Beyond Tutoring: Rethinking Executive Functioning and Social Learning Support

By Ben Backes & Caryl Frankenberger

Frankenberger Associates Learning Solutions Center

When I learn of resources I can refer to my clients, I'm passionate about sharing them. As a "career counselor" I focus solely on helping individuals make informed decisions about pathways that are ideal for how their brain naturally functions, hence they would be thrive. However, many clients need additional, long-term support which is why I'm thrilled to share and recommend Frankenberger Associates. I've asked them to be a guest contributor this month so if you know of someone who could benefit from their specialty, I hope you will share as well.

At Frankenberger Associates Learning Solutions Center, we have always believed that many students are capable of far more than what traditional systems are able to capture.

Over the years, we repeatedly saw the same concerning pattern: Bright, thoughtful, capable children, adolescents and young adults who were being described as “lazy,” “unmotivated,” “disorganized,” “socially immature,” or “not working up to their potential.”

Many had already worked with tutors, participated in traditional social skills groups, or received school-based accommodations and support plans. Many came from deeply supportive, highly involved families who were advocating tirelessly for their child and doing everything they knew to do. Yet despite those efforts, many students continued to struggle in their day-to-day functioning, confidence, independence, and social relationships.

Not because they lacked intelligence, not because they lacked effort, but because the underlying issues driving their challenges were often being misunderstood.

Frankenberger Associates Learning Solutions Center was created to bridge that gap.

Where It Started

Frankenberger Associates Learning Solutions Center was built on decades of experience working with students who learn differently.

Caryl Frankenberger, Ed.M., originally founded Frankenberger Associates in 1987, focusing primarily on psychoeducational evaluations and helping families better understand complex learning profiles. Through her evaluation work, she developed a reputation for deeply understanding the nuanced cognitive, academic, executive functioning, and social-emotional challenges many students experience.

Caryl also served as the Head of The Greenwood School, a boarding school specializing in supporting boys with complex learning profiles. Her leadership there provided firsthand experience working with students whose challenges extended far beyond academics alone.

Over the years, one pattern became impossible to ignore: 

Even when families finally had answers through evaluations, diagnoses, accommodations, or tutoring, many students were still struggling in their day-to-day lives.

Bright students continued to battle with: organization, follow-through, flexibility, emotional regulation, independence, social relationships, anxiety, self-confidence, and more. 

Families often understood what was happening, but still lacked practical, individualized support that helped students function more successfully in real-world settings.

In 2020, the Learning Solutions Center division of Frankenberger Associates was officially established.

At the same time, Ben Backes, LCSW, was transitioning out of work within school systems and further into private practice, bringing a background in psychotherapy, behavioral health, executive functioning, and behavior change. Together, Caryl and Ben began building programs designed to bridge the gap between understanding a student’s challenges and actually helping them navigate everyday life more successfully.

One of the earliest areas of focus was social learning.

Initially, we utilized traditional group-based social skills models, including PEERS®-based programming. While these approaches offered valuable concepts and frameworks, we quickly realized something important:

Social development is far too individualized to be effectively addressed through rigid, one-size-fits-all programming alone.

Students struggling socially were not all struggling for the same reasons.

Some students struggled with anxiety or social confidence. Others had difficulty reading body nonverbal communication, understanding perspective-taking, or adapting flexibly during interactions. For some, emotional regulation and executive functioning challenges interfered with their ability to navigate social situations successfully. Others understood social concepts intellectually, yet struggled to apply them naturally in real-time interactions.

The more students we worked with, the clearer it became that effective social learning requires highly individualized, relationship-based support that is flexible and tailored to each individual’s unique profile. 

That realization became one of the foundational philosophies of Frankenberger Associates and continues to shape the organization’s approach today.

Why Traditional Support Often Falls Short

One of the biggest misconceptions we see is the belief that intelligence automatically translates to independence. In reality, many highly intelligent students struggle significantly with: task initiation, organization, planning, follow-through, flexibility, emotional regulation, self-monitoring, time management, social navigation, prioritization, etc. These challenges are often invisible to others.

A student may understand the material academically, yet still be unable to start assignments consistently, manage competing demands, regulate frustration, or navigate peer relationships effectively.

Traditional tutoring often focuses primarily on content, but many students do not actually have a content problem. They have a systems problem. They know what to do. They just can’t consistently execute it independently.

That distinction changes everything.

Our Executive Function Coaching Model

At Frankenberger Associates, Executive Function Coaching is not homework help disguised as coaching. Our model is deeply individualized and built around the student’s real-life curriculum and real-world responsibilities.

Rather than teaching executive functioning in isolation, our coaches work directly within the demands students are actively facing. This includes school assignments, long-term projects, scheduling, studying, communication, routines, and independent responsibilities.

This allows students to apply executive functioning skills immediately, in meaningful contexts, rather than learning abstract strategies that never transfer into daily life.

Equally important, our coaching is designed to build independence, not dependency.

The goal is not for students to rely on a coach forever. Rather, it is to help them develop sustainable systems, self-awareness, problem-solving abilities, and confidence that extends far beyond sessions.

Our team includes professionals with backgrounds in education, psychology, counseling, social work, occupational therapy, and related disciplines, all of whom are trained to understand the cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and environmental factors impacting performance.

Our Philosophy

At the core of Frankenberger Associates is a simple belief: No two learners are the same.

There is no universal roadmap for growth, executive functioning, or social development. That is why every program we create is individualized to the person in front of us.

We are not interested in quick fixes or one-size-fits-all solutions. We are interested in meaningful, sustainable growth that helps individuals function more successfully and confidently in their everyday lives.

For some students, that means learning how to independently manage school demands for the first time. For others, it means navigating friendships with greater confidence. For adults, it may mean finally developing systems that allow them to manage work, life, relationships, and responsibilities more effectively.

Whatever the goal, our mission remains the same: to help individuals better understand themselves, develop practical skills, and move toward greater independence and success.

To learn more about Frankenberger Associates Learning Solutions Center and our services, visit https: frankenbergerassociates.com

Reeder Consulting: College and Career Paths is a specialist in the career development field and the number one career counseling company in San Antonio, TX working with clients in all 50 states. We help individuals engage in career and aptitude testing to process information through meaningful conversations and give clarity to the stress of career decisions to Proceed with Confidence. www.reederconsulting.com