Today, I was gearing up to write rant about why I don’t provide a ton of materials for executive functioning in my training programs like the School of Clinical Leadership.
Then I thought to myself, “I wonder what hot pile of garbage ChatGPT would give me if I asked it where to find EF lesson plans.”
Full disclosure, I do use ChatGPT for many things, including during my writing workflow.
I do find it useful if you know how to prompt it the right way, and as long as you’re keeping your writing skills sharp in addition to using AI for certain things.
But sometimes it hallucinates and gives me poor quality. It’s a process.
When I gave it the prompt, “What is the best place to find materials for therapy sessions to work on executive functioning?” I was pleasantly surprised.
Keep in mind, I’ve input my frameworks in to my ChatGPT history, so I’ve somewhat trained it to think like me…but given that this was a pretty general prompt, I was pleasantly surprised.
Here’s what it said:
If you’re looking for executive functioning therapy materials, the “best place” depends on what you actually mean by materials—because most of what’s out there falls into two very different buckets:
- Pre-made worksheets/activities (easy, but limited)
- Framework-driven tools you adapt (harder upfront, but actually scalable)
I’ll give you both—so you can decide based on how you work.
🔹 1. The fastest place to get ready-made materials
👉 Teachers Pay Teachers
This is where most clinicians go first—and for good reason.
- Thousands of EF resources (planning, attention, problem-solving, etc.)
- Everything from worksheets → full bundles → lesson plans
- You can filter by age, setting, or skill area
What it’s actually good for:
- Quick session prep
- Filling gaps when you’re short on time
- Getting ideas you can modify
Example of what you’ll find:
- Functional planning tasks (e.g., plan a trip, schedule a day)
- Time management workbooks
- Problem-solving scenarios and real-life tasks
👉 Reality check: Most of it is still activity-based, not system-based. Good for sessions. Not great for consistency across a caseload.
🔹 2. Printable toolkits (structured, but still surface-level)
👉 Etsy
You’ll find:
- Visual supports
- Strategy cards
- Behavior tracking sheets
- Parent guides
Example bundles include handouts + strategy cards + observation forms to support EF skills
What it’s good for:
- Parent communication
- Visual supports
- Quick implementation tools
Limitation:
These are usually packaged strategies, not a clinical progression.
🔹 3. Free + idea banks (use sparingly)
- Pinterest collections of EF activities and games
- Free worksheets floating around online (attention, planning, etc.)
What this is actually good for:
- Brainstorming
- Activity inspiration
What it’s NOT good for:
- Building a coherent therapy system
🔹 4. Apps and game-based tools (for engagement)
Some resources compile apps targeting:
- Working memory
- Processing speed
- Planning
- Attention
Use these when:
- You need engagement
- You’re targeting specific subskills
But: they rarely transfer unless embedded in a broader structure.
⚠️ Here’s the part most people won’t tell you
If you’re constantly asking “where do I find materials?”
that’s usually the wrong question.
Because executive functioning isn’t a content problem—it’s a structure problem.
You can have:
- 500 worksheets
- 20 apps
- 10 curriculums
…and still feel like:
- you’re reinventing sessions
- nothing carries over
- everything feels disconnected
🔹 What actually works better (if you want consistency)
Instead of asking “where do I find materials?”, shift to:
👉 “What system am I using to organize what I already have?”
The clinicians who get traction with EF are usually:
- Using repeatable task formats (planning, prioritizing, sequencing)
- Embedding EF into language + academic tasks
- Building complexity over time instead of rotating random activities
🔹 If you want a practical breakdown
Here’s a simple way to think about it:
- Use TPT/Etsy → for raw materials
- Use your own framework → to decide:
- what to target
- when to introduce it
- how to scale it
That’s the end of the output. Now it’s Karen talking again. What do you think? Personally, I’m a fan of this advice.
It’s why I’ve designed the School of Clinical Leadership the way I have, which includes a few materials, but most importantly, includes the frameworks, systems, and skills that help you pick relevant materials.
I’ll share MY personal take (the unfiltered non-AI straight from me answer) later this week.
For now, here’s an article that shows what I do INSTEAD of lesson plans, plus one protocol from the School of Clinical Leadership you can use in your therapy sessions.
