Executive
Functioning
THE INS AND OUTS
What is Executive Functioning?
A set of mental skills that are coordinated in the frontal lobe
Executive Functioning skills are used for:
Focus
Inhibition
Initiation
Planning and Organizing
Self Monitioring
Shifting activities
Working memory
Development of Executive
Functioning
It takes time to fully develop
Begins in late infancy, changes markedly from age 2 to age 6
Peaks at about 25 years
Strategies and support can help acquire and improve these skills
Challenges can arise at any age, but they tend to be particularly
evident as the demands of school-work and life increase.
Executive Functioning Challenges
Focus: maintaining attention depite boredom, distractions, and fatigue
Inhibition: impulse control
Initiation: starting a task and working independently
Planning and Organization: managing current and future tasks, as well as imposing
order on spaces
Self-Monitoring: monitoring one's own performance and evaluating it based on a
given standard
Shifting: transitioning activities
Time Management: accurately predicting how long tasks will take and efficiently
using that time
Working Memory: the capacity to remember information for the purpose of
completing a task
Stategies: Focus
Incentives
Movement Breaks
Snacks
Games
Infuse Fun
Make a game out of the task
Strategies: Inhibition
Bio-feedback
Deep breathing
Diet
Exercise
Meditation
Muscle relaxation
Fidgets
Stress balls
Putty
Write-Now-Talk-Later
Have them write comments and questions
Arrange a time for them to share
Visual Cues
Hand signals
Pictures
Strategies: Initiation
Incentives
Graphic Organizers
For writing tasks and project planning
Expectations
Provide for non-preferred activities
Clarify before they work independently
I Do-We-Do-You-Do
Demonstrate the task
Complete the task together
Student works independently
Strategies: Planning and
Organization
Calendars and Planners
Color-code classes and tasks
Set goals
Checklists
Make detailed
Use consistently
Chunking
Designated Work-space
Break down large assignments and projects
Clean and quiet
Homework Organizer
EF oriented (Bullet Proof Homework Planner)
Strategies: Self-Monitoring
Calculator
Checklists
Verify calculations
Denoting all necessary steps
Checkpoints
Mid-progress comprehension assessments
Strategies: Shifting
Agendas
Warnings
Verbal
Timers
Shared
Visual
Routines
Establish
Stategies: Time Management
Alarms
Set reminders
Intervention Chart/Table
List everyday tasks
Estimate time needed
Record time used
Compare estimates to trials
Adjust future time expectations
Strategies: Working Memory
Chunking
Parrotting
Repeat verbally disseminated information
Mnemonics
Break down multi-step directions
Create memory connections
Simplification
Rephrase
direction language
Visualization
Picture yourself completing the task steps
References
Damasio, Antonio (2005) Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human
Brain. New York, NY. Putnam.
Cooper-Kahn, J., & Dietzel, L. C. (2008). Late, Lost and Unprepared: A Parents'
Guide to Helping Children with Executive Functioning. Bethesda, MD. Woodbine
House.
Greenberg, Leslie (2010). Emotion Focused Therapy. Washington, DC., American
Psychological Association.
Kaufman, C. (2010). Executive Function in the Classroom. Baltimore, MD., Paul H.
Brookes Publishing.
Siegel, Daniel (2007). The Mindful Brain. New York, NY., Norton.
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