Coach Bill / Dad, Entrepreneur Special Educator, American Political Scientist, Writer, Musician.

Parents and Coaches, Metacognition, an executive function skill, is the ability to think about your thinking. Taking a repeated objective look at the inner decision-making process of how one makes decisions is an abstract process that may seem nebulous at best to many. When used in conjunction with other EF skills, like self-monitoring, long term working memory, and foresight (anticipate/ predict), a person is able to learn, shift, correct, and execute better. But how do you get kids to this intuitively? Well, to a great extent you are already using your metacognitive execuvtive function skill 'muscles.' It is helpful to know where  your child's, or your own particualr deficits/ strengths are, in order to have a plan of action to be laser-focused and rendering results.  Consider this: small mindset, or perspective shifts can have massive implications down the road. Just like a large ship is moved by a small rudder, training our children with ...

"But there is now the point at which the research results have to be handled, and even if this committee decides that there is no association and that information gets out, the work has been done and through the freedom of information that will be taken by others and will be used in other ways beyond the control of this group." And I am very concerned about that as I suspect that it is already too late to do anything regardless of any professional body and what they say… My mandate as I sit here in this group is to make sure at the end of the day that 100,000,000 are immunized with DTP, Hepatitis B and if possible Hib, this year, next year and for many years to come, and that will have to be with thimerosal containing vaccines unless a miracle occurs and an alternative is found quickly and is tried and found to be safe."  - Dr. John Clements, World Health Organization, Simpsonwood, GA, June 7, 2000 The Center for Disease Control has been accused of flagrant co...

As a long board surfer of almost twenty years, having lived on O'ahu, Hawaii's famed North Shore, I have both experienced first hand and seen the immense power of crashing waves. It is quite a spectacle to behold especially if the breaking wave is coming on you. It is in that split second that I realize it is all coming down on me, that it is going to hold me down, scrape me against the reef, pummel me and then disorient me.  I am trained to use my energy smartly, since my body cannot come up for air. I literally meditate for 10-15 long seconds as the wave has its way with me. What can I do? Minimal energy expenditure to protect my head and face is all I can muster, knowing full well I must leave gas in the tank for the rest of the waves that will mercilessly crash on me to repeat the situation. You see, waves come in sets. You get stuck in the crash zone, and you will be there a while. the wave  sets come in 4-10 waves at a time. Your shoulders, back, arms, chest, and...

Coping when the facts say you have a deficit somewhere. . . . Does your child not have the best goal-directed persistence in the world? Does your child have an issue with sticking to the task at hand? How does this show up in long term goals? Feel like your not seeing that "stick-to-it-iveness?' Do not fret. For this child can learn to ask for help, work with others, and develop social skills necessary to get things accomplished. There is usually a silver-lining in all grey clouds. We just have to train our minds to look for it. It may be hard to find. Take the lotus flower for example. It comes straight out of the wet, swampy mud in its natural environment. When you look at its immediate nearby surroundings, it is not hard to marvel at how something so pleasant is born into what appears bleak, and forsaken-looking circumstances, yet the lotus thrives in the swampy land. The bottom line, forecasts and assumptions can be incorrect, no time to fret, or wallow in the mir...

A Wise entity called the Lord Almighty has said that, "before honor, comes humility." What has happened to our country is a unfolding travesty. The neurological health of collective America has been dealt a 'Mike Tyson' blow of tremendous proportions due to the desire of big business making profit, and turning a blind eye to the consequences of virtually unregulated growth. We are like frogs in pots of water that started in room temperature water, but now is boiling over with a neurological continuum of disorders directly linked to environmental pollution. Things are so bad that many of us cannot stand to hear the truth for far too long. It is like a 'Debbie-downer' to bring up the myriad ways in which we are slowly getting poisoned in our bodies, brain, and minds. Turning on the TV you will get reports of how our national drinking water has all sorts of harmful carcinogens, and pollutants, such as medications that are washed down the toilet, or th...

The brain' synaptic growth and pruning, or  the generation, and self-trimming of synaptic connections in a humans brain is in rampant activity between in-utero, and young adulthood (late 20's). A dual integration of effective instructional delivery, couples with an focused activity curriculum that is novel, emotionally engaging, and sustains the learner's attention is the best way to strengthen these synaptic linkages. In other words, this kind of development has to be on-going, fun, challenging, and practical, all at the same time. This can be made to look easy by a seasoned professional also. But it is not easy. In my own 'Coach Bill' executive functioning skills coaching program novelty and challenge can be found in my integration of EF skill refinement activities like metabolic interval training, isometric muscle training, long board surfing, small boat sailing, skiing, ice skating, paddleboarding, swimming, playing tennis, playing chess, role-playing, ...

One thing that Coach Bill is well-known for amongst the families and individuals he works with is 'pushing the envelope.' In order to be sought out for my skill as a coach for kids and adults with Learning Disabilities, Executive Function Skill deficits, or Autism, rendering results on an on-going basis is essential.  That means that I have to be keen on identifying that fine and shifting line of just how far past a learner's comfort zone I should push them.  If we are doing muscular exercise, the ideal goal would be to do high-quality resistance training repetitions until muscle failure. The coach guides the learner to the right resistance and acceptable movement arcs so as to limit doing a large quantity of reps before the muscle begins to tremble and fail. When muscle failure is reached, it is in that moment we have left the comfort zone, and are breaking new ground. As a life-long longboarder, while living on the North Shore of O'ahu, Hawaii, I sometimes su...