Executive Functioning

The Basics

  • The executive functions all serve a "command and control" function; they can be viewed as the "conductor" of all cognitive skills.
  • Executive functions help you manage life tasks of all types. For example, executive functions let you organize a trip, a research project, or a paper for school.
  • Often, when we think of problems with executive functioning, we think of disorganization. However, organization is only one of these important skills.

The executive functions are a diverse, but related and overlapping, set of skills. In order to understand the student, it is important to look at which executive skills are problematic and to what degree they hinder the student.

A List of Executive Functions

Below is the list of executive functions covered under the umbrella term of executive functioning.

  1. Inhibition - The ability to stop one's own behavior at the appropriate time, including stopping actions and thoughts. The flip side of inhibition is impulsivity; if you have weak ability to stop yourself from acting on your impulses, then you are "impulsive." Examples: shouting out answers, making careless errors, grabbing things, or immediately doing something when told not to.
  2. Shift - The ability to move freely from one situation to another and to think flexibly in order to respond appropriately to the situation. Example: When asked to switch thinking to the next question, advance to the next task or transition to the next subject the student struggles and progress is hindered.
  3. Emotional Control - The ability to modulate emotional responses by bringing rational thought to bear on feelings. Example: a student may become angry or frustrated when confronted with their own impulsive behavior.
  4. Initiation - The ability to begin a task or activity and to independently generate ideas, responses, or problem-solving strategies. Example: A student will think about beginning a task and “mean to” begin it but will not be able to until specifically or individually directed to begin.
  5. Working memory - The capacity to hold information in mind for the purpose of completing a task. Example: A student cannot keep the instructions of multiple sections of an assignment in the recall long enough to perform the entire task.
  6. Planning/Organization - The ability to manage current and future-oriented task demands. Example: a student lacks the ability to systematically think about what they need to be ready to begin a task and to begin and complete the task in the intended time.
  7. Organization of Materials - The ability to impose order on work, play, and storage spaces. Example: It is a student's job to organize the things needed to take from class to class or school to home. However, they just pile things into the book bag and/or their arms rather than systematically making or using checklists and organizing things so important items are easily accessible and where they need to be.
  8. Self-Monitoring - The ability to monitor one's own performance and to measure it against some standard of what is needed or expected. Example: Despite the fact that they're well into an assignment without knowing all of the directions and no planning for the task, they do not understand why people become upset with them.