-for-kids-with-adhd-with-mike-mcleod/ In this episode, I mentioned “The School Leader’s Guide to Executive Functioning Support”, a 7-day course to help school leaders launch their executive functioning implementation plan. You can learn more about the course here: https://drkarenspeech.lpages.co/school-leaders-guide-to-executive-functioning-support/ We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more: 🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

In this powerful episode, I sit down with Ana Hernandez, a speech pathologist who found herself on the other side of the therapy room after undergoing brain surgery. Ana shares her deeply personal journey through the road of recovery. As someone who has spent her career helping others communicate, Ana opens up about what it was like to struggle with communication herself. She discusses the emotional and physical challenges she faced, the strategies that aided her recovery, and how her experience has changed her approach to her work. Ana Hernandez is a speech-language pathologist, founder of Adult Stuttering Services, P.C., and the creator of Green Social and the Safe Spaces of Stuttering approach. She collaborates with leading stuttering organizations, speaks at international conferences, and provides professional training for schools and businesses. Ana’s focus in stuttering support is to foster comfort with speaking and empower people who stutter with care that prioritizes quality and dignity. In This Episode, We Cover: • The unexpected diagnosis that led to brain surgery • The impact of surgery on her speech, cognition, and emotions • Key milestones and setbacks throughout her recovery journey • Practical tips for self-advocacy • How this experience has reshaped her perspective as a therapist Why Listen? This episode is a testament to resilience, empathy, and the power of communication. Whether you or a loved one are navigating recovery from brain injury, or you simply want to hear an inspiring story of perseverance, this conversation will leave you feeling encouraged and empowered. You can connect with Ana on her Adult Stuttering website here: https://www.adultstuttering.com/therapist On Instagram here @adultstuttering (https://www.instagram.com/adultstuttering/) On LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-hernandez-015b69293/ Finally, I also mentioned my free Executive Functioning Implementation Guide for School Teams. You can sign up for the guide here: http://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efguide We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more: 🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

This week, I’m sharing an interview I did with another host on the BE podcast network because I think it’s something you’ll really enjoy. The episode is going live in the De Facto Leaders podcast feed. Dr. Chris Jones has been an educator in Massachusetts for 22 years. His experience in the classroom ranged from 8th – 11th grade working in an urban setting. A portion of this was spent opening a high school division for an expanding charter school. He has just finished his 14th year as a building administrator. Chris is also the Vice President of the Massachusetts State Administrators Association (MSAA). True to his “why” of improving the educational experience for as many people as possible, he is currently the Principal of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School in Whitman, Massachusetts. He is the author of SEEing to Lead, a book that provides strategies for how modern leaders can and must support, engage, and empower their teachers to elevate student success. Chris vlogs weekly about continuous improvement and is also the host of the podcast SEEing to Lead as a way to amplify teachers’ voices in an effort to improve education as a whole. In this interview, Dr. Chris Jones and I discuss how to promote effective literacy practices in schools, while still allowing educators and clinicians to have autonomy in their practices. We discuss: The “non-negotiables” when it comes to evidence-based practices vs. where there can be flexibility for the “art” of teaching. Why training and information needs to be paired with change-management strategies. Finding the “joy” of reading can’t happen without building foundational skills. You can connect with Dr. Jones on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drcsjones/, and on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/DrCSJones/, and on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/drcsjones/. You can learn more about his book and podcast at: https://drcsjones.blog/seeing-to-lead-podcast/ In this episode, I mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that helps SLPs create a system for language therapy. You can learn more about Language Therapy Advance Foundations here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy/ We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more: 🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.