Do you find yourself having difficulty carrying out a task or just getting started with it? Is it hard to remember things that friends or family tell you? These skills including memory, planning and prioritizing are just a few skills that fall under the umbrella of executive functioning. Executive functioning skills are key to success in school, work and social settings. Below, we have listed some of the core executive functioning skills and we discuss a little bit about each one.
Response inhibition: You may find yourself having difficulty saying things before you think about how it might make someone else feel. You also might act on impulse often.
Sustained attention: It might be difficult to focus during class or when another person is talking. Sometimes longer periods of focus on a project or chore can feel draining.
Time management: You might find yourself losing track of time during the day. Deadlines might be difficult to meet.
Working memory: You might easily misplace items such as keys, your phone, etc. You also might easily forget what someone tells you.
Task initiation: You might have difficulty getting started with an assignment or a task for work. You feel anxiety or stress when you have to start something new.
Emotional control: You might get upset when things go wrong. You might find yourself getting easily annoyed or frustrated.
Planning/prioritizing: You might be easily overwhelmed by projects. It might be difficult to plan for assignments or prioritize deadlines.
Goal Directed Persistence: It is difficult to work towards long term goals. You prefer to stay in the present moment and not focus on future plans/goals.
Flexibility: You might get upset when you have to form a different plan. You also might have trouble thinking of different solutions to a problem.
Organization: It might be hard to organize a desk, locker or other workspace. It is stressful to find a way to keep things organized and clean.
There are many strategies and therapy tools that can be used to assist with deficits in executive functioning. A speech therapist is an excellent source to help with intervention for executive functioning skills Your therapist can help provide education on executive functioning skills and can assist with developing these skill sets. Your therapist might also teach strategies such as organization skills, use of flowcharts and reviewing work. Your therapist can also work with you to develop environmental modifications for work or in the classroom setting. If you have any questions related to executive functioning, email or call our office. We would be happy to provide a consultation and discuss your concerns.
Adapted from: From Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents (2nd ed.) Copyright 2010 by Peg Dawson and Richard Guare. Reprinted in Smart but Scattered Teens. Copyright 2013 by The Guilford Press.
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