Executive Functioning
What is Executive Function?
NCLD Editorial Staff (National Centre for Learning Disabilities
Published: December 17 2010 | Updated: July 11 2012
"Executive function is a set of mental processes that helps connect past experience with present action. People use it to perform activities such as planning, organizing, strategizing, paying attention to and remembering details, and managing time and space.
If you have trouble with executive function, these things are more difficult to do. You may also show a weakness with working memory, which is like "seeing in your mind's eye." This is an important tool in guiding your actions.
As with other learning disabilities, problems with executive function can run in families. It can be seen at any age, but it tends 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.
The brain continues to mature and develop connections well into adulthood. A person's executive function abilities are shaped by both physical changes in the brain and by life experiences, in the classroom and in the world at large. Early attention to developing efficient skills in this area can be very helpful. As a rule, it helps to give direct instruction, frequent reassurance, and explicit feedback.
How Does Executive Function Affect Learning?
In school, at home, or in the workplace, we're called on all day, every day, to self-regulate behavior. Executive function allows us to:
-Make plans
-Keep track of time and finish work on time
-Keep track of more than one thing at once
-Meaningfully include past knowledge in discussions
-Evaluate ideas and reflect on our work
-Change our minds and make mid-course corrections while thinking, reading, and writing
-Ask for help or seek more information when we need it
-Engage in group dynamics
-Wait to speak until we're called on
What Are the Warning Signs of Executive Function Problems?
A student may have problems with executive function when he or she has 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
How Are Problems with Executive Function Identified?
There is no single test or even battery of tests that identifies all of the different features of executive function. Educators, psychologists, speech-language pathologists, and others use a variety of tests to identify problems. Careful observation and trial teaching are invaluable in identifying and better understanding weaknesses in this area.
What Are Some Strategies to Help?
There are many effective strategies to help with the problem of executive function challenges. Here are some methods to try:
-General Strategies
-Take step-by-step approaches to work; rely on visual organizational aids.
-Use tools like time organizers, computers or watches with alarms.
-Prepare visual schedules and review them several times a day.
-Ask for written directions with oral instructions whenever possible.
-Plan and structure transition times and shifts in activities.
-Managing Time
-Create checklists and "to do" lists, estimating how long tasks will take.
-Break long assignments into chunks and assign time frames for completing each chunk.
-Use visual calendars at to keep track of long term assignments, due dates, chores, and activities.
-Use management software such as the Franklin Day Planner, Palm Pilot, or Lotus Organizer.
-Be sure to write the due date on top of each assignment.
-Managing Space and Materials
-Organize work space.
-Minimize clutter.
-Consider having separate work areas with complete sets of supplies for different activities.
-Schedule a weekly time to clean and organize the work space.
-Managing Work
-Make a checklist for getting through assignments. For example, a student's checklist could include such items as: get out pencil and paper; put name on paper; put due date on paper; read directions; etc.
-Meet with a teacher or supervisor on a regular basis to review work; troubleshoot problems.
What Is Executive Functioning?
The Basics
The executive functions all serve a "command and control" function; they can be viewed as the "conductor" of all cognitive skills.
Executive functions help you manage life tasks of all types. For example, executive functions let you organize a trip, a research project, or a paper for school.
Often, when we think of problems with executive functioning, we think of disorganization. However, organization is only one of these important skills.
The term "executive functioning" has become a common buzzword in schools and psychology offices. This is more than just a passing fad. In fact, neuropsychologists have been studying these skills for many years. We believe that the focus on executive functioning represents a significant advancement in our understanding of children (and adults!) and their unique profile of strengths and weaknesses.
A Formal Definition of Executive Functioning
Here is a formal definition of executive functioning:
The executive functions are a set of processes that all have to do with managing oneself and one's resources in order to achieve a goal. It is an umbrella term for the neurologically-based skills involving mental control and self-regulation.
What mental control skills are covered under this umbrella? Different researchers and practitioners have their own favorite lists, although the overall concept is basically the same. We use the list proposed by Drs. Gerard A. Gioia, Peter K. Isquith, Steven C. Guy, and Lauren Kenworthy. These psychologists developed their understanding of executive functions through sound research and created a rating scale that helps parents, teachers, and professionals understand a particular child and think more specifically about how to help.
Before looking at the list of specific characteristics encompassed by the broad category of executive functions, we'd like to provide an example that makes the concepts more concrete.
Understanding Executive Functions by Looking at Life without Them
Thinking about what life is like for someone with weak executive functioning gives us a better understanding of the way these core skills affect our ability to manage life tasks. In the interest of making the concepts immediately relevant and meaningful, our example focuses on an adult, since we assume that most people reading this book are adults, too. Throughout the rest of the book we've included mostly examples of executive functioning in younger people.
A road trip without a map
A List of Executive Functions
With this example as a base, let's turn back to the question of what specific abilities are covered under the umbrella term of executive functioning. Below is the list of executive functions from Dr. Gioia and his colleagues. We've included a specific illustration of each executive function from our case study of Robin in parentheses after each definition.
1.Inhibition - The ability to stop one's own behavior at the appropriate time, including stopping actions and thoughts. The flip side of inhibition is impulsivity; if you have weak ability to stop yourself from acting on your impulses, then you are "impulsive." (When Aunt Sue called, it would have made sense to tell her, "Let me check the calendar first. It sounds great, but I just need to look at everybody's schedules before I commit the whole family.")
2.Shift - The ability to move freely from one situation to another and to think flexibly in order to respond appropriately to the situation. (When the question emerged regarding who would watch the cats, Robin was stymied. Her husband, on the other hand, began generating possible solutions and was able to solve the problem relatively easily.)
3.Emotional Control - The ability to modulate emotional responses by bringing rational thought to bear on feelings. (The example here is Robin's anger when confronted with her own impulsive behavior in committing the family before checking out the dates: "Why are you all being so negative?")
4.Initiation - The ability to begin a task or activity and to independently generate ideas, responses, or problem-solving strategies. (Robin thought about calling to check on the date of the reunion, but she just didn't get around to it until her husband initiated the process.)
5.Working memory - The capacity to hold information in mind for the purpose of completing a task. (Robin could not keep the dates of the reunion in her head long enough to put them on the calendar after her initial phone call from Aunt Sue.)
6.Planning/Organization - The ability to manage current and future- oriented task demands. (In this case, Robin lacked the ability to systematically think about what the family would need to be ready for the trip and to get to the intended place at the intended time with their needs cared for along the way.)
7.Organization of Materials - The ability to impose order on work, play, and storage spaces. (It was Robin's job to organize the things needed for the trip. However, she just piled things into the car rather than systematically making checklists and organizing things so important items would be easily accessible, so the space would be used efficiently, and so that people and "stuff" would be orderly and comfortable in the car.)
8.Self-Monitoring - The ability to monitor one's own performance and to measure it against some standard of what is needed or expected. (Despite the fact that they're off to Missouri without knowing how to get there, with almost no planning for what will happen along the way, and without a map, Robin does not understand why her husband is so upset.)
The executive functions are a diverse, but related and overlapping, set of skills. In order to understand a person, it is important to look at which executive skills are problematic for her and to what degree.
Problems With:EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING
-Initiating
-Impulse control
-Switching attention
-Keeping appts
-Multi-tasking
-Transitions
-Generalizing
-learning
-Working memory
-Self--monitoring
-Regulating
-emotions/behavior
-Time & space
-Mental flexibility
-Homework//chores
-Goal setting
-Organizing
-Planning
-Monitoring
-Flexibility
-Making choices
NCLD Editorial Staff (National Centre for Learning Disabilities
Published: December 17 2010 | Updated: July 11 2012
"Executive function is a set of mental processes that helps connect past experience with present action. People use it to perform activities such as planning, organizing, strategizing, paying attention to and remembering details, and managing time and space.
If you have trouble with executive function, these things are more difficult to do. You may also show a weakness with working memory, which is like "seeing in your mind's eye." This is an important tool in guiding your actions.
As with other learning disabilities, problems with executive function can run in families. It can be seen at any age, but it tends 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.
The brain continues to mature and develop connections well into adulthood. A person's executive function abilities are shaped by both physical changes in the brain and by life experiences, in the classroom and in the world at large. Early attention to developing efficient skills in this area can be very helpful. As a rule, it helps to give direct instruction, frequent reassurance, and explicit feedback.
How Does Executive Function Affect Learning?
In school, at home, or in the workplace, we're called on all day, every day, to self-regulate behavior. Executive function allows us to:
-Make plans
-Keep track of time and finish work on time
-Keep track of more than one thing at once
-Meaningfully include past knowledge in discussions
-Evaluate ideas and reflect on our work
-Change our minds and make mid-course corrections while thinking, reading, and writing
-Ask for help or seek more information when we need it
-Engage in group dynamics
-Wait to speak until we're called on
What Are the Warning Signs of Executive Function Problems?
A student may have problems with executive function when he or she has 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
How Are Problems with Executive Function Identified?
There is no single test or even battery of tests that identifies all of the different features of executive function. Educators, psychologists, speech-language pathologists, and others use a variety of tests to identify problems. Careful observation and trial teaching are invaluable in identifying and better understanding weaknesses in this area.
What Are Some Strategies to Help?
There are many effective strategies to help with the problem of executive function challenges. Here are some methods to try:
-General Strategies
-Take step-by-step approaches to work; rely on visual organizational aids.
-Use tools like time organizers, computers or watches with alarms.
-Prepare visual schedules and review them several times a day.
-Ask for written directions with oral instructions whenever possible.
-Plan and structure transition times and shifts in activities.
-Managing Time
-Create checklists and "to do" lists, estimating how long tasks will take.
-Break long assignments into chunks and assign time frames for completing each chunk.
-Use visual calendars at to keep track of long term assignments, due dates, chores, and activities.
-Use management software such as the Franklin Day Planner, Palm Pilot, or Lotus Organizer.
-Be sure to write the due date on top of each assignment.
-Managing Space and Materials
-Organize work space.
-Minimize clutter.
-Consider having separate work areas with complete sets of supplies for different activities.
-Schedule a weekly time to clean and organize the work space.
-Managing Work
-Make a checklist for getting through assignments. For example, a student's checklist could include such items as: get out pencil and paper; put name on paper; put due date on paper; read directions; etc.
-Meet with a teacher or supervisor on a regular basis to review work; troubleshoot problems.
What Is Executive Functioning?
The Basics
The executive functions all serve a "command and control" function; they can be viewed as the "conductor" of all cognitive skills.
Executive functions help you manage life tasks of all types. For example, executive functions let you organize a trip, a research project, or a paper for school.
Often, when we think of problems with executive functioning, we think of disorganization. However, organization is only one of these important skills.
The term "executive functioning" has become a common buzzword in schools and psychology offices. This is more than just a passing fad. In fact, neuropsychologists have been studying these skills for many years. We believe that the focus on executive functioning represents a significant advancement in our understanding of children (and adults!) and their unique profile of strengths and weaknesses.
A Formal Definition of Executive Functioning
Here is a formal definition of executive functioning:
The executive functions are a set of processes that all have to do with managing oneself and one's resources in order to achieve a goal. It is an umbrella term for the neurologically-based skills involving mental control and self-regulation.
What mental control skills are covered under this umbrella? Different researchers and practitioners have their own favorite lists, although the overall concept is basically the same. We use the list proposed by Drs. Gerard A. Gioia, Peter K. Isquith, Steven C. Guy, and Lauren Kenworthy. These psychologists developed their understanding of executive functions through sound research and created a rating scale that helps parents, teachers, and professionals understand a particular child and think more specifically about how to help.
Before looking at the list of specific characteristics encompassed by the broad category of executive functions, we'd like to provide an example that makes the concepts more concrete.
Understanding Executive Functions by Looking at Life without Them
Thinking about what life is like for someone with weak executive functioning gives us a better understanding of the way these core skills affect our ability to manage life tasks. In the interest of making the concepts immediately relevant and meaningful, our example focuses on an adult, since we assume that most people reading this book are adults, too. Throughout the rest of the book we've included mostly examples of executive functioning in younger people.
A road trip without a map
A List of Executive Functions
With this example as a base, let's turn back to the question of what specific abilities are covered under the umbrella term of executive functioning. Below is the list of executive functions from Dr. Gioia and his colleagues. We've included a specific illustration of each executive function from our case study of Robin in parentheses after each definition.
1.Inhibition - The ability to stop one's own behavior at the appropriate time, including stopping actions and thoughts. The flip side of inhibition is impulsivity; if you have weak ability to stop yourself from acting on your impulses, then you are "impulsive." (When Aunt Sue called, it would have made sense to tell her, "Let me check the calendar first. It sounds great, but I just need to look at everybody's schedules before I commit the whole family.")
2.Shift - The ability to move freely from one situation to another and to think flexibly in order to respond appropriately to the situation. (When the question emerged regarding who would watch the cats, Robin was stymied. Her husband, on the other hand, began generating possible solutions and was able to solve the problem relatively easily.)
3.Emotional Control - The ability to modulate emotional responses by bringing rational thought to bear on feelings. (The example here is Robin's anger when confronted with her own impulsive behavior in committing the family before checking out the dates: "Why are you all being so negative?")
4.Initiation - The ability to begin a task or activity and to independently generate ideas, responses, or problem-solving strategies. (Robin thought about calling to check on the date of the reunion, but she just didn't get around to it until her husband initiated the process.)
5.Working memory - The capacity to hold information in mind for the purpose of completing a task. (Robin could not keep the dates of the reunion in her head long enough to put them on the calendar after her initial phone call from Aunt Sue.)
6.Planning/Organization - The ability to manage current and future- oriented task demands. (In this case, Robin lacked the ability to systematically think about what the family would need to be ready for the trip and to get to the intended place at the intended time with their needs cared for along the way.)
7.Organization of Materials - The ability to impose order on work, play, and storage spaces. (It was Robin's job to organize the things needed for the trip. However, she just piled things into the car rather than systematically making checklists and organizing things so important items would be easily accessible, so the space would be used efficiently, and so that people and "stuff" would be orderly and comfortable in the car.)
8.Self-Monitoring - The ability to monitor one's own performance and to measure it against some standard of what is needed or expected. (Despite the fact that they're off to Missouri without knowing how to get there, with almost no planning for what will happen along the way, and without a map, Robin does not understand why her husband is so upset.)
The executive functions are a diverse, but related and overlapping, set of skills. In order to understand a person, it is important to look at which executive skills are problematic for her and to what degree.
Problems With:EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING
-Initiating
-Impulse control
-Switching attention
-Keeping appts
-Multi-tasking
-Transitions
-Generalizing
-learning
-Working memory
-Self--monitoring
-Regulating
-emotions/behavior
-Time & space
-Mental flexibility
-Homework//chores
-Goal setting
-Organizing
-Planning
-Monitoring
-Flexibility
-Making choices
