Executive Functioning: It’s not all about being able to attend….
It’s not all about being able to attend….
By Cassandra Thomas, MA-CCC-SLP
ADHD is something we hear about quite a bit. That’s a good thing because it affects an estimated 6 million (9.8%) children aged 3–17 in the US, according to a national survey, using data from 2016-2019. While this is something that can impact all areas of life functioning, something we don’t hear enough about is Executive Functioning skills. While people diagnosed with ADHD will have executive function deficits, not all people with executive function deficits have ADHD. Something else that is noteworthy is that many psychologists believe that executive function skills may be a better predictor of success than IQ.
Executive function skills are a set of brain processes that connect us consciously to our environment. There are 3 domains for executive function: self-regulation, self-determination, self-direction and under those there are 10 subcategories: self-understanding, organizational skills, time management, emotional control, behavior control, flexibility, initiative, attention, working memory, persistence. If any of these areas are not working to the best of their ability, important parts of everyday life will be difficult.
Imagine a child, regardless of age, that lacks understanding of self. From not understanding where their body ends, and the world begins to lack an understanding of their own feelings this can impact day to day function.
A child who has difficulty with organizational skills may not only have difficulty keeping track of their belongings, but they may also very well have trouble organizing tasks for completion or organizing a story to tell. This can affect day to day functioning in a multitude of ways. This also negatively affects time management. Not being able to organize tasks to complete also means that there is a lack of understanding of how long it may take to complete the task. This can lead to task avoidance, which is where initiation comes in, and ultimately may lead to meltdowns when the child’s “wall of awful” seems too big to get over.
A child who lacks self-regulation is likely to have trouble with both emotional control and behavior control. When things seem out of your control, and you struggle with how to properly express that due to your executive function system being down the only way you may know to get your needs met is through losing complete control. The body will often go into fight or flight mode to make sure basic needs are being taken care of.
For a child that we see a lack of emotional and behavioral control it likely stems from a lack of flexibility. Being a flexible thinker isn’t something that comes naturally. It is learned through experiences and talking about those experiences. It is learned by gaining an understanding of what empathy is and how we must consider not just our feelings but the feelings of others. Talking with your child from an early age about the why of doing things, following the rules, listening to you is important in developing these skills.
Working memory is going to affect almost all these skills. If a child struggles with holding on to information to use it to complete tasks, understand feelings, regulation, etc. then all those areas will be difficult.
Finally, let’s talk about persistence. This one is hard when any of the other areas are difficult to navigate. For a child who struggles, especially once they’re reaching school age, choosing to persevere and stick with things even when they are difficult will be a trying thing to accomplish. Starting early with building a positive inner voice using positive affirmations and encouraging words is a start for developing the perseverance muscle. Just like any muscle you want to strengthen it takes time and work.
Resources:
The Seeds of Learning: A Cognitive Processing Model for Speech, Language, Literacy, and Executive Functioning by Tera Sumpter MA-CCC_SLP
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/executive-function