Parental Occupational Executive Training (POET)

The POET’s purpose is to enable early and timely intervention in young children presenting with ADHD symptoms and/or executive functioning delays. The intervention is designed to improve the children’s daily functioning and executive functions (EF); no preliminary medical diagnosis is required.

During the intervention process, parents will come to understand what EF are, how executive delays influence the daily functioning of children with ADHD symptoms, and what they can do to help their children be more successful in their day-to-day functioning.

The POET approach relates to all aspects of the child’s life, from getting up and handling their daily routines to organizing their personal belongings; from managing frustration and excitement reactions to occupying themselves independently. Combining training and coaching principles, the intervention includes eight sessions with parents after their child’s occupational therapy assessment. Its content is tailored to the child’s and family’s personal needs. We have also successfully used the POET protocol with children’s educators.

Study outcomes supports the POET’s feasibility and efficacy in face-to=face as well remote sessions!

Young children aged 3.0 to 7.5 years presenting functional difficulties due to executive delays or early ADHD symptoms.

The child will succeed (with an adult’s help) in:

• Finishing dressing in the morning within 20 minutes
• Leaving the restroom after washing and drying hands
• Playing independently in the afternoon for 15 minutes
• Touching a friend or parent in a pleasant way
• Getting out of their chair only once or twice during a meal
• Calming down and moving on from frustration
• Falling asleep within 30 minutes

“The POET language gives me, as a mother, a multidimensional observation and the possibility to put abilities into practice. The mapping of the executive functions areas in the diagram helps me understand our parenting struggles. It helps to give a broad picture, on the one hand, and a focus on the other hand. It organizes and enables.”

“The communication in the training process is very significant for me. . . . The empathy for the difficulties we face as parents, together with a very respectful attitude and support for our abilities as parents, allow cooperative work in the sessions and later at home. The solutions grow from a dialogical approach. . . . It’s a combination of knowledge and professional experience from which a clear action plan is created, along with listening to us as parents to find out what worked and what didn’t.”

Occupational therapists who have met the 35-hour training requirements may use the POET approach. Hebrew and English training POET courses are available at least once a year. Please visit the POET website for further details.

You can find information about POET courses and lectures on new developments related to it on the POET website.