Children with dyslexia can improve executive function skills through explicit instruction, consistent routines, and evidence-based strategies that strengthen organization, working memory, planning, emotional regulation, and time management. While executive function challenges are common in children with dyslexia, these skills are not fixed. With the right support, children can continue developing them throughout childhood and adolescence.
If you’ve ever reminded your child to put their homework in their backpack only to find it sitting on the kitchen table five minutes later, you’re not alone. If getting out the door each morning feels like running a marathon or homework that should take thirty minutes stretches into two hours, you’ve probably wondered what is really going on.
Many parents assume these challenges come down to motivation, effort, or responsibility. They hear comments like, “She just needs to pay better attention,” or “He needs to get organized.” While those suggestions are usually well-intentioned, they often overlook what is actually happening inside the brain.
For many children, especially those with dyslexia, the real challenge involves executive function.
Understanding executive function is one of the most empowering things a parent can do. Once you understand why your child’s brain approaches planning, organization, memory, and self-regulation differently, frustration begins to give way to understanding. More importantly, you can begin using strategies that actually help.
Executive function is the brain’s management system for planning, memory, organization, and self-regulation. If you are still working out whether your child’s difficulties point to executive function, start with our guide to what executive function is and how it affects children with dyslexia. This article assumes you already recognize the challenges and want to know what to do about them.
Yes. Executive function skills can be explicitly taught, practiced, and strengthened over time. Just as children learn reading, math, or handwriting through direct instruction, they also learn organization, planning, time management, and self-regulation through modeling, guided practice, and repetition.
One of the biggest misconceptions about executive function is that children simply need to “try harder.”
Imagine asking someone to sit down at a piano and play a beautiful piece of music without ever teaching them where the keys are or how to read music. No matter how motivated they are, they cannot perform a skill they have never been taught.
Executive functioning works the same way.
Many children have never been explicitly taught how to organize a backpack, break a large assignment into manageable steps, estimate how long a task will take, or establish a consistent homework routine.
Adults often perform these skills automatically because they have practiced them for decades. Children are still developing the neural pathways that make these abilities become automatic.
Instead of assuming executive functioning will naturally develop on its own, parents can begin viewing these abilities as teachable skills that deserve intentional instruction, consistent support, and plenty of guided practice.
That shift in perspective often changes not only a child’s success, but also the entire family’s experience.
Parents searching for ways to improve executive function often hope to find a single magic solution.
The reality is much more encouraging.
Small, consistent changes practiced every day are often more effective than dramatic interventions.
Children thrive when daily routines become predictable. Knowing exactly what happens after school, before homework, and at bedtime reduces the number of decisions their brains must make. When fewer mental resources are spent figuring out what comes next, more energy becomes available for learning.
Visual supports can also make an enormous difference.
Instead of repeating verbal reminders throughout the morning, families can create simple routines that children gradually learn to follow independently. Over time, responsibility shifts from the parent to the child, building both confidence and independence.
Consistency matters far more than perfection. A routine followed most days of the week is much more valuable than an elaborate system that quickly falls apart. Predictable routines matter even more when a child is already spending significant mental energy on reading, which is why structured literacy instruction follows a consistent, repeated lesson format.
Working memory is one of the executive function skills that most commonly affects children with dyslexia.
Working memory allows us to temporarily hold information while using it. It helps children remember a teacher’s directions long enough to complete an assignment. It allows them to sound out a word while remembering the beginning of the sentence they are reading. It also supports mental math, writing, note-taking, and following conversations.
Parents can strengthen working memory by reducing unnecessary cognitive demands.
Giving one direction at a time, rather than four, helps children experience success. Encouraging them to repeat directions aloud before beginning a task reinforces memory while increasing confidence.
External supports also matter.
Writing assignments on a family calendar, using checklists, and keeping school materials in consistent locations all reduce the burden placed on working memory.
The goal is not to eliminate challenges entirely. The goal is to free the brain to focus on learning rather than remembering every small detail.
Working memory is one of the areas commonly examined during a full evaluation, alongside reading, spelling, and processing skills. Our guide covers how to get your child tested for dyslexia if you are considering that step.
Planning is another area where many children with dyslexia struggle.
Adults often underestimate how complicated planning actually is.
A seemingly simple assignment, such as writing a book report, requires choosing a book, reading it over several days, remembering important details, organizing ideas, writing a rough draft, revising the work, and submitting everything on time.
Each of those steps requires executive function.
Instead of expecting children to automatically know how to approach long-term projects, parents can help them learn to think ahead.
Asking questions such as, “What is the first thing we need to do?” or “What should happen after that?” teaches children to develop their own planning process.
Eventually, these conversations become internal habits that children begin using independently.
Many children who struggle with executive function have an inaccurate sense of time. They may genuinely believe that brushing their teeth takes one minute or that a science project can be completed the night before it is due. This is not because they are irresponsible. Their brains are still developing the ability to estimate, plan, and monitor time effectively.
Parents can help by making time more concrete. Instead of saying, “You have plenty of time,” it is often more helpful to say, “We are leaving in fifteen minutes. Let’s see if we can finish getting dressed before the kitchen timer rings.”
Over time, children begin connecting the passage of time with specific activities. They become better at estimating how long homework will take, how much time they need to get ready for school, and when to begin larger assignments.
As children mature, involving them in creating their own schedules also builds independence. Rather than telling them exactly what to do, invite them to think through their afternoon. Ask them what should happen first, what can wait, and how they will know when they are finished. These conversations strengthen planning skills while giving children ownership over their routines.
Organization is often one of the first areas parents notice when executive functioning is weak. Backpacks fill with crumpled papers, permission slips disappear, library books seem to vanish, and homework rarely makes it home and back to school.
It is tempting to solve the problem by becoming the family organizer, but children make the greatest progress when they gradually learn systems they can manage themselves.
Simple routines are usually more successful than complicated organizational systems.
A child who always places homework in the same folder, keeps that folder in the same section of the backpack, and empties the backpack at the same time every afternoon is far more likely to stay organized than a child expected to remember a dozen different steps.
Parents should also recognize that organization develops over many years. Expectations should grow gradually rather than all at once. Supporting a second grader looks very different from supporting a middle school student, and both are still learning skills that many adults continue refining throughout their lives.
Executive function is about much more than schoolwork. It also affects how children manage disappointment, frustration, anxiety, and unexpected changes.
Children with dyslexia often experience repeated academic challenges. Over time, those experiences can make even small setbacks feel overwhelming. A reading assignment, a spelling test, or a forgotten homework paper may trigger emotions that seem much bigger than the situation itself.
Helping children regulate those emotions begins with understanding that their reactions are not intentional misbehavior.
When emotions become intense, the thinking part of the brain becomes less accessible. This is rarely the best time to teach a lesson or solve a problem.
Instead, parents can focus on helping children feel calm and safe before discussing what happened. Once emotions settle, families can work together to think through what went well, what was difficult, and what might help next time.
These reflective conversations strengthen self awareness, problem solving, and emotional regulation, all of which are important executive functioning skills.
One of the most reassuring things parents can learn is that executive functioning develops slowly.
Understanding executive function skills by age helps families set realistic expectations.
Young children naturally depend on adults to organize their routines, manage transitions, and solve problems. As they move through elementary school, they gradually become more independent, although many still require reminders and support.
Middle school often brings a noticeable increase in executive functioning demands. Students suddenly manage multiple teachers, changing classrooms, larger workloads, extracurricular activities, and greater personal responsibility.
For children with dyslexia, this transition can be especially challenging because reading and writing continue requiring more mental effort than they do for many classmates.
High school introduces even greater expectations for independence. Students are expected to manage long-term assignments, prepare for tests, advocate for themselves, and balance academic responsibilities with sports, jobs, and social activities.
Parents sometimes worry when their child appears less mature than classmates in these areas. It is important to remember that executive functioning continues developing well into early adulthood. Growth is often gradual, and every child follows a unique developmental timeline.
Improving executive function does not happen overnight.
Children develop these skills through hundreds of small experiences that gradually strengthen their ability to plan, organize, remember, regulate emotions, and solve problems independently.
Some days will feel easier than others. There will still be forgotten homework assignments, misplaced backpacks, and difficult afternoons. Progress is rarely measured by perfection.
Instead, look for the small victories.
Notice when your child begins packing their backpack without being reminded. Celebrate when they recognize they need to start a project earlier than usual. Acknowledge the moments when they pause, think through a problem, or recover from disappointment more quickly than they did a few months ago.
These seemingly small accomplishments reflect meaningful growth in executive functioning.
For children with dyslexia, strengthening executive function provides benefits that extend far beyond reading. These skills support confidence, independence, resilience, and success in school, relationships, and eventually the workplace.
With patient guidance, consistent routines, and evidence-based instruction, children can develop the tools they need to navigate challenges with greater confidence. Executive functioning is not about becoming perfect. It is about helping children build the lifelong skills that allow them to thrive.
How long does it take to see improvement in executive function skills?
Most families notice small changes within four to six weeks of consistent routines, though meaningful improvement in independence usually takes several months. Executive function develops through repeated practice, so progress is gradual rather than sudden.
Should I use rewards to build executive function skills?
Rewards can help a child start a new routine, but they work best paired with explicit instruction in the skill itself. A child who is rewarded for remembering their homework folder still needs to be taught a system for remembering it.
My child manages fine at school but falls apart at home. Why?
School provides external structure through schedules, bells, and teacher prompts that support weak executive function. Home has fewer of those supports, so difficulties often show up there first and more intensely.
At what age should I stop helping with homework organization?
Support should reduce gradually rather than stop at a set age. Most children need help with organization through middle school, and children with dyslexia often benefit from continued support into high school.
Can screen time affect executive function?
Extended passive screen time reduces opportunities to practice planning, sustained attention, and self-regulation. The concern is less about screens themselves and more about what they replace, particularly unstructured play and reading.
Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (n.d.). Executive Function & Self-Regulation. Harvard University. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/executive-function/
Dawson, P., & Guare, R. (2018). Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents: A Practical Guide to Assessment and Intervention (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
Barkley, R. A. (2012). Executive Functions: What They Are, How They Work, and Why They Evolved. Guilford Press.
Baddeley, A. D. (2012). Working memory: Theories, models, and controversies. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 1–29.
Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135–168.
Megan Pinchback is the founder of Dyslexia On Demand, a virtual dyslexia therapy company serving students worldwide. She is a Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT), dyslexia advocate, national speaker, podcaster, and social media educator focused on helping families better understand dyslexia, structured literacy, advocacy, and the social-emotional impact of learning differences. Megan is also a mother of five and grandmother to one living outside of Austin, Texas.
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