On-Demand CE Training
ODL 377: Understanding Executive Functioning: What It Is and What It Is Not
Please make sure to check with your own state board to ensure the transferability of CE credit for an asynchronous course. Some state boards may place restrictions regarding the modality of training required for ethics credits to be awarded. If this training indicates ethics credits are available, please verify that your state allows them to be earned through an on-demand course format.
1 CREDIT HOUR APPROVED FOR:
Social Workers
ASWB ACE – 1 Clinical Continuing Education credit
New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work – 1 Contact hour
Psychologists
APA – 1 CE credit
Counselors 1 Contact hour
NBCC ACEP – 1 Contact hour
New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners – 1 Contact hour
Addiction Professionals
NAADAC – 1 Contact hour
Nurses
California Board of Registered Nursing – 1 Contact hour
Case Managers
CCMC – 1 Contact hour- EXPIRES 1/6/27
Created On: 1/14/26
Attention Case Managers ONLY: CCMC expires on this course on 1/6/27 and will not be renewed. Please complete before this date.
Target Audience:
This course is targeted for social workers, psychologists, counselors, nurses and case managers.
Counselor Skill Groups:
4. Counseling Services
Overview:
Executive functioning skills are the brain-based abilities that allow individuals to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, manage time, and regulate emotions and behavior. These vital skills affect how people learn, work, and interact in everyday life, but they are often misunderstood or mislabeled as laziness, defiance, or lack of motivation.
In this engaging 1-hour training, participants will gain a clear, research-informed understanding of what executive functioning is – and, just as importantly, what it is not. Presented by an experienced school social worker, the course will highlight real-world examples across settings and offer practical insights applicable to children, adolescents, and adults.
Whether you work in schools, clinics, hospitals, or community settings, this training will help you better recognize executive functioning challenges and support those you serve with empathy, clarity, and evidence-based strategies.
Course Objectives:
By the end of the session, the participant will be able to:
- Define executive functioning and its core domains.
- Differentiate executive functioning skills from general intelligence, motivation, and behavioral problems.
- Recognize signs of executive functioning challenges across age groups.
- Identify interventions and supports that help professionals integrate into practice.
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 served as a school social worker for over 10 years. Prior to his work in schools, he was a mental health professional at a residential facility for at-risk youth. He is also an adjunct professor at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa.
Nick’s focus in schools includes building systems to support students’ social-emotional behavioral needs, 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.