How OT Helps with Executive Function

29 Jun How OT Helps with Executive Function

When I began my career as an occupational therapist 25 years ago, ADHD was not as common as it is now. These days, the majority of my patients have ADHD or demonstrate many of the symptoms including requiring executive function motivators.

When it comes to typically developing children and adults, understanding importance or that there are consequences to not accomplishing tasks can be enough. Some children also can be easily swayed by stickers and other rewards like gifts or praise.

Executive Function Motivators

According to psychiatrist Dr. William Dodson, children with ADHD have different motivators. His research determined that there were four: interest/passion, novelty, challenge, and urgency. ImpactParents, a resource for parents, adapted his research findings and created a more memorable acronym changing INCU to PINCH.

PINCH Acronym

The PINCH acronym is an adaptation of the four executive function motivators. P stands for play and replaces passion. I and N remain the same and relate to interest and novelty. C is for competition and challenges. Lastly, H is for “hurry up” and is equal to urgency.

How OT Helps

Speaking from decades of experience, I can see how occupational therapists are successful with improving executive function skills. We tailor our sessions to incorporate these motivators naturally given we consider the whole child in the design of our version of therapeutic play.

The PINCH acronym can be beneficial to parents at home and teachers at school. Click here to download a helpful Executive Function Motivators PDF as a guide.

Amy Baez is the Founder of Playapy and Creator of the PALS Handwriting Program. She is a pediatric occupational therapist, speaker, and parent educator with 25 years of experience.