Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children · Debbie Reber

A Masterclass in Executive Functioning with Seth Perler (Part 1 of 2)

·36 min·3 clips

Seth reveals that kids often can't do tasks because they lack skills, not because they won't try.

A short November note sets the frame. Debbie tells listeners she is returning to favorite conversations about executive functioning: planning, organizing, regulation, follow-through, motivation, time management, flexibility, and scaffolding. The episode is practical, but it does not hurry. Before strategies, the guest asks parents and teachers to look at the adult patterns kids are already absorbing. Inner work matters here. Therapy, books, journaling, and time with trusted friends come up as normal ways adults can become more congruent in their own lives. That work reaches kids, too. The point is not to perform growth for them. It is to let them see that hard things can be faced. Then the conversation turns to metacognition. The guest describes it as self-awareness: understanding yourself as a learner, feeler, emotional being, and thinker. Kids need words for that. When they know how they tick, they have a better chance of making choices instead of just reacting. Motivation gets a closer look as well. The guest names the familiar parent conclusions: the child is not motivated, procrastinates, lacks discipline, does not care, or is not trying hard enough. That story is too small. The episode points toward a more generous view of executive function, where behavior gets context before anyone jumps to a fix. Debbie keeps the parent worry in the room while giving the guest space to build the groundwork. The tone is humane: struggling kids and worn-out adults need language, scaffolding, and a reset, not more blame.

As heard by us

A useful reframing of executive function that starts with the adults in the room.

Debbie Reber brings Seth Perler back for a clear look at executive functioning, the skills kids use to plan, organize, regulate, and follow through.

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Why you'd press play

For when you want executive function explained without blame.

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