Need to know: Teaching kids about cognitive flexibility 

Neurodivergent brains sometimes get stuck in a circular thought pattern, and often the individual doesn’t realise that it’s happening. You might see this as incessant requests from your child about the same thing even though you have said no multiple times. This can be misunderstood as your child not listening to you or trying to wear you down so that you give in to their request.

Getting stuck in a thought loop is linked to cognitive flexibility, the ability of our brain to appropriately adjust our behaviour to suit the environment and situation. Neurodivergent brains have more difficulty with transitioning between tasks, which is a core dimension of executive functioning.

Talking to your child about it, and giving them a common language to describe what happens, can empower you both to identify a “loop” and to find a way out.

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