# Unstuck Fast Facts

## What is the goal of Unstuck and On Target (UOT)?
To improve executive functioning in students at school to help them be more flexible, well-regulated problem-solvers.

- Executive functioning skills include:
  - Planning
  - Flexibility
  - Organization

- Executive functioning problems include:
  - Trouble transitioning
  - Completing multiple-step tasks

## What is Unstuck?
- Provides 21 easy-to-lead school-based small group sessions that last 30–40 minutes each.
- Can be implemented in any setting: general or special education classrooms, pull-out groups, or after-school clubs.
- Supplies needed materials or uses items that are already available in schools (glue, scissors, etc.).
- Includes simple classroom and home practice guides for each lesson.
- Provides parent resources in both English and Spanish.
- Includes visual supports and posters for abstract concepts.

## Who is Unstuck for?
Unstuck can be used for children who have executive functioning problems and the verbal ability of a 7- or 8-year-old. We developed and tested it with third- through fifth-graders.

## Who is qualified to teach Unstuck?
All types of professional school personnel—including teachers, special educators, school social workers, speech-language therapists, occupational therapists, counselors, or school psychologists—can teach Unstuck effectively.

## How did we develop Unstuck?
A team of teachers, psychologists, occupational therapists, parents, and students were involved in the development of Unstuck.

## Does Unstuck work?
We tested Unstuck in Title I elementary schools with racially, ethnically, and language diverse families and compared it to an empowering behavior management program (Contingency Behavior Management; CBM).

|  | ASD |  | ADHD |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | UOT | CBM | UOT | CBM |
| Improved classroom behavior | √ | X | √ | √ |
| Better problem-solving | √ | √ | √ | X |
| More flexible | √ | X | √ | √ |
| Improved planning | √ | X | √ | √ |
| Higher student & parent satisfaction | √ | X | √ | X |

Higher student & parent satisfaction

√: greater or improved, X: less or not improved

UOT worked well for students with ASD and for students with ADHD in improving classroom behaviors.

UOT and CBM worked well for everyone, no matter how old they were, what race they were, the family’s income, or what language was spoken in the home! Also, any educational team member, regardless of his or her discipline or expertise, can lead the groups.

This study was supported by The Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI AD-1304-7379).

## Here’s what kids say they learned:
“Being able to have multiple plans because if I don’t have multiple plans I get stuck. If I have multiple plans I can get a little of what I want, rather than not at all. In most situations that’s better.”

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Unstuck and On Target! An Executive Function Curriculum to Improve Flexibility, Planning, and Organization, Second Edition, by Lynn Cannon, Lauren Kenworthy, Katie C. Alexander, Monica Adler Werner, & Laura Gutermuth Anthony. Copyright © 2021 Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved.