Executive functioning refers to a set of skills we use to perform tasks.  Impaired executive functioning plays a key role in ADHD, but weaknesses in this area are present in many children who do not qualify for a diagnosis. Key executive functioning skills can be broken into two main domains:

Thinking Skills

  • Working Memory: The capacity to hold information in your mind while completing tasks
  • Planning/Prioritizing: Establishing a plan to complete a task or reach a goal and deciding what deserves your focus
  • Organization: The ability to keep track of materials and information
  • Time Management: Being able to estimate how long a task will take or how long you have left
  • Metacognition: Self-evaluation and monitoring

Doing Skills

  • Response Inhibition: The ability to think before acting
  • Emotional Control: Appropriate emotional and behavioral management
  • Sustained Attention: The ability to maintain attention during a task even when uninterested or distracted
  • Task Initiation: The capacity to efficiently begin projects
  • Goal-Directed Persistence: Following through on a task
  • Flexibility: The ability to change plans

Recognition of deficits in these skills can help you apply the appropriate strategies to best help your child. This process also includes teaching your child to maximize their executive functioning strengths. Stay tuned for future posts digging deeper into each of these areas.

Reference:

Dawson, P., & Guare, R. (2009). Smart but scattered. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.