End of Year Transitions: When Executive Function Gets Overloaded by Allegra Montemayor, Ph.D.
By April and May, something shifts in the classrooms. Students who were managing routines successfully a few months ago are now taking longer to initiate and get started. Even the smallest of changes feel bigger. Their task completion drops and their behavior increases.
As educators and families, we ask ourselves, “What is going on? We were making great progress!”
After 18 years in special education supporting instruction and behavior across classrooms and now supporting more campuses, I can tell you that this is not just behavior. This is executive functioning skills under stress.
I recall instances while working with teachers, both general education and special education teachers, and even instructional assistants, who would say: “He knows how to do this. He was doing it in February.” And they were right. The skill was there. But what was changing was not the skill itself, it was the student’s ability to access that skill consistently.
I have experienced students shut down during transitions, react quickly to changes in the routine, and avoid tasks they had previously attempted. At first, I could understand the teachers and staff frustration, but when I started looking at it through a different lens, an executive functioning lens, it made more sense.
So, what is actually happening? Executive functioning is the brain’s management system. It helps students (even us) learn how to get started (initiation), stay focused (attention), adjust to change (flexibility), and manage emotions (regulation). The reality is that at the end of the year, where we are in now, increases the demand for all these systems, at the exact time students are the most mentally fatigued.
So, what changes? STAAR testing schedules interrupt routines, field trips, end of year assemblies, and events increase unpredictability, academic demands may increase, structure becomes less consistent, everyone is a little more tired. All of this combined matters because executive functioning is not just about ability, it is about capacity. And by this point in the school year, that capacity is lower.
Instead of asking, “Why are they not doing it?” I started asking, “What part of executive functioning is on overload right now?” That mindset shift put things in perspective for me.
The focus then moves from compliance to support, from frustration to problem-solving, and to reacting to designing (or re-designing) the environment.
So, what now? Start by supporting task initiation. When students are “stuck” it is often not refusal, they just have a difficult time getting started. Try starting the first step into the task together or clearly show them how to start. Allow time for processing, and use visuals when possible to make those expectations more concrete.
Secondly, try increasing predictability. When students have hit a roadblock, especially at the end of the school year, predictability becomes even more important. Try updating your visual supports including visual schedules with fewer icons, so it is not so overwhelming. Also, try highlighting what is different that day that way there is no surprise and don’t forget to use “first/then” language. Try to pair the verbal with visual supports as much as you can.
Next, did you know that more is not always better? Especially during this time of year. Try chunking tasks/assignments, reduce the number of items they have to complete at a time, and use structured supports to complete a task.
Lastly, momentum matters. Students are more likely to engage after experiencing success. So, try starting with tasks/activities that they can complete quickly, offer immediate and specific feedback that way they feel success sooner than later, and create small wins before harder demands begin.
If you are feeling like things are harder right now, you are not alone and this is very typical of this time of the school year. Also realize that your students are not “checking out,” they are working with systems that are simply more taxed than they were earlier in the school year.
At the end of the school year, students do not need any more pressure than they already are in. They need environments that are accessible: that account for fatigue, reduce unnecessary demands, and support those executive function systems.
Let’s make success more accessible!