Executive Function Skills

Do you have a student or a child who just can't seem to be organized or carry through with tasks? Can't pay attention long enough to get a plan together?  You may have heard reference to "executive function skills" in regards to these issues.  So, what are they?

Executive skills are thinking skills that help us select and achieve our goals (plans) and help us problem solve.  We use them to plan and organize, to attend to task and follow through until a task is complete.  We also use them to regulate our emotions and monitor our thoughts so that we can get work done timely and efficiently.  These types of skills include the following:

• planning- the ability to create a plan to reach a goal
• organization- the ability to keep track of information and materials
• time management- the ability to use your time to accomplish a task
• working memory- the ability to hold information in your head while you are completing a task
• metacognition- the ability to monitor and evaluate yourself, "How did I do?"

There are also some additional executive skills that build upon the above mentioned ones.  These skills are used in the process of carrying out a plan or when problem solving.  They include:

• response inhibition- the ability to think before you act
• emotional control- the ability to self regulate your emotions
• sustained attention- attend to or focus on a task
• flexibility- ability to change things or situations as needed
• goal directed persistence- the ability to follow through until a task is completed or a problem is solved

Most of this takes place in the frontal lobe of the brain (that is, the forehead area).  Interestingly, this area of the brain is among the last to develop and refine, into late adolescence.  NOTE:  *Late Adolescence!  These skills are still developing in children through the middle school and early high school years, which is often why we see kids in these age ranges be so scattered and disorganized. However, the demands of the school curriculum call for these higher order functions to be used by our children and students, and for some kids, therein lies the issue.  

Oftentimes, kids with weak executive functioning skills will be able compensate for this through other strengths that they have.  But, there are disorders that impact executive functioning skills, and some include:

• ADHD/ADD
• Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Brain Injury
• Emotional/Social Disorders, Mental Health Issues
• Cognitive/Learning Disabilities
• Sleep Issues, medication factors, etc.

There are accommodations and interventions that you can implement to help kids with executive skills deficits.  More on this later...

Dawson, P., & Guare, R.  (2010)  Executive skills in children and adolescents: A practical guide to assessment and intervention.  New York, NY:  The Guilford Press.

This book has a lot of good information regarding executive skills and is parent friendly~