Unstuck and on Target!: An Executive Function Curriculum to Improve Flexibility, Planning, and Organization

For students with executive function challenges, problems with flexibility and goal-directed behavior can be a major obstacle to success in school and in life. With the enhanced second edition of this popular curriculum—now optimized for both in-person and virtual instruction—you’ll have everything you need to explicitly teach executive function skills in today’s educational environment.

A highly effective intervention for students ages 8–11, Unstuck & On Target! gives you 21 ready-to-use, field-tested lessons that boost critical skills like cognitive flexibility, problem solving, coping, and goal setting. Ideal for use with learners with autism, ADHD, and other challenges that affect executive function, this curriculum includes a comprehensive manual and a package of digital, downloadable components that are easy to print and use in face-to-face or virtual settings.

Unstuck and On Target! Benefits:

• Optimized for the way you teach today. The new reconfigured format makes the kit more flexible—you can use it in schools or during remote instruction.
• Meets the needs of MTSS Tier 2 learners. This proven curriculum is one of the few tailored to the needs of Tier 2 students who need more focused instruction.
• Gives you explicit, step-by-step routines, activities, and scripts to help students improve executive function skills.
• Targets the flexibility and planning skills every student needs to learn effectively, reduce stress, get along with others, problem-solve, and more.
• Can be done with any class, by any teacher. Each ready-to-use lesson comes complete with clear instructions, materials lists, and tips for teachers.
• Makes learning fun with engaging games, role plays, stories, and lively class discussions.
• Reinforces new skills through 19 Home Practice handouts in English and Spanish.

WHAT’S IN THE REFORMATTED KIT: One print manual * Two digital, print-ready gameboards, available as one-page 11x17 PDFs, two-page 8.5x11 PDFs, and PowerPoint files * Four digital, print-ready posters * 50+ handouts—digital downloads now available as fillable PDFs

FREE ONLINE TRAINING now available: If you’re new to Unstuck, now there’s a free online Elementary Educator Training to help you learn all about the curriculum and how to put it into action! Through interactive, engaging modules that fit easily into your busy schedule, you’ll  

• Learn how to recognize executive function challenges in your students 
• Get tips and tricks for supporting your students’ executive functioning 
• Meet teachers who have used Unstuck and learn how it helped their students 
• Get ready to launch and integrate Unstuck in your classroom  
• Learn new teaching skills and lead a calmer, more engaged classroom  

Access the training here 

Parent videos also available: Developed to complement Unstuck & On Target!, this video series offers simple steps parents can take to support children with executive functioning challenges. 

Access the videos here 

Want preprinted gameboards and posters? You can still order them here.

Already have the 2nd edition? Then you already have access to the new digital files! Just visit the existing downloads page on the Brookes Download Hub to access the files.

Lynn Cannon, M.Ed., is a Social Learning Specialist at The Ivymount School and The Maddux School. Ms. Cannon received her master’s degree in special education from the University of Virginia. For more than 15 years, she has worked as an educator, administrator, and program director, serving students with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Ms. Cannon is also a coauthor of Solving Executive Function Challenges: Simple Ways to Get Kids with Autism Unstuck and on Target (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2014), a resource guide for teachers and parents,The Conversation Club (Autism Asperger Publishing Company, 2018), an instructional manual for teaching conversation skills to students with neurodevelopmental disabilities and IvySCIP, an assessment, individualized education program development tool, and curricular resource for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Her research and teaching interests are in developing interventions and support materials for students with neurodevelopmental disabilities, therapists, educators, and their families.

Lauren Kenworthy, Ph.D., is Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry at the George Washington University School of Medicine, Associate Chief of the Neuropsychology Division and Director of the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Children’s National Health System. Dr. Kenworthy received her bachelor of arts degree from Yale University and her doctoral degree from the University of Maryland. Her research interests are in describing, supporting and treating neuropsychological phenotypes in autism. She is the author of more than 85 peer-reviewed publications, three treatment manuals, and a coauthor of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. She has participated in more than 25 funded research projects related to executive function, treatment evaluation and child development.

Katie C. Alexander, OTD, OTR/L, is an Occupational Therapist, a Clinician-Researcher, and Founder of The Occupational Therapy Institute, an organization dedicated to innovation and high-quality, evidence-based practices. Dr. Alexander received her bachelor of science and postprofessional graduate degrees from the University of Kansas Medical Center. For almost two decades, she has specialized in community and school-based intervention for individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities and served as the founding program director for the Model Asperger Program at The Ivymount School. Her research and clinical interests are in developing interventions and supports that improve the daily lives of individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families. Through her work as an author and national presenter, Dr. Alexander remains committed to enhancing evidence-based and collaborative practices across professional disciplines.

Monica Adler Werner, M.A., is a Program Director for Development, Training and Consulting at The Ivymount School and parent coach in the Washington, D.C., area. Prior to that she was the director of the Model Asperger Program (MAP) at The Ivymount School. In that capacity, she has spearheaded the development of a social learning curriculum that emphasizes problem solving, self-advocacy and self-regulation while keeping students on track academically. She is a coauthor of the first edition of Unstuck and On Target! (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2011) and Solving Executive Function Challenges: Simple Ways to Get Kids with Autism Unstuck and on Target (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2014). She is the coauthor of numerous papers and posters about working with children with Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism. Prior to joining The Ivymount School staff, Ms. Werner co-founded of Take2 Summer Camp, a program designed to pilot the application of evidence-based social skills programs. Ms. Werner has an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University. She has completed the coursework for her Board Certified Behavior Analyst certification.

Laura Gutermuth Anthony, Ph.D., is a psychologist and a Professor in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, and Children’s Hospital of Colorado. Dr. Anthony completed a dual degree doctoral program in clinical and developmental psychology at the University of Illinois, Chicago, in 1997. She has focused most of her research and clinical work on children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and authored o coauthored more than 75 publications. She has also received or participated in 32 externally funded research grants. She has specialized training and research experience using Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methods and partnerships to develop interventions, contextualize and disseminate results and implement findings in the community. In 2021, she was appointed the inaugural Director of Research for Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the University of Colorado.