The TGD

The TGD When Ed is struggling to grade lab reports, he remembers his identity as a supportive Dad! Trusted Tip: Take 60 seconds this evening to help your student name three "Non-Academic Wins" from their week. It could be a great rehearsal, a kind word to a friend, or even just keeping their cool during a long bus ride. Grow Your Mindset:  When a student ties their self-worth strictly to achievement, a missing assignment feels like a broken soul. By protecting their passions

From Fragile Identity to Resilient Self-Worth The Single Bucket Identity Welcome back! Tabitha is officially home from Hawaii and we are all bracing for the "Spring Forward" this weekend. While we love the extra daylight, we know that shifting our internal clocks can be a bit of a regulation hurdle for our EF families. Speaking of hurdles, we’ve been reflecting on a client moment this week. A student—known as "the smart one" in her family—received a poor grade on a science te

The Fragile Identity of the EF Student For many parents of students with Executive Function (EF) challenges, the emotional landscape of the school year can be baffling. A missing homework assignment or a B- on a test does not just result in disappointment; it often triggers a total emotional meltdown or a complete shutdown. It is crucial to understand that for these students, these reactions are not merely behavioral outbursts—they are identity crises. To understand why this

Reclaiming focus by anchoring to what matters most! When Interesting Competes with Important Aloha! Team TGD is soaking up some inspiration this week while Tabitha enjoys the Hawaiian sunshine. We are all feeling that high-vibe energy as the days get longer and the extra daylight starts to peek through our windows. Lately, we’ve been reflecting on how easily a "quick task" turns into a three-hour rabbit hole. Tabitha fell into these rabbit holes leading up to her trip — exper

A visual blueprint to help with working memory! The Brain's Blueprint We are officially deep into February, and Tabitha is currently fueled by the countdown to Hawaii! She is already dreaming of the sunshine and the sound of the ocean as a reset from the winter gray. Thank you to the rest of the TGD Team for holding down the fort! We’ve also been reflecting on how much easier it is to navigate a new place when you have a map. For our students, trying to hold a complex task in

A brain-based way to offload decisions while strengthening autonomy! We’ve been leaning into the lingering pace of winter this week! With the two-hour delays from the snow and ice, Team TGD has been enjoying the rare luxury of sleeping in and actually finishing a cup of coffee while it’s still hot. We’ve been reflecting on how "extra space" in the morning preserves the energy teens need to build their own identity. While they love the luxury of a lazy morning, the return to r

Last week we built the bobsled track. This week, we’re trading the "Manual Shovel" for a "Ski Lift" to stop the over-thinking and start the doing. We have talked about how the Prefrontal Cortex (the CEO) is like a Manual Snow Shovel—it’s exhausted from all the "deciding" and "starting." To save energy, we want to hand off the work to the Striatum (the habit center). Think of the Prefrontal Cortex like a Hiker trying to climb a snowy peak—every step is a conscious, painful cho

We’ve officially hit the "Mid-January Crunch." For our middle and high schoolers, the quarter is wrapping up, and the pressure of missing assignments is mounting. For our college students, the "Syllabus Shock" of a new semester is setting in. Last week, we talked about how "getting organized" is a giant boulder that crashes the brain’s operating system. We introduced the Proximal Process Goal —the "pebble"—a goal so small and concrete you could take a physical photo of it. If

When the snow piles up, we shovel. When the homework piles up, we shut down. Here is how to automate the "start" button using the science of If-Then rules. TRUSTED TIP Between the snow shoveling and the icy commutes, everyone’s mental battery is running a bit low. When we tell a student to "just start your homework," we are asking their Prefrontal Cortex —the brain's CEO—to do a lot of heavy lifting. Think of the Prefrontal Cortex like a Manual Snow Shovel ; it’s effective, b

From Break to Balance: Moving Beyond the "January Reset" We’ve all felt that quiet surge of hope during the holidays, imagining a fresh start where our kids actually use their planners, our college students stay ahead of their syllabi, or we finally conquer that overflowing professional inbox. But by the second week of January, that "New Year, New Me" energy often dissolves into the familiar friction of the morning scramble, the homework wars, or the mounting pile of unanswer

If you are entering the new year caught between a flicker of optimism and the sheer fatigue of being a constant "task manager," we understand the science behind that exhaustion—and we are here to help you replace that stress with evidence-based clarity. Maybe your mornings feel rushed and tense. Maybe homework turns into tears, shutdowns, or power struggles. You might be constantly prompting and reminding, wondering why your child—who you know is capable—still can’t seem to f

We’re trying out a newsletter format this month: The TGD! Each week, we’ll send you a TIP , a way to GROW  your mindset, and a link to our blog where you can DIVE  deep into the science behind the topic. This month, Hannah takes us on a deep dive into the science of learning with a brief literature review on the value of spaced practice for memory consolidation. As we grow our coaching practice, we'd love your help - the end of this message has 3 quick ways you can help. Than

Learn how sleep is an essential part of the process of learning and how you can leverage it in your life - especially if you have executive function challenges.

If you’ve ever spent hours cramming for a test—only to forget most of it a week later—you’re not alone. Students (and adults!) often assume that the more time we spend studying in one sitting, the more we’ll remember. But neuroscience shows that our brains simply don’t work that way. Learning isn’t about how long you study—it’s about how you s    p    a    c   e        o    u    t      your study time. This idea, known as spaced practice or the spacing effect, has been one of

Are You Uncomfortable Enough? Hello, and welcome from the team at TGD Coach! We are excited to launch our first regular newsletter, where we bring you evidence-based strategies designed to help you and your student Trust, Grow, and Develop  the executive function skills needed for success. For our first series, we’re tackling a huge pain point for parents: "I studied for hours, but still failed the test."  Our goal is to shift your family's focus from passive studying  to act