Healthcare

What is Executive Function and Why Does it Matter?

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If you are a parent of a neurodivergent individual, you may or may not have heard of the term executive functioning or executive dysfunction. It may seem like yet another skill your child is lacking, when there are so many challenges going on.

This post will teach you what executive function is, why it’s important, and how to set your child up for success for the future.

executive function

What Is Executive Function

Executive Functioning is “a group of interrelated cognitive processes” (ASHA). Some examples are problem solving, task initiation, sustaining attention, motivation, goal setting and task completion. If you think of any task you’ve had to do for work, it may involve any one of these processes, if not multiple.

Think of anything you need to prepare for a day, an assignment, a party, or even just a walk around the block- it may be difficult for someone who has an executive function deficit to plan and organize for an activity. In particular, starting a task is difficult in terms of gathering all the materials necessary, persevering through the task, or just having the motivation to start in the first place. This is not laziness- for neurodivergent individuals, they want to start a task but are not able to do so. Time management is another challenge that can be frustrating. A neurodivergent person may struggle to think how long a certain task will take which can result in missing deadlines or being late to events. They cannot pay attention to social cues of others or think how others might feel as a result of their behaviors, such as being late. Working memory is holding information and applying it to their work. It may take more time for a person to process information and use it, and it can be beneficial to process information in smaller parts in order to increase efficiency. Attention can be challenging in terms of sustaining attention due to motivation challenges, distractions, or dysregulation. It is also hard to cope with changes because a person with an executive function disorder may not be able to easily formulate a plan to react to a change.

Research shows that executive function skills are linked to positive academic and career outcomes. Oftentimes, the students I see at the college age do not have these skills, and they haven’t been worked on in their past therapies or other services received. Therefore, it’s important to start building these skills early so by the time your child gets to college or gets a job, they are more equipped. 

Here are some ways to build student success in executive function:

  1. Engage your child in decision making: One way to improve executive function skills is to involve your child in decisions. For example, deciding what extracurricular activities they want to participate in and why. Walk them through the process of pros and cons. Additionally, involve them in tasks around the house and propose choices to them where they need to practice making informed decisions with your support, Such as when to take the trash out if you know trash day is Friday morning.  Invite them to IEP conversations, since often times your child knows what they need.
  2. Increase self confidence and self advocacy- Teach self advocacy by knowing who will support at school and how to ask for that support. Have them practice asking for support with different methods (in person, phone, email, zoom). Have them think about the best times in their schedule to self-advocate to different people. 
  3. See the big picture: Help your child follow three steps: reflecting on the past (triumphs and hurdles), look at the present (what you need to address your needs right now) and lastly formulate their goals to help them remember what they are working toward.

This is an example activity I would do with a student to help them think big picture. I would walk through each area, define it with the student in their own words, and identify they strengths and areas of need in each section. From there, then we can make their goals for our session and make them things that are THEIR priority not mine, to increase by-in and positive therapy outcomes.

So, how can you advocate for your child? Firstly, embrace their neurodiversity, difference or disability at home and at school. This will hopefully create a positive self-concept and self-esteem around their identity and help to increase their confidence in self-advocating. With accommodations, advocate for what your child needs, especially if it is left out of the IEP. Explain to your child and the people on their support team the WHY behind a particular accommodation. For example, my child needs a quiet place to take a test because having others around increases their anxiety and causes them to shut down. Share what works best for your child. Over the years of your child facing struggles and developing strategies, you will learn what works best for them. Share that with everyone on their team. I’ll share a tool for that on the next slide. Speak up if a situation is mishandled- a student may experience teasing, bullying or discrimination, may not receive an accommodation or is misunderstood. It’s important to speak up in these situations to set an example for your child and/or for your child to advocate for themselves. Listen to autistic or neurodivergent voices first. They have the personal perspective, and this can give your insight on something your child is experiencing that you didn’t realize, or you had a different idea about. And lastly, as we said, teach your child to advocate. 

If you prefer video, you can watch my webinar on EF here.

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