Cooper-Kahn, Joyce, Ph.D.

Joyce Cooper-Kahn is a clinical child psychologist with specific expertise in the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with executive functioning deficits. She is the author of two books on executive functioning: Late, Lost and Unprepared: A Parent’s Guide to Helping Children with Executive Functioning (Woodbine House, 2008) written with co-author Dr. Laurie Dietzel, and Boosting Executive Skills in the Classroom: A Practical Guide for Educators, written with Margaret Foster, M.A. (Jossey-Bass, 2013).

In her work, Dr. Cooper-Kahn brings together science, clinical experience, and an appreciation for the daily demands of those raising and teaching children. Her passion lies at this junction where psychology informs daily life.

For over 20 years, she has specialized in helping children, families and schools to successfully manage the full range of developmental challenges affecting children. Dr. Cooper-Kahn has worked in a variety of settings, including Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Kennedy-Krieger Institute. She is also the co-founder of Psychological Resource Associates, a private mental health practice in Severna Park, Maryland.

Late, Lost and Unprepared: How to Help Youth Build Better Executive Functioning

Executive functioning is an umbrella term for the mental processes that serve a supervisory role in thinking and behavior. Individuals with autism spectrum disorders, attention disorders and learning disabilities all have weak executive skills. For example, they may be disorganized and have trouble with planning, have weak ability to monitor their own behavior and performance, and struggle with situations where they must shift flexibly from one thought or behavior to another. We can help these young people by creating plans that include both short-term supports for daily success and long term strategies that facilitate the development of executive skills and build greater independence over time.

This workshop will provide parents, teachers and other professionals with an understanding of executive functioning and how to help children who have weak executive skills. First, we will focus on what research tells us about executive functioning. We will use that information to consider practical principles of intervention, and we will apply these to intervention planning and to creating an “EF Smart” environment. Participants will have the opportunity to consider the needs of an individual child and to create an intervention plan over the course of the day. There will be ample time for questions and discussion to enhance learning.