Increasing Executive Functioning Successes by Focusing on Emotion Regulation

Format

Individual Presentation

Sam MarionFollow

First Presenter's Institution

Sam Marion Counseling and Consulting

First Presenter’s Email Address

sam@sammarion.com

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Sam Marion, MSW, LCSW is the owner and therapist at Sam Marion Counseling and Consulting located in Buford, GA. He received his MSW from the University of Georgia. Sam has been in clinical and leadership roles in levels of care ranging from private practice to inpatient, and he has worked in settings from a large corporate-owned treatment center, a statewide agency, and his own solo practice. He works with many professionals from various disciplines and neurodivergent individuals of all ages. Sam has an interest in neurodivergence and sorts through available trainings and material to find material that is presented in a neurodiversity affirming manner. As he is able to filter available information, he packages it with his experience as a clinician and his lived experience as a multiply neurodivergent individual, and he offers the distilled information to others through a social media presence and his own online workshops. Sam attained a Certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies through the Trauma Center at JRI, is trained in EMDR, SandTray, and Art-Based Supervision. Sam frequently integrates expressive approaches with traditional therapies to bridge limitations of spoken language and is specifically interested in the intersection of neurodivergence and trauma.

Location

Session Seven

Strand #1

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Health: Mental & Physical Health

Relevance

This proposal relates to the Heart strand because there is a significant emphasis on Emotion Regulation. It relates to the Health strand because so many Executive Function challenges come as a result of other health issues.

Brief Program Description

Executive Functioning (EF) is generally viewed as the brain’s processes that enable a person to be successful with the demands and tasks of life. While there are multiple EF categories, this presentation will focus on Emotion Regulation. A novel EF approach will be introduced that demonstrates that Emotion Regulation is better seen as a prerequisite for EF as opposed to its own category.

Summary

While there are many different Executive Functioning (EF) models that exist, there is clear consistency amongst the categories in all of them, and Emotion Regulation is one of the consistent categories that appears in these models. When a person examines the categories, there is always overlap and interplay amongst them, but Emotion Regulation is the category that can have the greatest impact on others. For this reason, a case will be made that Emotion Regulation should be seen and treated as a general prerequisite for all of the other EF categories to even be considered.

This presentation will start by explaining EF by defining it and using metaphors that will help attendees have clarity on the scope of the discussion. Dr. Thomas Brown’s model of Executive Functioning will be shown as a long recognized example of what is generally being considered in discussions on the topic. The presentation will then jump to explaining some of the brain processes that take place through different emotional states in order to demonstrate why Emotion Regulation is foundational to any other cognitive processes to be present. The impact on students will be shown to be even greater through a discussion of cognitive load theory.

The presentation will include a visual representation of the EF approach in order to help attendees conceptualize action steps to support students. An emphasis will be made to teach regulation skills that can be used in classrooms ranging from the whole class, small groups, and individuals. Knowing the limited resources available to educators, a minimalist approach will be used in terms of volume of recommended supplies and the cost of recommendations. Attendees will find the skills and approach taught in this workshop to be helpful for supporting students and improving outcomes immediately upon returning from the conference.

Evidence

This proposal will rely heavily on Executive Function research by people such as Dr. Thomas Brown and neurological functioning research by people such as Dr. Stephen Porges. Interventions from a range of sources including the clinical experience of the presenter will also be included.

Ashburn, M. & Edwards, J. (2023). I will die on this hill: Autistic adults, autism parents, and the children who deserve a better world. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Brown, T. (2008, February). Executive functions - describing six aspects of a complex syndrome. CHADD, 12-17.

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2012, June 18). InBrief: Executive Function: Skills for Life and Learning [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efCq_vHUMqs

Dawson, P. & Guare, R. (2009). Smart but scattered: The revolutionary “executive skills” approach to helping kids reach their potential (First edition.). Guilford Press.

Hayden, C. (2023). Different, not less: A neurodivergent’s guide to embracing your true self and finding your happily ever after. Murdoch Books.

Landmark College (2016), Embedding metacognition & coaching practices: Generating open-ended questions. Class Handout. Putney, VT: Landmark College Institute for Research and Training.

Lupien, S., Maheu, F., Tu, M., Fiocco, A., Schramek, T. (2007). The Effects of stress and stress hormones on human cognition: Implications for the field of brain and cognition. Brain and Cognition, 65(3), 209–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2007.02.007

Patriquin, E., Hartwig, E., Friedman, B., Porges, S., Scarpa, A. (2019). Autonomic response in autism spectrum disorder: Relationship to social and cognitive functioning. Biological Psychology, 145, 185-197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.05.004.

Porges, S. (2021). Polyvagal Theory: A biobehavioral journey to sociality. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, 7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100069.

Rogers, S., Dawson, G., Vismara, L. (2012). An early start for your child with autism: using everyday activities to help kids connect, communicate, and learn (First edition.). Guilford Press.

Vogel, S., and Schwabe, L. (2016). Learning and memory under stress: Implications for the classroom. Npj | Science of Learning. https://doi.org/10.1038/npjscilearn.2016.11

Learning Objective 1

Participants will be able to define Executive Functioning, describe it through metaphor, and name some EF categories.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will be able to describe the impact of Emotion Dysregulation on other EF categories.

Learning Objective 3

Participants will be able to help students Emotionally Regulate in order to improve overall EF.

Keyword Descriptors

Executive Function, EF, Executive Dysfunction, Emotion Regulation, Neurodiversity, Neurodivergent

Presentation Year

2024

Start Date

3-5-2024 2:15 PM

End Date

3-5-2024 2:45 PM

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Mar 5th, 2:15 PM Mar 5th, 2:45 PM

Increasing Executive Functioning Successes by Focusing on Emotion Regulation

Session Seven

Executive Functioning (EF) is generally viewed as the brain’s processes that enable a person to be successful with the demands and tasks of life. While there are multiple EF categories, this presentation will focus on Emotion Regulation. A novel EF approach will be introduced that demonstrates that Emotion Regulation is better seen as a prerequisite for EF as opposed to its own category.