Coming soon!

Elizabeth is having a baby boy at the start of December and we can't wait to meet the little guy!  We had a baby shower yesterday in their honor.  We are going to miss her while she is gone on maternity leave!  I will be at the Mercer Island office while she is away being a new mom.  I am excited to get to know all of the Mercer Island families. 🙂

You might also see someone new in our picture, Dana, our graduate student.  She has done an amazing job over the past few months and will be leaving us soon.  We are going to miss her and all of the great work she provides.

In other news, it is Thanksgiving next week.  Everyone enjoy all of the good food and time with family and friends.

-Cassee

Executive what?

Paige and I have the privilege of attending a professional development conference this week all about executive functioning.  What exactly is executive functioning?  Here's an overview:

Executive function skills cover a lot of ground, including abilities necessary for both school and adult life.  When a kid or adult has a language disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, or a variety of other related diagnoses, they often struggle with executive functioning as well.  People without any known diagnosis often struggle with some of these skills, at least some of the time.  (Task initiation is a personal weakness of mine... -- what's yours??)

We look forward to learning some strategies and techniques to strengthen these skills in our clients, but in the meantime, here are some resources about what you can do at home to improve your children's (or your own!) executive functioning skills in a fun and meaningful way:

• How Family Game Night Makes Kids Into Better Students
• Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills
• Activities Guide: Enhancing and Practicing Executive Function Skills with Children from Infancy to Adolescence
• The Science of Smart: A Surprising Way To Improve Executive Function
• Strategies to Strengthen Executive Function

--Sarah