For young children, pretend play is so much more important than just having fun. In a study by Dr. Stephanie M. Carlson, University of Minnesota Professor and Reflection Sciences CEO and Co-founder, and U of MN alums Dr. Rachel White, Dr. Emily Prager, and Catherine Schaefer, children who pretend to be their strong-minded hero are…
Executive Function Issues: OCD
When children suffer from executive function issues, it can contribute to separate, but related, disorders. Children who have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) often struggle with executive function (EF), such as the ability to shift their attention to a new idea once they get stuck in a repetitive cycle. A child with OCD won’t necessarily experience every…
Strategies for Parents: Goldilocks Parenting
Reflection Sciences Co-founder Dr. Stephanie Carlson explains how “goldilocks parenting”, or finding techniques that are “just right” for a child’s autonomy development, affects the child’s executive function development. When parents interact with their child in a way that balances patience, helpfulness, and involvedness, the child develops the ability to reflection on choices and make decisions according to their own…
Executive Function Issues or Laziness?
This 2-part series by Dr. Lynn Margolies of Psych Central features the published work of Reflection Sciences Co-founder, Dr. Phil Zelazo. Part 1 of the series describes how Executive Function issues, the new “hot” umbrella term being used by teachers, counselors, and parents to describe an array of learning and attentional issues, differs from laziness. Part…
Executive Function + ADD and ADHD
Executive functions and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADD and ADHD, often go hand-in-hand. In fact, when a doctor screens a patient for ADD and ADHD, deficiencies in executive functions are some of the most important signs they look for. There are several ways to examine for ADD and ADHD, but they all serve the same purpose:…
How to Close the Achievement Gap with Executive Function Training
In a Q & A with Chalkbeat Colorado at U Denver, Reflection Sciences Co-Founder Dr. Stephanie Carlson explains how we can help close the achievement gap and even the playing field for low-income children, starting with executive function brain-based skills. See the full interview here.
Hot or Cool Executive Functions
Co-Founder Dr. Phil Zelazo explains the differences between Hot or Cool Executive Functions, as well as how to help children improve these skills. Read more here!
How the Batman Effect Impacts Executive Function + Child Development
In her research, Dr. Stephanie Carlson has been able to help children to improve their executive function skills by encouraging them to pretend to be someone more competent than themselves, like Batman. She talks about this phenomenon, called psychological distancing, in an interview with Ginny from the Understood.org Team. Get a Free 5-minute Executive Function Assessment with EFgo for iPad and Android…
Executive Function Skills Promote School Readiness
The X Factor in Early Childhood Education: read Co-founder Dr. Stephanie Carlson‘s online article on school readiness and Executive Function for SEEN Magazine here.
Executive Function, Batman Effect and Pretend Play
Reflection Science’s Co-founder and Cheif Science Officer, Dr. Stephanie Carlson, explains key insights about how the Batman Effect and pretend play are important in developing a child’s working memory, executive function, flexible thinking, and impulse control. See the article here.