Executive function is a set of mental processes that helps us connect past experience with present action. People use these skills to perform activities such as planning, organizing, strategizing, paying attention to and remembering details and managing time and space.

You may have executive function challenges if you have trouble planning or carrying out a task at work or at home because you can’t visualize the finished product or goal. You may also notice you have difficulty motivating yourself to start a task that seems difficult or uninteresting.
Executive function, including inhibitory control, working memory, and mental flexibility, makes intentional self-regulation possible. Executive function skills help us to remember our goals and the steps needed to reach them, resist distractions along the way, and find a Plan B when Plan A doesn’t work out.

Sometimes executive dysfunction can run in families. Problems can be seen at any age but tend to become more apparent as children move through the early elementary grades. This is when the demands of completing schoolwork independently can trigger signs of a problem with executive function.

There is no simple test to identify all the different features of executive function. Your child may have problems with executive function if they have trouble:

– planning projects
– comprehending how much time a project will take to complete
– telling stories (verbally or in writing), struggling to communicate details in an organized, sequential manner
– memorizing and retrieving information from memory
– initiating activities or tasks, or generating ideas independently
– retaining information while doing something with it, for example, remembering a phone number while dialing

Executive function skills develop gradually and at different rates for different people. Most children struggle at one time or another with planning, organization and follow-through. Learning and attention issues, though, complicate this development. Children with LD or ADHD nearly always have difficulty with one or more executive skills, which can lead to obstacles in learning and behavior. This checklist will help you recognize executive function difficulties in your child.
In the past 6 months, my child…

• has difficulty paying attention
• is easily distracted
• requires many reminders to stay on task
• find it difficult to set goals
• seems to struggle with making decisions
• has trouble identifying where to start on assignments
• focuses on either details or the big picture at the expense of the other
• has difficulty getting started on tasks, often seems to procrastinate
• struggles to comprehend how much time a project will take to complete
• takes longer than peers to complete homework and other tasks
• needs numerous prompts from adults to stay on task
• loses track of time or assignment due dates
• forgets to turn in completed work
• struggles with keeping track of needed materials; often leaves materials at home or school
• finds checking his/her work very difficult (and may not do it at all)
• has trouble following multi-step directions
• forgets what he/she is saying or doing in the middle of a task
• forgets the details of a text while reading or soon after finishing
• gets frustrated with changes in schedule or usual routines
• has difficulty shifting from one activity to another (especially when the rules/task demands change)
• struggles with shifting between information that is literal vs. figurative, past vs. present, etc.
• gets stuck on parts of a task and can’t move forward
• seems to have difficulty controlling impulses – will say or do things without thinking about them first
• is easily frustrated
• often talks out of turn and/or interrupts others’ conversations

There are 8 behavioral categories for executive function that may help you better organize your observations of yourself or your child.

1. Impulse Control: the ability to stop and think before acting
2. Emotional Control: the ability to manage feelings by thinking about goals
3. Planning/Prioritizing: the ability to create steps to reach a goal and to make decisions about what to focus on
4. Flexibility: the ability to change strategies or revise plans when conditions change
5. Working Memory: the ability to hold information in mind and use it to complete a task
6. Self-Monitoring: the ability to monitor and evaluate your own performance
7. Task-Initiation: the ability to recognize when it is time to get started on something and begin without procrastinating
8. Organization: the ability to create and maintain systems to keep track of information or materials

Some kids, through maturation, good teaching, and trial and error, independently figure out ways to overcome or compensate for their executive skills weaknesses; others will require focused skill-building to acquire and master executive functioning skills. Most children with LD and ADHD, though, need extra support to develop or compensate for such deficits. As schoolwork gets harder and students are asked to be more independent learners, children with weak executive skills fall further and further behind. Feeling anxious about what to do and how well they’re doing (especially when they’re “winging it” without a strategy or plan of attack) can easily lead to feeling overloaded and overwhelmed. This in turn leads to exhaustion, inattentiveness and a cycle of insecurity and feeling out of control. Not a great scenario for learning or self-esteem!

Yes, we are happy to collaborate or partner with school staff to develop personalized strategies that will best address your child’s needs.