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Unstuck and On Target! Curriculum This is a lesson by lesson curriculum that includes all the elements needed to implement the intervention in a school or clinic. While this curriculum was created for use in these settings, community providers have also found Unstuck to be extremely helpful with their clients.

Coming Soon! What is Unstuck? ​​​An executive function curriculum that uses proven cognitive-behavioral techniques to improve flexibility, emotion regulation, planning and organization. A set of fun activities that cue larger concepts, resulting in a shared language and approach for learning to be flexible, set goals and make plans. An adaptable set of lessons designed for use in schools by any school staff, but also used in clinic settings. Unstuck meets Tier 2 Intervention requirements for IEP's and 504's, but has been used in mainstream classrooms and in Tier 3 educational settings as well. A suite of resources that includes: Manual of 21 small group lessons Companion book for parents teachers, and therapists to support generalization of Unstuck Online training modules with CE credits for teachers Brief videos and an accessible online training platform for parents to learn the language and strategies of Unstuck. Who is Unstuck for and Does it Work? Unstuck is designed for 8- to 11- year-olds with average IQ who have challenges with flexibility, organization and planning. It was originally developed for children with autism who have strong cognitive and language skills. However, it targets executive function abilities that are essential for all children to thrive at home and at school, and research has shown that is effective for children with ADHD as well as autism. Research has documented that Unstuck helps children: Become more flexible problem solvers Improve classroom behaviors for following directions, making transitions, and avoiding meltdowns and negativity. How Can I Learn Unstuck? Use the small group curriculum manual : complete lesson plans with explicit, step by step directions. Parents, teachers and therapists can read Solving Executive Function Challenges to learn strategies to generalize Unstuck skills. Parents and teachers can watch these short videos in English and Spanish, which provide simple, practical ideas parent can use immediately. Parents can complete e-Unstuck on-line training.

3 Ways to Compromise 3 Ways to Compromise ​ Download a poster showing three methods of compromising in any situation.

Unstuck and On Target at the 2023 National Association of School Psychologists Conference Thank you for joining us! See below for more about the information presented in the symposium and use the menu at the top of the page to learn about everything Unstuck . Don't forget to enter your email at the bottom of the page to sign up for our mailing list so we can keep you updated about upcoming projects and resources. Symposium Slides Want to review the information presented at the conference? You can access our slides below. Parent Videos Check out our videos that provide information and practical strategies that parents can immediately use to support their neurodivergent child’s executive functions. Interventionist Training Learn about the Unstuck and On Target for Elementary online training

Administrator Resources Interventionist Training Preview! These self-paced modules will allow Unstuck implementors to earn CEU's! Click below to view portions of the training and stay tuned for more information on when the entire training will be available! Module 1 provides an overview of the training and previews the resources and activities that are available to you as you complete the training. ​ View all of Module 1 here . In the following slides from Module 7: Watch Teachers Put Unstuck Into Action, you will see examples of the interactive slides, how we use the student case studies, and a teacher using Unstuck principles in their classroom.​ ​ View slides from Module 7 here . Click here to download Unstuck Snapshot summarizing the approach and research base for this EF intervention.

Solving Executive Function Challenges A how-to book for parents Solving Executive Function Challenges ( A how-to book for parents) ​ How can you help kids with autism be flexible, get organized, and work toward goals—not just in school but in everyday life? It's all about executive function, and this quick problem-solving guide helps you explicitly teach these critical skills to high-functioning children with autism (Grades K-8).

Unstuck and On Target for the Neurodivergent Community Why use Unstuck? Unstuck is a set of tools that help neurodivergent youth, and their families and their teachers better understand, support, and build executive functions. Unstuck was developed with guidance from the neurodivergent community. Its first goal is to improve understanding and recognition of appropriate supports and accommodations for people with executive function differences. It teaches people to recognize and use their strengths and also to self-advocate for supports they may need. Why are Executive Functions Important? Executive Functions are a set of brain-based abilities that help people set and achieve goals, make plans, handle disappointment, and stay flexible in the face of unexpected events. They enable us manage lots of information at once, and to show what we know, or demonstrate our skills to others. Executive Functions drive social skills and are more important than IQ for predicting success at school and long term happiness, relationships, employment and health. How does Unstuck build on strengths? Unstuck embraces the idea that we can’t make assumptions about how people approach a problem or why they feel stuck and that people build with what they have, their strengths. In this way, Unstuck builds on each individual’s ability to decide their own goals. In addition, Unstuck provides a common language so that neurodivergent and neurotypical people can solve problems together. Is Unstuck trying to "fix" neurodivergent people? The purpose of Unstuck is to solve mismatches between a person's brain-based differences and their environment. Unstuck does this in two ways: accommodations and teaching new skills. Unstuck is an intervention that doesn’t tell people WHAT to do, but rather HOW to work towards their goals. Neurodivergent people are often labelled as “rigid,” when in fact they are either struggling with a different understanding of the situation or don’t know how to be flexible in that situation. Importantly, Unstuck also recognizes that inflexibility can be adaptive, help prevent overload, and offer protection. Ari Ne’eman, the founding director of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network , helped us understand that “inflexibility provides order in the context of a world that is confusing and illogical for us.” Unstuck provides an algorithm for problem solving (Goal, Why, Plan, Do, Check) and ideas for how to flexibly respond to challenging situations. The participatory process: Including neurodivergent stakeholders From the beginning, Unstuck authors have developed the curriculum with the guidance of neurodivergent individuals. In its earliest forms, neurodivergent students were asked to evaluate each lesson and provide feedback. Each version of the curriculum has undergone detailed review by neurodivergent self-advocates. In his foreword to the Unstuck and On Target Curriculum (Elementary Edition), John Elder Robison said, “I was very surprised to realize that I could use ideas from Unstuck and On Target in my own life at age 53!” Recently, a neurodivergent student told us, “being stuck feels bad for everyone—so why are neurotypicals so rigid all the time? Shouldn’t THEY learn Unstuck ?” Having seen her 4th grade math teacher, she was right—the neurotypical person was the stuck person in the room! How does Unstuck advocate for accommodations and/or supports? At the heart of Unstuck is the idea that we accommodate and support FIRST to promote learning and participation for everyone. We encourage people, including neurodivergent people, to first think CAN’T YET rather than WON’T. This Can’t Yet not Won’t approach results in an empathic examination of what each individual is experiencing and seeks first to see what modifications can be made to make the task/environment more accessible. Unstuck curriculum is deeply-steeped in a disability rights approach that encourages universal design and the idea that often the challenge is the fit, not the task. ​ The high school curriculum, slated for publication in March 2023, focuses on a Self Advocacy Formula , which places neurodivergent individuals’ goals and right to obtain accommodations at its center. How does Unstuck build on strengths? Fix neurodivergent people Participatory process Accommodations

What is executive function? Executive Functions refer to a set of brain-based skills that are essential for people to be flexible and organized, set goals, and make plans. People with executive function differences often can tell you what to do, but they can’t do it. As a result, they are often viewed as obstinate, lazy and difficult. However, this a real struggle and needs to be addressed and supported so that people with executive function differences can learn, grow and reach their potential. Executive functions are made up of a set of skills that include: Flexibility Impulse control Emotional control/regulation Initiation (getting started) Working memory (holding something in mind as you are doing it) Planning Organization Self-monitoring (checking your work and your impact on others) This animation introduces parents to what executive functions are and what problems with executive functioning look like. It introduces simple steps parents can take to help their children. Este animación explica a padres que es el funcionamiento ejecutivo y como parecen problemas del funcionamiento ejecutivo. Presenta estrategias faciles que padres pueden usar para ayudar sus hijos. Managing Executive function THE UNSTUCK Way 1.Accommodate, Then Remediate ​ People who are overwhelmed can’t learn. If you are drowning in a series of demands that you can’t meet because of your brain differences, you are going to hunker down into protective mode. So the key is to first get people to a place where they can learn and then systematically teach and then fade supports. ​ 2. Think Can’t not Won’t ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Sometimes executive function challenges are hidden behind strong language and intelligence, leading to “they can do it if they want to" criticisms. But no matter how smart you are, executive function challenges lead to: overload variable performance frustration and low self esteem (internalized ableism) We can all relate to this: think of your ability to start a major project at the end of a long day. Likely you will be less effective and the product will be less good than if you started fresh the next day. That is because executive functions are an exhaustible resource that can be easily overwhelmed by fatigue, overload, or anxiety.

Unstuck in a Box ​ Save yourself valuable time by using these instructions to prep all of the materials you will need to implement Unstuck ahead of time. Unstuck in a Box

About the Authors Lauren Kenworthy Lauren Kenworthy, PhD, is Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry at the George Washington University School of Medicine, and Director of the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Children’s National Health System. Dr. Kenworthy received her BA from Yale University and PhD from the University of Maryland. Her research interests are in describing the cognitive strengths and supporting the cognitive weaknesses seen in autism ADHD and other developmental disabilities. She is an author of more than 90 peer-reviewed publications, and of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), as well as the Unstuck and On-Target curricula. She has completed two trials of Unstuck and On-Target in schools for children with ADHD or ASD. Monica Werner Monica Adler Werner, LGPC, MA specializes in program development, executive function interventions in autism, and parent coaching and support. She currently works in private practice at the Center for Assessment and Treatment and has deep experience in schools developing programming for children with Autism. She focuses on developing multidisciplinary teams that create child-centered programming. The goal is always to explicitly teach skills that emphasize problem solving, self-advocacy and self-regulation–while keeping students on track academically. She is a co-author of Unstuck and On Target (Brookes, 2011), a curriculum to enhance cognitive flexibility and problem solving in students with Autism and Solving Executive Function Challenges: Simple Ways to Get Kids with Autism Unstuck and on Target. Monica has an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters degrees from Johns Hopkins and Palo Alto University. She completed the coursework for a BCBA at Florida Institute of Technology. Lynn Cannon Lynn Cannon, M.Ed is a social learning specialist at The Ivymount School and The Maddux School. Ms. Cannon received her M.ED in Special Education from the University of Virginia. For over 15 years, she has worked as an educator, administrator and program director, serving students with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Ms. Cannon is also a co-author of Solving Executive Challenges, a resource guide for teachers and parents, The Conversation Club, an instructional manual for teaching conversation skills to students with neurodevelopmental disabilities and the Ivymount Social Cognition Package, a comprehensive, online system for supporting social and emotional learning in K-8 students with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders. Her research and teaching interests are in developing interventions and support materials for students with neurodevelopmental disabilities, therapists, educators and their families. Katie C. Alexander Katie C. Alexander, OTD, MS, OTR/L is an occupational therapist and clinician-researcher. Dr. Alexander received her BS, post-professional masters and doctorate from the University of Kansas Medical Center. For over 15 years, she has specialized in community and school-based intervention for individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities and served as the founding program director for the Model Asperger Program at The Ivymount School. Her research and clinical interests are in developing research-and strengths-based interventions and supports that improve the daily lives of individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families. Dr. Alexander also works to disseminate evidence-based practices and improve interprofessional collaboration. John F. Strang John F. Strang, PsyD, is a clinical neuropsychologist in the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Children’s National Hospital. He is also an Assistant Professor in the School of Medicine at George Washington University. Dr. Strang received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan and his doctorate from George Washington University. His clinical and research efforts focus on autistic adolescents, including those who are gender diverse. Dr. Strang celebrates the many members of his own family who are on the autism spectrum and approaches his work from a neurodiversity-affirmative framework, which recognizes the strengths inherent in variations in thinking style. He has received two foundation grants to develop and test the Unstuck and On Target: Grades 6-8 curriculum. Laura Gutermuth Anthony Laura Gutermuth Anthony, PhD, Professor, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, and the Pediatric Mental Health Institute at the Children’s Hospital Colorado. Dr. Anthony completed a dual degree PhD program in clinical and developmental psychology at the University of Illinois, Chicago in 1997. Since then, she has focused her most of her research and clinical work on children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and intervention development and implementation. She has also received funding for 11 federally-funded and 7 foundation research grants including several to study the Unstuck and On Target suite of interventions. Cara Pugliese Cara Pugliese, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Behavioral Sciences, and Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine, and a clinical psychologist at the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Children’s National Hospital. Dr. Pugliese received her BA from the University of Richmond, and PhD from Virginia Tech. Her clinical and research work focuses on developing evidence-based strategies to support executive function in transition-age youth with autism, and how best to implement these practices in community settings. She has received 4 federally funded and 1 foundation-funded research grants to develop and test the Unstuck & On Target: High School curriculum (to be published), served as an investigator on five community-based pragmatic trials, and is the author of over 20 peer-reviewed publications.

Resources for the Neurodivergent Community This self paced interactive e-learning course will : Empower parents to use Unstuck strategies promoting generalization Provide parents with an individualized set of insights and recommendations for their child,, including things to share with other caregivers, teachers, and community members ​ These short videos provide: Quick easy tips for supporting children Parent-parent tips, wisdom and experiences Experts answering common parent questions Estos videos cortos proporcionan: Padres que comparten su sabiduría y experiencias. Expertos que responden preguntas comunes de los padres Find Downloadable Resources for: Handouts for teachers Visuals for Parents Infographics Posters