Executive Functioning Skills: Could They Be Affecting Your Child?
My child is really smart; he is just easily distracted during class.
She knows the information, but she has trouble organizing it into an essay.
I have to keep on top of him, or he’d never get his homework done.
Unfortunately, children with difficulties like these are often mislabeled as unfocused, lazy, or disorganized. But chances are, they’re struggling with a set of skills we rely on to accomplish tasks every day: executive functioning skills!
What Are Executive Functioning Skills?
Executive functioning skills are a set of cognitive processes that help us plan, control, and organize tasks and behaviors. These processes enable us to accomplish everyday tasks, plan for the future, and manage our behaviors. Areas of executive functioning include:
Working Memory
Working memory is the ability to store information in short-term memory and use it to accomplish a task. A child may use working memory to hold on to instructions a teacher gives for an assignment long enough to write them in a planner or to remember that mom sent them upstairs to get their backpack, shoes, and a jacket.
Attention
We use different types of attention depending on the demands of the situation. Sustained attention is the ability to focus on something over a period of time. Alternating attention allows us to switch focus back and forth between more than one demand. Divided attention enables us to concentrate on more than one thing at a time, like telling a parent about the day while setting the table for dinner. Selective attention allows us to tune out distractions while attending to one thing, like finishing homework despite a noisy sibling in the house.
Strategic Planning/Organization
Executive functioning skills enable us to envision a goal, plan for the steps and time required to complete it, and initiate a task. Weaknesses in this area might lead to the appearance of poor time management, procrastination, or sloppy work.
Self-Monitoring/Regulation
Self-monitoring and regulation enable us to “check” or evaluate our own work, thoughts, or actions, identify problems, and make improvements. These skills might help you polish a final draft of a paper or realize that your study habits are not achieving the desired results.
Shifting/Flexible Thinking
Shifting, or flexible thinking, enables us to adjust our actions or thought processes when something unexpected happens. For example, if you’re completing an art project and discover you don’t have a supply you intended to use, you can shift to a new plan and use something else.
What Do Weak Executive Functioning Skills Look Like?
Weaknesses in the cognitive skills above may result in the following behaviors:
Inattention or off-task behaviors
Hyperfocus on a subject or problem
Difficulty problem-solving or learning from mistakes
Trouble inferencing
Emotional reactions that don’t fit situations
Task avoidance
Missing assignments or deadlines
Losing track of belongings
Poor time management
Difficulty participating in conversations/off-topic remarks
Difficulty interpreting the thoughts/actions of others
Who Might Have Executive Functioning Challenges?
Executive functioning strengths and weaknesses result from the way certain centers of our brains function and interact, including areas that deal with planning, memory, behavior, and language. Anyone may struggle with executive functioning skills from time to time. Research indicates that the following populations might need more support to develop strong executive functioning skills:
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Pre-term and low birth weight children
Brain injury, especially to frontal lobe
Dyslexia
Language delays
How Can I Help My Child Develop Strong Executive Functioning Skills?
Stay tuned! Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing simple strategies you can use at home to support executive functioning!
If you think executive functioning skills may be impacting your child’s academic performance, communication, or social skills visit our Evaluation Hub or contact us at tpeadmin@truepotentialed.com or (515)218-8445 to schedule an evaluation.
Sources:
Dudek-Brannan, K. “Executive functioning is more than just being organized.” Dr. Karen Speech.com, 2023.
“Executive function deficits.” American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. ASHA Practice Portal.
“Populations often impacted by executive function deficits.” American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Retrieved here.
