Executive Functions

Neighborhood House Charter School, Fall 2010

Leila Meehan, M.A. CAGS, BCBA

Brainstorming ActivityO Write down all the skills your

students need to be successful in your classroom

O Keep these for later

What is Executive Function?

O Higher order mental processesO Executive function (EF) is an

umbrella term that incorporates a collection of inter-related processes responsible for purposeful, goal-directed behavior (Gioia, Isquith, & Guy, 2001).

Executive Functions are compared to a…

O CEOO Head ChefO ConductorO Director

Specific SkillsO Planning – creating a roadmap to reach a goal and

make decisions about what is important

O Organization – the ability to design and maintain systems for keeping information or materials

O Time Management – capacity to estimate time, allocate time and sense that time is important

O Working Memory – ability to hold while performing complex tasks

O Metacognition – ability to take a birds eye view of oneself – self monitoring, self evaluate, reflect on your actions

“Behavioral” Executive Skills

O Response Inhibition – capacity to think before you act

O Sustained Attention – capacity to attend to a situation in spite of distraction, fatigue or boredom

O Emotional Control – ability to manage emotions in order to achieve goals, complete tasks and control behavior

O Task Initiation – ability to begin a task without undue procrastination

O Flexibility – ability to revise plans in the face of obstacles, setbacks, new information, or mistakes

O Goal Directed Persistence – drive to follow through with tasks towards completion of a goal

Activity Part 2O Sort your sticky note words into the

executive function “categories”.

O Discussion: Was it easy or hard to choose where

the sticky notes belonged?

How many of those skills do you expect your students to come into school with?

Where are these skills?

O In your prefrontal cortex!O Decision making, planning, initiation, anticipation, impulse

control O Higher order thinking

Development of Executive Function Skills

O They are not present at birthO Develop over time, similar to

language acquisitionO Influenced by BOTH genetic factors

and environmental factorsO Begin to emerge in infancy – but

don’t fully develop until mid to late adolescence

Where do poor executive skills come from?

EnvironmentalOLack of exposure to positive practicesOLack of opportunities to practiceOEmotional trauma– ie. Anxiety, fear, sadnessOAccording to Sarah Ward “Low Road Processing” happens in the subcortex OInvolves the shutting down of the higher processes of the mindOLeaves individuals in a state of rigidity, emotional intensity, impulsivity, lacking self reflection and empathy

Who else is at risk for having Executive

Function difficulties?NeurologicalOADD/ADHDOAutism SpectrumOTraumatic Brain InjuryOCentral Auditory Processing DisorderOLanguage Processing DisorderOLearning DisabledOWeak cognitive functioning

What does this look like in real life?

Examples for Middle School Age StudentsO Help out with chores around the home, including both daily

responsibilities and occasional tasks (e.g., emptying dishwasher, raking leaves, shoveling snow); tasks may take 60—90 minutes to complete.

O Baby-sit younger siblings or for pay.O Use system for organizing schoolwork, including assignment

book, notebooks, etc.O Follow complex school schedule involving changing teachers

and changing schedules.O Plan and carry out long-term projects, including tasks to be

accomplished and reasonable timeline to follow; may require planning multiple large projects simultaneously.

O Plan time, including after school activities, homework, family responsibilities; estimate how long it takes to complete individual tasks and adjust schedule to fit.

O Inhibit rule breaking in the absence of visible authority.

From: Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents : A Practical Guide to Assessment and Intervention, by Peg Dawson and Richard Guare

Great News!!!!O Executive Function Skills CAN BE

TAUGHTO The best remedy for executive

function deficits is to directly teach the skill

O Repeated PracticeO Consistent Methods

Closing ActivityO What are some strategies you

already use that teach or support executive skill development?

O What are some new strategies that you could use to directly teach to your students?