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EXECUTIVE FUNCTION DEVELOPMENT IN TYPICAL CHILDREN
Rhonda DeYoung
Introduction
Numerous skills are defined as Executive Functions (EF)
These skills help a person to: Form a task Focus on task Fulfill the task
EF is derived from the frontal lobe of the brain
Located behind the forehead (Powell & Voeller, 2004)
Defining executive functions Five crucial skills that sum up EF
abilities 1. Working memory helps to:
Keep track of information Recall information Remember how to conduct a procedure(Best, Miller & Jones, 2009)
Defining executive functions Five crucial skills that sum up EF
abilities 2. Inhibition helps to:
Keep control of self Appropriately deal with frustration Focus attention when working on tasks(Best, Miller & Jones, 2009; Ciairano, Visu-Petra & Settanni,
2007; Nilsen & Graham, 2009; Riggs, Jahromi, Razza, Dillworth-Bart & Mueller, 2006)
Defining executive functions Five crucial skills that sum up EF
abilities 3. Shifting helps to:
Stop one procedure Move on to a new procedure Adapt to change(Ciairano, Visu-Petra & Settanni, 2007)
Defining executive functions Five crucial skills that sum up EF
abilities 4. Attention helps to:
Keep on-task Ignore distractions(Best, Miller & Jones, 2009)
Defining executive functions Five crucial skills that sum up EF
abilities 5. Motor skills help to:
Control body movement Control sway
(Miyake, Friedman, Shah, Rettinger & Hegarty, 2001; Reilly, Van Donkelaar, Saavedra & Woollacott, 2008)
Typical EF development Major parts of the frontal lobe:
Are present at birth Connect with other parts of the brain through:
Experience Maturing
Develop throughout childhood and the teen years
EF Skills each arrive in their own unique timeframe
(Conklin, Luciana, Hooper & Yarger, 2007; Stuss, 1992)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Cognitive Development
PreschoolChildhoodAdo-les-cence
EF Skill
Am
ou
nt
of
Ab
ilit
y
(Best, Miller & Jones, 2009; Davidson, Amso, Anderson & Diamond, 2006; Liston, Watts, Tottenham, Davidson, Niogi & Ulug, 2006; Powell & Voeller, 2004; Reilly, Van Donkelaar, Saavedra & Wollacott, 2008)
Delayed EF development
Typical children can be behind average peers in the development of EF
Cognitive crutches can help delayed EF child keep up with average peers in the classroom
(Best, Miller & Jones, 2009; Blair, 2002; Brocki & Bohlin, 2004; Meltzer, 2007)
Deficits and problem behavior Possible reasons for EF developmental
delays in typical children Preterm birth Frontostriatal connectivity Not all is known why delay occurs
Deficits can cause problems in the classroom Starting, staying focused on and competing tasks(Cornelieke, Aarnoundse-Moens, Smidts, Oosterlaan, Duivenvoodren &
Weisglas-Kuperus, 2009)
Delayed EF development
Delay in EF development can be 30% that of typical development 10-year-old cognitively behaves like a 7-
year-old Empirical research of EF loss from
dementia can be applied to delayed EF children
New research on delayed EF development can look at how to help children in the classroom
(McCloskey, 2009)
What can be done? Identify delayed EF children A clinical label of delayed EF
Often mislabeled as learning dysfunction “Classroom crutches” Allow new research in the matter Provide hope for children that EF skill are still growing Help others to understand that the cognitive skills are
still growing in these children (Carroll & Reppucci, 1978)
The need for a label of delayed EF is prudent for the child’s well being both in the classroom and in social settings.
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