Executive Function Coach Montreal
photo via @StockRocketWhat An Executive Function Coach Actually Does
An executive function coach teaches the systems a person uses to plan work, start it, keep track of it, and finish it on time. A coach does not teach the subject. A coach teaches the method the student uses on every subject.
Harvard's Center on the Developing Child describes executive function and self-regulation as working "like an air traffic control system in the brain, helping us manage information, make decisions, and plan ahead." Nobody is born with the system finished. It gets built.
That's the work. Building it on purpose, week after week, instead of waiting for it to arrive.
We coach four groups: middle school, high school, college, and adults. Adults run through a separate track. If that's you, start at adult executive functioning coaching instead of this page.
How Coaching Is Delivered
Virtually, over Zoom or Google Meet, on a weekly schedule.
Here is the part most pages in this market skip. The Ladder Method has been operating since 2008 and runs in-person instruction at two locations, New York City and Sherman Oaks.
What doesn't change on video: the assessment, the written plan, the assigned coach, the weekly session, the Student Success department behind that coach, and the skill tracking that runs the length of the program.
What does change: you're not driving anywhere. Sessions fit around a school schedule rather than a commute.
If you want in-person instruction specifically, we'd rather you know that now than find out on the intake call.
The Three Stages Of The Program
Stage 1. Intake and assessment.
It starts with a phone consultation with a client services enrollment specialist. Once we understand what the family needs, an assessment coach runs a full evaluation with the student and the family together. That evaluation produces a written report.
Stage 2. Implementation.
The evaluation team works with our Student Success department to build the plan. Sessions run weekly. The report sets how long each session runs and how often, so the schedule comes out of the assessment rather than a package tier.
Stage 3. Ongoing evaluation.
The assigned coach and the Student Success team review progress on a continuing basis and adjust where the skill work needs to move.
How We Track Whether It's Working
Every student is tracked three times: before starting, across the 18 months of the program, and after the program ends.
That's the measurement structure, and it's the reason the program is written as 18 months rather than an open-ended retainer. Skills get scored at the start, tracked through, and scored again at the end.
We publish cohort results by school year. The most recent published set covers the 2024-2025 school year cohort, and it carries our own disclaimer on the page: results are not a guarantee. You can read the published student results before you book anything.
The Twelve Skills We Coach
Executive function is commonly described as a set of 8 to 12 skills. These are the 12 we teach and score.
| Skill | What It Is | What It Looks Like When It's Missing |
|---|---|---|
| Organization | Building systems to keep things where they can be found | Homework and papers loose in a backpack. Keys and assignments regularly lost |
| Time Management | Judging accurately how long a task will take | Procrastination and surprise that something wasn't finished on time |
| Working Memory | Holding information in your head as long as you need it | Directions forgotten after several explanations. Nothing memorized without repetition |
| Self-Monitoring | Knowing how you're doing at a task while doing it | Genuine confusion about why a grade came back low |
| Planning | Sequencing a set of tasks and ranking them | No plan for a project, presentation, or night of homework |
| Focus and Attention | Holding attention, then shifting it when needed | Interrupting class or an adult with an unrelated topic |
| Task Initiation | Starting an assigned task without an adult prompting | Stalling at the start or getting stuck at the next step |
| Emotional Regulation | Responding proportionately to feedback | Overreaction to a correction or a setback |
| Task Management | Running the micro-steps of a big project in order | No sense of what the steps are or how much time each takes |
| Meta-Cognition | Knowing how you personally learn best | No working method for studying |
| Goal-Directed Perseverance | Staying with a task through difficulty | Several projects started, none finished |
| Flexibility | Adapting when a date or expectation moves | An outburst or impulsive response to the change |
Coaching Versus Tutoring Versus Therapy
Three different jobs. Parents get quoted all three for the same problem, so here's the split as we draw it.
| Executive Function Coaching | Tutoring | Therapy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What's Taught | The method the student uses across every subject | The content of one subject | Emotional processing |
| Trigger to Use It | Work is late, lost, or never started | A specific grade in a specific class | Distress, mood, or a clinical need |
| Who Delivers | An assigned coach with a team behind them | Usually one tutor | A licensed clinician |
| Time Horizon | 18 months, tracked start to finish | Usually a term or an exam | Clinically determined |
The distinction matters at intake. A student who understands the algebra but hands it in three days late does not need more algebra. We wrote a longer piece on the therapy line specifically: how executive function coaching differs from therapy.
Who This Program Is Not For
Four honest disqualifiers.
You want in-person sessions. We don't offer them. In-person instruction is New York City and Sherman Oaks only.
You want a grade fixed by Friday. This is an 18-month skill program with tracked scoring. It is not exam-week triage.
You want therapy. We coach skills. We are not a clinical practice.
You want subject tutoring only. We run academic tutoring as a separate service. Ask for that one by name.
Frequently Asked Questions
What actually happens on the first call?
You speak with a client services enrollment specialist about what the student is struggling with. If it's a fit, an assessment coach runs a full evaluation with the student and the family, and that evaluation produces the written report the plan is built from.
How long is the program?
18 months. Students are scored before starting, tracked across those 18 months, and scored again after the program ends.
How often are sessions?
Weekly. Session length and frequency come from the assessment report, so they're set per student rather than sold as a tier.
What ages do you coach?
Middle school, high school, college, and adults. Adults run on a separate track.
How is this different from tutoring?
Tutoring teaches a subject. Coaching teaches the method the student applies to every subject. A student who understands the material but never turns it in has an executive function problem, not a content problem.
Does my child need an ADHD diagnosis to start?
Executive function difficulty and ADHD overlap but are not the same thing. The CDC puts current ADHD diagnosis at roughly 7 million US children aged 3 to 17, about 11.7%, from its 2024 national parent survey. The assessment looks at skills, not at a diagnosis code.
Who else is involved besides the coach?
The Student Success department reviews progress alongside your assigned coach, and the family takes part in the initial evaluation.
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