Purpose 🎯
Turn an overwhelming task into visible, manageable steps.
Let’s Talk About It 🗣️
Choose one task the client is avoiding or struggling to initiate.
Break it into:
- What is the first physical action?
- What materials are needed?
- What happens next?
- What does “finished” look like?
- What could make starting easier?
Add external supports when appropriate, such as:
- Timers
- Visual lists
- Reminders
- Body doubling
- Environmental changes
Ask:
- What part of the task feels most overwhelming?
- What is the smallest first step?
- What would make starting easier today?
If the Conversation Gets Stuck 💡
- If this task were 10% easier, what would change?
- What would you do first if someone were sitting beside you?
- What does “done enough” look like?
Telehealth / Whiteboard Version ⚖️
Use a shared checklist and write each step as a small visible action. Keep revising until the first step feels concrete and doable.
Why This Works 🌱
Breaking tasks into observable actions reduces cognitive load and supports initiation, planning, sequencing, and completion.
Clinical Pearl 🧠
For many autistic clients, task difficulty may come from unclear expectations, sensory demands, executive functioning load, or transition demands, not lack of motivation.
Documentation Language 📝
Therapist utilized an executive functioning intervention to assist client in breaking down an overwhelming task into manageable steps and identifying external supports for task initiation.
Clinical Focus: Executive Functioning, Task Initiation, Planning and Sequencing