Prompt dependence can get worse when students with ADHD and executive dysfunction receive verbal reminders through every assignment and transition.
I worked with a fourth-grade student with ADHD and dyslexia who struggled with transitions, multi-step assignments, writing, math, and independent work completion. Staff were constantly nudging him through the next step.
Too many verbal prompts and explanations were interrupting his processing.
That meant we had to shift from providing support that was impossible to fade to giving him tools it he could eventually use without an adult.
The biggest change wasn’t simply that he completed more work. It was also that he stopped looking at adults for the next prompt and started looking at the tools he had learned to use himself.
If you’re supporting students with ADHD, executive dysfunction, working memory challenges, slow processing, transitions, or independent work completion, this video shows how reducing adult prompting can look.
CHAPTERS:
[0:00] When using too many “5 minute warnings” makes students reliant on adult support
[0:31] Why verbal prompts were making things worse for my student with ADHD and dyslexia
[1:20] Why verbal prompts are hard to fade when a student needs help with multi-step tasks
[2:15] The skills to teach students to replace verbal prompts
[3:19] When students have working memory issues, here’s how you help them remember instructions you give them
[4:30] What to do when a student takes way longer than you’d expect to complete work
[5:00] A simple tool that supports time perception in students who don’t have a strong sense of time
[6:40] How to teach kids the executive functioning skills needed to work independently
WATCH NEXT
▶️ 5-Steps That Reduce Prompt Dependence in Students with Executive Dysfunction: https://youtu.be/FzakOmycXkA
▶️ Why Too Many IEP Accommodations Make Prompt Dependence Worse: https://youtu.be/BPGJ-qT6UAk
▶️ Task Planning & Execution Protocol:
https://drkarenspeech.lpages.co/task-planning-execution-protocol-26-yt-1/
RESOURCES
👉 Free training: How to Be Evidence-Based and Neurodiversity-Affirming by Supporting Executive Functioning: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efleadership
Executive Functioning Implementation Guide for Schools: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/efguide
Learn how hundreds of clinicians are building scalable executive functioning interventions in the School of Clinical Leadership: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership
