A Guide to Barkley's Inhibition Model

A practical interpretation of inhibition-first executive function science for educators and coaches.

Three Stages of Inhibition

1. Stop Pause prepotent response 2. Interrupt Break in-progress action chain 3. Protect Shield goal from interference

This sequence helps explain why students can "know what to do" yet still struggle in point-of-performance contexts. Coaching makes inhibition supports more visible and repeatable.

Browse EF ResourcesCompare to Brown Model
Waterfall cascading over rocks, a visual metaphor for how inhibition cascades into other executive functions
Inhibition cascades into the other executive functions.

Further Sources: Barkley Citations