Research and the EF Express
The Program is Based on Recent Evidence and Uses Strengths-Based and Neuroaffirming Principles
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As a pediatric occupational therapist and parent to two neurodivergent children, Cara saw a clear need for a program that could make complex executive function concepts tangible, visual, and engaging for both children and the adults who support them. Through years of hands-on experience in clinics, classrooms, and at home, she witnessed how overwhelming abstract cognitive skills can be without the right tools. The solution became The Executive Function Express, a strengths-based, train-themed framework designed to bring executive function to life in a way that’s practical, playful, and rooted in evidence.
7 Theoretical Underpinnings of The Executive Function Express
The Executive Function Express model is built on seven guiding principles that make it both effective and approachable. It embraces brain plasticity, recognizing that executive function skills can grow and improve over time. Using train terminology provides a familiar and visual language that resonates with children, caregivers, and professionals alike. The model is occupation-based and child-centered, focusing on meaningful activities that align with a child’s developmental level. Grounded in a strengths-based and holistic approach, it supports the whole child—honoring their sensory, emotional, cognitive, and social needs.
Many Models Informed the Development of the Program
The Person-Environmental-Occupation Model
​The Person-Environment-Occupation (PEO) Model is an occupational therapy framework that emphasizes the dynamic relationship between a person, their environment, and the meaningful activities (occupations) they engage in. It highlights how optimal performance and well-being occur when there's a good fit between these three elements. By considering an individual's strengths, challenges, sensory needs, and surroundings, the PEO model supports personalized, context-sensitive interventions that promote success in daily life. This approach is especially helpful in designing executive function supports that truly work in real-world settings.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs provides a critical lens through which The Executive Function Express was developed. According to Maslow, individuals must first have their basic physiological and safety needs met (such as food, rest, emotional security, and regulation) before they can access higher-level cognitive functions like decision-making, planning, and goal setting. In the same way, the train-themed model begins by supporting a child’s foundation: sensory regulation, interoception, and emotional stability. These are the "tracks" that allow the brain to move forward. By honoring the full spectrum of needs, from connection and belonging to confidence and self-actualization, The Executive Function Express creates a strengths-based pathway for learning that reflects the whole child, not just their thinking skills.
Bloom's Taxonomy
Bloom’s Taxonomy plays a key role in shaping The Executive Function Express by providing a structured framework for how thinking and learning progress. The taxonomy outlines six levels of cognitive development: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create. The levels closely align with how executive function skills grow over time. This progression is reflected throughout the program’s activities and tools, which begin with simple recall (e.g., naming steps in a routine) and gradually guide children toward higher-level thinking (e.g., evaluating choices or creating a personalized regulation plan). For example, a child might start by remembering their morning checklist, then understanding why each task helps them stay on track. As they build skills, they learn to apply those tools independently during transitions, analyze what went wrong when they forget, evaluate which strategies work best for them, and eventually create their own flexible routines that adapt to different situations. This intentional scaffolding helps children move from passive participants to confident conductors of their own executive function journey.
Jean Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory
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Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development significantly informed the design of The Executive Function Express by emphasizing how children's thinking evolves in stages, from concrete to abstract. Piaget described how young children in the preoperational and concrete operational stages learn best through hands-on experiences, visual supports, and tangible metaphors, exactly the kind of tools built into the train-themed model.
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The Executive Function Express uses concrete visuals like train tracks, stations, and clocks to match how children at these developmental levels process information. For example, instead of abstractly discussing "planning ahead," the model shows a map and multiple choices of track direction, helping children visualize choice and consequence in a developmentally appropriate way. As children mature, the model supports a transition toward more abstract thinking, mirroring Piaget’s formal operational stage by encouraging self-reflection, flexible problem solving, and metacognition. This progression allows the model to meet children where they are cognitively and grow with them over time.
Lev Vygotsky's Cognitive Development Theory
Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory plays a central role in shaping The Executive Function Express, particularly through the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Vygotsky believed that learning occurs best when children are guided just beyond their current level of independent ability, with the support of a more knowledgeable other. That may be a teacher, therapist, caregiver, or peer. This aligns directly with the model’s train metaphor: children may need help to switch tracks, understanding their route, or navigating a delay. But with scaffolding, they can grow into independence.
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In The Executive Function Express, tools and activities are intentionally designed to be scaffolded; meaning adults model and guide at first, then gradually fade support as the child gains confidence. For example, a child might initially need help identifying an interoceptive strategy using the Train Station visual. Over time, they begin choosing strategies on their own, showing they’ve moved from supported to independent use, Vygotsky’s ZPD in action.
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Additionally, Vygotsky emphasized that social interaction is critical to learning, which is why many of the activities in the model are collaborative, designed for dyads, small groups, or adult-child interaction. Executive function doesn’t develop in isolation, it thrives in relationship.
DIR/Floortime®
DIR/Floortime® Informs The Executive Function Express by emphasizing connection before correction—reminding us that co-regulation and trust are the foundation for skill development. Like DIR, The EF Express model recognizes that executive function doesn’t emerge through rigid instruction, but through playful interaction, emotional safety, and attuned support. Both approaches honor the whole child, emotionally, socially, and developmentally, while building capacity over time. Just like a train guided gently onto the right track, children thrive when learning is responsive, relational, and rooted in joy.​​
For links to articles and references cited within the book or workbooks, click here.
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Contact us at cara@ExecutiveFunctionInstitute.com with questions, to share an article, or to use The Executive Function Express for your capstone or research.