When Progress Is not Linear: Understanding Fluctuating Capacity

by Carrie McGillicuddy

Do you have a student who is absolutely on fire one week? They’re completing five assignments in a single day, proactively scheduling meetings with their teachers and support staff, keeping up with their responsibilities, and, in some cases, literally training for marathons as student-athletes.

As parents, especially those of us raising neurodivergent children, it can feel like a huge relief. After weeks or even months of struggle, it finally seems as though everything is clicking into place.

Then the next week arrives.

Suddenly, they can’t find anything. They can’t get started on tasks without multiple reminders. They miss meetings. They can only focus on one thing at a time. It can be incredibly frustrating because we know they are capable of these skills. After all, they demonstrated them just days before.

What Happened?

The answer is often fluctuating capacity.

If this sounds familiar, either for your student or even for yourself, don’t panic. The truth is that each of us has a finite amount of cognitive, emotional, and physical energy available at any given time. Sometimes the things that consume that energy are obvious: a heavy workload, a major competition, multiple meetings in one day, or an upcoming deadline.

Other times, the demands are less visible. A disagreement with a friend. Family stress. Poor sleep. Changes in routine. A few days of less-than-ideal nutrition. Even something as simple as the weather can impact our energy, motivation, and ability to focus.

A Hard Week Does Not Mean Lost Progress

When capacity decreases, it doesn’t mean a student has lost a skill. It doesn’t mean they are regressing. More often, it means the skill is still developing and requires conscious effort to use. The student may have mastered the skill in a supported environment, but it has not yet become automatic. Instead, they are relying on willpower to sustain it, and willpower is a limited resource.

How Executive Functioning Support Helps

This is where executive functioning support can make a meaningful difference.

Through the GOAL Program, students work one-on-one with GOAL staff to externalize executive functioning demands and build systems that reduce the burden on working memory.

Using tools, routines, and individualized strategies, students learn how to make important skills like organization, planning, self-monitoring, emotional regulation, and task initiation more automatic over time. As these supports become part of a student’s daily routine, their brain is freed up to focus less on managing demands and more on demonstrating what they know and can do.

Support That Benefits Many Learners

Whether your student is neurodivergent or neurotypical, explicit instruction in executive functioning skills can benefit any learner. If you believe your student could benefit from support in areas such as organization, planning, emotional regulation, attention regulation, or self-advocacy, please reach out to Carrie McGillicuddy, Director of the GOAL Program and Head of Student Support, to learn more about available services.