ODL 443: Executive Functioning: Assessment, Misconceptions, and Practical Strategies for Helping Professionals

Created On:  10/13/2026                   

Target Audience:

This course is targeted for social workers, psychologists, counselors, nurses and case managers.

Instructional Level:

Intermediate

Counselor Skill Groups: 

4. Counseling Services

Overview:

Executive functioning refers to a set of higher-order cognitive processes that support goal-directed behavior, including planning, organization, impulse control, emotional regulation, working memory, cognitive flexibility, self-monitoring, and task initiation. These skills are foundational to success in school, work, relationships, and daily living, yet executive functioning challenges are often misunderstood as defiance, laziness, lack of motivation, or poor attitude.

This 5-hour training offers a comprehensive exploration of executive functioning across the lifespan, with attention to its neurobiological foundations, developmental trajectory, and functional impact in educational, clinical, healthcare, and community settings. Participants will examine what executive functioning is, what it is not, and how executive functioning difficulties present differently in children, adolescents, and adults. The training will also address the relationship between executive functioning and conditions such as ADHD, trauma, anxiety, depression, autism, learning differences, and neurocognitive disorders.

Through case examples, practical applications, and research-informed discussion, participants will learn how to identify executive functioning strengths and deficits, distinguish these challenges from willful behavior or low motivation, and apply supportive strategies that promote functioning and reduce stigma. Emphasis will be placed on real-world interventions, environmental supports, and professional responses that are compassionate, developmentally appropriate, and evidence-informed.

Course Objectives:

By the end of the session, the participant will be able to:

• Explain the core components of executive functioning and describe the neurobiological and developmental processes that influence executive functioning across the lifespan.
• Describe the neurobiological and developmental processes that influence executive functioning across the lifespan.
• Differentiate executive functioning challenges from behavioral noncompliance, lack of motivation, intellectual limitations, and other commonly misunderstood presentations.
• Identify the ways executive functioning difficulties manifest in children, adolescents, adults, and older adults across school, clinical, healthcare, workplace, and community settings.
• Examine the relationship between executive functioning and common clinical or contextual factors, including ADHD, trauma, anxiety, depression, autism, learning differences, and neurocognitive change.
• Apply practical, evidence-informed strategies and supports to improve organization, planning, emotional regulation, task completion, and overall functioning in the individuals they serve.

Presenter:

Nick Swanson, LMSW, School Social Worker and Adjunct Professor

Nick Swanson, LMSW, is a school social worker for the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency, based out of Bettendorf, Iowa. He has been a school social worker, serving schools for over ten years. Prior to his work in schools, he was a mental health professional at a residential facility for at-risk youth. He is an adjunct professor at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa. Nick’s focus in schools includes building systems to support social-emotional behavioral needs of students, providing direct services to students and families, and evaluating and supporting students within special education. His work has included great attention on improving practices and policies within districts, and increasing therapeutic supports in schools.