The Executive Function Podcast for Student Success | Untapped Learning

What if executive function skills weren’t taught through worksheets, but through adventure?

In this episode, we sit down with Rhina Guzman, executive function coach at Untapped Learning and creator of our Dungeons & Dragons Executive Function Program.

Rhina explains how a tabletop role-playing game becomes a powerful tool for building organization, emotional regulation, task initiation, planning, and social problem-solving. Students manage character sheets, navigate uncertainty, regulate emotions under pressure, collaborate in group decisions, and initiate problem-solving—all in a fully screen-free, high-engagement environment.

This is executive function development through experience, not lectures.

If you’re a parent looking for creative, real-world ways to help your child build independence and confidence, this episode will shift how you think about skill development.

Learn more about Untapped Learning:

🌐 https://untappedlearning.com

📥 Free resources: https://untappedlearning.com/resource-type/downloads/

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Hosted by Brandon Slade. Produced by Nathan Weinberg.

If your teen says “I have anxiety” before every test, presentation, or big moment… this episode will change how you understand what’s actually happening.

Licensed clinical social worker Nick Thompson joins us to unpack the truth about anxiety, performance pressure, and why students shut down under stress. With over 15 years of experience working with adolescents and families in schools, private practice, residential treatment settings, and early intervention programs, Nick specializes in helping teens navigate anxiety, identity, and academic overwhelm without shame.

In this conversation, we break down the difference between anxiety and worry, why the brain mistakes discomfort for danger, how stress impacts focus and decision-making, and the connection between ADHD, creativity, and spiraling thoughts. Nick also shares practical tools students can use before tests or presentations, including grounding techniques, breathwork, and how to work with anxiety instead of fighting it.

If you’re a parent, educator, or student trying to make sense of performance anxiety and shutdowns, this conversation brings clarity, science, and real strategies you can use right away.

Learn more about Nick's work here: https://www.nicholasdthompson.com/

Explore Untapped Learning’s mentoring and free resources:

https://untappedlearning.com/

Few things are more frustrating than feeling like your brain just won’t hold onto information.

You try to follow directions.

You lose track halfway through.

You ask a question that was just answered.

And eventually, you start wondering if something is wrong with you.

In this episode of Executive Function for All, Brandon sits down with Andrew Watson — former high school teacher, Harvard M.Ed. in Mind, Brain, and Education, and author of Learning Begins — to unpack the science of working memory.

Here’s the hard truth:

Working memory capacity is limited for everyone. And despite what some programs claim, research does not strongly support that we can artificially increase it.

But here’s the hopeful part:

We can design systems that reduce overload and make learning more manageable.

Andrew shares:

• What working memory actually is

• Why it feels so frustrating

• Why low scores are not an academic death sentence

• The 3-question framework: Anticipate. Identify. Solve.

• Signs of overload that look like “not listening.”

• How dual coding (visual + verbal instruction) increases usable capacity

• Why emotional safety matters for cognitive performance

This episode reframes memory struggles from character flaws to capacity constraints.

Learn more about Andrew’s work at: https://translatethebrain.com/

Explore Untapped Learning’s mentoring and free resources: https://untappedlearning.com/

#WorkingMemory #ExecutiveFunction #ADHDSupport #EducationPodcast #UntappedLearning

Parenting teenagers often feels like walking a tightrope. You want to support them, but not smother them. You want to help, but not fix everything for them.

In this episode of Executive Function for All, we’re joined by Shawna Warner, a parent coach and clinical social worker who specializes in teenage resilience, identity development, and family dynamics.

We talk about what happens when a teen’s identity gets shaken by setbacks, how parents can tell when to step in versus step back, and why resilience is built through curiosity, not control. Shawna also shares practical tools for supporting highly sensitive teens, creating predictable after-school transitions, and helping kids develop a stronger sense of self without pressure or perfectionism.

If you’re parenting a teen who feels overwhelmed, emotionally reactive, or stuck in self-doubt, this conversation will help you respond with clarity, compassion, and confidence.

Want to learn more about how Untapped Learning helps students (and their families) build executive function skills?

Learn more about Shawna's work here: https://cultivatingresilientteens.com/meet-shawna-warner/

Explore our 1-on-1 mentoring, workshops, and free resources at

🌐 Website: https://untappedlearning.com

📥 Free Downloads: https://untappedlearning.com/resource-type/downloads/

📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/untappedlearning

In this episode of EF for All, we’re joined by Ali Schroer, LCSW—a psychotherapist, former classroom teacher, and nationally recognized expert on anxiety and executive functioning. As the founder of Schroer Counseling and Consulting, Ali brings a rare combination of clinical expertise and real-world experience supporting children, teens, families, and high-achieving adults.

Ali’s background includes training at Children’s Hospital Colorado and The Kempe Center, where she helped develop programs for youth anxiety. She now runs a thriving private practice, teaches at the University of Denver, and consults with major organizations like Faegre Drinker on mental health and well-being initiatives.

Together, we explore:

• The messy overlap between anxiety, ADHD, and executive functioning

• Why high achievers often struggle silently—and how to support them

• How perfectionism and avoidance show up in both kids and adults

• What parents can do instead of “snowplowing” obstacles away

Ali's perspective is practical, compassionate, and deeply human. Whether you’re a parent, educator, or professional looking for support, you’ll walk away with tools to face hard things and build lasting resilience.

🎧 Tune in and learn why preparing—not protecting—might be the most powerful way to support our kids.

Learn more about Ali's work here: https://schroercc.com/ https://www.mentalscopeconsulting.com/

Social struggles are often the most painful part of executive function challenges, and the least understood.

In this episode, Brandon sits down with Lana Gollyhorn, a psychotherapist with nearly two decades of experience working directly with children, adolescents, and families. Lana brings a rare lens into what kids are actually experiencing beneath the surface when social situations fall apart.

She explains how executive function challenges affect things like listening, remembering plans, regulating emotions, and reading social cues, and how those gaps can quickly turn into hurt feelings, perceived rejection, or intense after-school meltdowns. Parents will gain clarity on why their child may seem disengaged, overly reactive, controlling, or defensive with friends, even when connection is what they want most.

This conversation offers practical guidance for how parents can respond in the moment, support reflection without blame, and help their child rebuild friendships without overstepping. If your child often feels misunderstood socially or comes home emotionally flooded, this episode will help you see those moments through a more compassionate and accurate lens.

Learn more about Lana's work: https://lanagollyhorn.com/

In this episode of Executive Function for All, Brandon Slade talks with Licensed Professional Counselor Howard Baumgarten about the emotional side of executive function that often gets overlooked, especially for adults and men with ADHD.

Howard explains how suppression, anxiety, and past experiences show up as procrastination, distraction, and burnout. Instead of pushing harder, real change comes from slowing down, building self-compassion, and learning how to respond rather than react. When the nervous system calms, thinking gets easier, and follow-through becomes possible.

This episode is for adults who feel stuck, parents supporting overwhelmed students, and anyone who has tried routines and strategies without addressing what lies underneath.

🎧 Listen now to learn how compassion unlocks executive function.

Learn More about Howard's practice at: https://howardbaumgarten.com/

What if improving student mental health didn’t require more time, more programs, or more pressure?

In this episode of Executive Function for All, Brandon Slade sits down with Tessa Zimmerman, founder of Upstream Education, TEDx speaker, and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, to explore how short, intentional practices can reduce student stress and strengthen executive function.

Tessa shares how her own experience with severe anxiety shaped her work, why mental health tools belong in every classroom, and how just five minutes a day can help students build self-regulation, focus, and emotional awareness.

From calm being contagious, to simple classroom and home strategies like breathing, movement, and micro-wins, this conversation offers practical, brain-based tools for parents, educators, and school leaders who want to support students before burnout sets in.

Learn more about Tessa work here: https://www.upstreamedu.org/our-team

Jodi Sleeper-Triplett, MCC, SCAC, BCC, joins us for a powerful conversation about how ADHD and executive function coaching have transformed over the past three decades. As the founder of JST Coaching & Training and the creator of the first ICF-accredited student coach training focused on coaching students with ADHD, executive function, and learning challenges, Jodi brings deep expertise and a compassionate approach to helping students thrive.

In this episode, we explore how coaching students with ADHD and executive function challenges requires empathy, collaboration, and a shift in mindset for both adults and kids. Jodi shares what she’s learned from training thousands of coaches worldwide and what it truly means to support the whole child.

We talk about

• Why coaching works when other interventions fall short

• How to move from compliance to connection

• The difference between enabling and empowering

• What parents and teachers often miss about executive function

• How student voice and agency are key to long-term growth

Jodi’s insights will challenge and inspire anyone working with young people. Whether you're a parent, educator, or coach, this conversation will leave you thinking differently about what support can look like.

Learn more about Jodi’s work at jstcoachtraining.com

Want to learn more about how Untapped Learning helps students (and their families) build executive function skills?

Explore our 1-on-1 mentoring, workshops, and free resources at

🌐 Website: https://untappedlearning.com

📥 Free Downloads: https://untappedlearning.com/resource-type/downloads/

📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/untappedlearning

What if the college application process didn’t have to feel like a crisis?

In this episode, Brandon talks with Nita June, Founder of June College Counseling — an independent educational consultant who brings joy, intention, and humanity back into college admissions. With a background in theater and film, Nita helps students with ADHD and other learning differences find their voice, manage overwhelm, and approach the application process as a rite of passage, not a test of worth.

They discuss practical strategies for breaking writer’s block, balancing structure and creativity, and helping students advocate for themselves before they ever step foot on campus. Whether your teen is anxious, perfectionistic, or just stuck, this episode reframes the process as an opportunity to build executive function, resilience, and self-knowledge—skills that last long after the acceptance letter arrives.

🎧 Tune in for insight, laughter, and a much-needed reminder: this process can (and should) be joyful.

#ExecutiveFunction #CollegeAdmissions #Neurodiversity #ParentingTeens #UntappedLearning