{"id":31526,"date":"2025-03-13T12:45:05","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T12:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/?page_id=31526"},"modified":"2026-01-21T12:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T12:10:49","slug":"cognitive-flexibility","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/ordinarily-available-inclusive-provision\/targeted\/cognition-and-learning-needs\/executive-functioning\/cognitive-flexibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Cognitive flexibility"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"content-boxes clearfix\" id=\"block_acf-block-6970c2460c489\"><ul class=\"grid-x grid-margin-x small-up-1 medium-up-1 large-up-1\"><li class=\"cell box-contents\"><div class=\"box-contents-inner has-svg\"><div class=\"box-icon\"><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?> <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" id=\"Layer_1\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\"><defs><style>.cls-1{fill:#222959;stroke-width:0}<\/style><\/defs><g id=\"Group_7793\"><path id=\"Path_2\" fill=\"#f0d85d\" stroke-width=\"0\" d=\"M17.57 2.73h24.27l16.17 16.5v23.01L41.84 60H18.41L1.48 42.24V19.23l16.09-16.5Z\"><\/path><g id=\"question-octagon\"><g id=\"Group_7792\"><path id=\"Path_6596\" d=\"M17.02.55c.35-.35.83-.55 1.32-.55h23.3c.5 0 .97.2 1.32.55l16.48 16.48c.35.35.55.83.55 1.32v23.3c0 .5-.2.97-.55 1.32L42.96 59.45c-.35.35-.83.55-1.32.55h-23.3c-.5 0-.97-.2-1.32-.55L.55 42.97A1.88 1.88 0 0 1 0 41.65v-23.3c0-.5.2-.97.55-1.32L17.02.55Zm2.1 3.2L3.75 19.12v21.75l15.38 15.38h21.75l15.38-15.38V19.12L40.88 3.74H19.13Z\" class=\"cls-1\"><\/path><path id=\"Path_6597\" d=\"M19.57 21.78c-.01.24.08.48.26.65.18.17.41.27.66.26h3.14c.52-.01.95-.41 1.01-.93.34-2.43 2.05-4.21 5.1-4.21 2.61 0 5 1.27 5 4.33 0 2.36-1.42 3.44-3.67 5.09-2.56 1.81-4.58 3.93-4.44 7.37v.8c.03.51.45.92.96.91h3.08c.52 0 .94-.41.95-.93v-.39c0-2.66 1.04-3.44 3.84-5.51 2.32-1.72 4.73-3.62 4.73-7.63 0-5.6-4.85-8.31-10.16-8.31-4.82 0-10.09 2.19-10.45 8.48Zm5.92 21.38c.05 1.96 1.68 3.5 3.64 3.45.07 0 .14 0 .2-.01 2.32 0 3.91-1.46 3.91-3.44s-1.6-3.49-3.91-3.49a3.534 3.534 0 0 0-3.82 3.23c0 .09-.01.17-.01.26Z\" class=\"cls-1\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg> <\/div><h3><strong>Identification<\/strong> &#8211; what you may see in the child or young person<\/h3><div class=\"box-content list-col-1\"><ul>\n<li>Finds it hard to accept other people&#8217;s ideas, or to understand the perspectives of others.<\/li>\n<li>Has difficulty with transitions: they may become anxious when plans change and\/or have difficulty switching from one task to another.<\/li>\n<li>Finds it hard to transfer learning to new contexts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"content-boxes clearfix\" id=\"block_acf-block-6970c2460ccd4\"><ul class=\"grid-x grid-margin-x small-up-1 medium-up-1 large-up-1\"><li class=\"cell box-contents\"><div class=\"box-contents-inner has-svg\"><div class=\"box-icon\"><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?> <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 65 60\"><g data-name=\"Group 1\"><path fill=\"#f0d85d\" d=\"M3 4h59v56H3z\" data-name=\"Rectangle 1619\"><\/path><path fill=\"#222959\" d=\"M4.434.004A4.59 4.59 0 0 0 0 4.736v50.528a4.59 4.59 0 0 0 4.434 4.74h56.132A4.59 4.59 0 0 0 65 55.264V4.736A4.59 4.59 0 0 0 60.566.004Zm1.476 6.31h53.18v47.372h-7.382v-3.155H38.41v3.155H5.91V6.314ZM32.5 18.947a4.748 4.748 0 1 0 4.432 4.738 4.592 4.592 0 0 0-4.432-4.738Zm-11.816 5.53a3.506 3.506 0 0 0 0 7 3.506 3.506 0 0 0 0-7Zm23.633 0a3.281 3.281 0 0 0-2.957 1.745 3.764 3.764 0 0 0 0 3.61 3.281 3.281 0 0 0 2.957 1.745 3.567 3.567 0 0 0 0-7.1ZM32.5 31.578a13.579 13.579 0 0 0-8.526 2.912 10.54 10.54 0 0 0-3.291-.544c-3.559 0-7.391 2.012-7.391 4.513v2.594h38.416v-2.594c0-2.5-3.832-4.513-7.391-4.513a10.548 10.548 0 0 0-3.291.544 13.579 13.579 0 0 0-8.526-2.912Z\" data-name=\"Path 6598\"><\/path><\/g><\/svg> <\/div><h3><strong>Planned<\/strong> provision in school<\/h3><div class=\"box-content list-col-1\"><p>Based on need, some of this provision will be effective.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.schools.norfolk.gov.uk\/article\/71300\/Social-Stories--Comic-Strip-Conversations-OMG\" rel=\"noopener\">social stories and comic strip conversations<\/a> to teach social knowledge, with a focus on perspective taking<\/strong>. Begin by using these to capture situations or interactions that have gone well, before using them to unpick situations that a child or young person has found difficult.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Read and discuss <a href=\"https:\/\/imaginationsoup.net\/picture-books-teach-perspective\/\" rel=\"noopener\">stories that involve multiple perspectives<\/a><\/strong> (younger pupils)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Read books with <a href=\"https:\/\/sfpl.bibliocommons.com\/list\/share\/381551987\/1284390867\" rel=\"noopener\">multiple narrators<\/a> <\/strong>(older pupils).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Provide a developmentally appropriate personal <a href=\"https:\/\/autismlittlelearners.com\/visual-schedule\/\" rel=\"noopener\">visual schedule<\/a> <\/strong>and support the child or young person to use this. Ensure that items are removed or crossed off the schedule when they are finished.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Explicitly use a now and next board.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Teach and practise managing change<\/strong>, starting with a small change that the child or young person is likely to be pleased about, and building up to less welcome changes. Visually support this process using a &#8216;change&#8217; or &#8216;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sendco.co.uk\/index.php?view=article&amp;id=5:the-oops-change-in-routine-card&amp;catid=10:autism-resources\" rel=\"noopener\">oops<\/a>&#8216; icon on the child or young person&#8217;s timetable.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ensure that skills are practised in a range of contexts to support generalisation<\/strong> and talk explicitly about transferring what has been learnt to a new context. Consistent visuals and resources can support this process.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Provide clear roles and expectations during group tasks.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Provide regular opportunities for the child or young person to spend time with peers with a similar interest<\/strong>, where there are opportunities for talk and collaboration, but low demands (for example, &#8216;Brick Club&#8217;, drawing club, board games club). <a href=\"https:\/\/thesendcast.com\/lego-play-social-and-emotional-wellbeing\/\" rel=\"noopener\">This podcast provides a useful overview<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Provide support for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk\/sites\/default\/files\/2022-08\/AET-Supporting-autistic-learners-during-micro-transitions.pdf\" rel=\"noopener\">transitions during the day<\/a><\/strong>. Timers can support some children and young people to recognise that a task is about to end. Introduce timers as a way of showing that a non-preferred task is about to end, before expecting a child or young person to use them to transition away from a favourite activity.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use of an early exit pass<\/strong> for older children and young people who need additional time to successfully transition between lessons.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Provide <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk\/blog\/making-transitions-easier-autistic-learners\" rel=\"noopener\">enhanced transition<\/a> from one year to another, and between settings.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Additional provision is set out in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/ordinarily-available-inclusive-provision\/targeted\/communication-and-interaction-needs\/\">communication and interaction section<\/a> of this framework.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":981,"featured_media":0,"parent":31520,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-guides.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-31526","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-11 22:20:41","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/981"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31526"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35439,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31526\/revisions\/35439"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}