Executive Functioning Disorder
What is executive functioning disorder?
Executive functioning refers to the set of process which enable a person to manage one's self and one's resources. These functions are controlled by the brain's frontal lobe and include a person's attention, impulse control, and organizational ability. They also allow a person to apply prior knowledge and experiences from the past to solve problems they encounter. While not considered a learning disability on its own, executive functioning disorder is often present in students with disabilities such as ADHD, dyslexia, and autism. Students with weak executive functioning skills will struggle with tasks such as planning a project, initiating tasks, time management, communicating details in a sequential manner, and organizing materials and priorities.
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What causes executive functioning disorder?
There is no conclusive research to explain why some children have executive functioning disorder, however there are some possible links, such as a person's genes/heredity. Another possible factor is a difference in the structure of a person's prefrontal cortex, which controls executive function. There has been research which shows that people who have experienced injury to this part of the brain develop executive functioning issues, and further research is being done to determine if children with executive functioning disorder have differences in the prefrontal cortex.
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Signs A Child Has Executive Functioning Disorder:
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This video gives a thorough overview of Executive Functioning Disorder from The National Center for Learning Disabilities. It addresses the disorder's relationship to learning disorders, some of the warning signs for teachers and parents, as well as how executive function affects learning.
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Resources
- Executive Functioning (Learning Disabilities Association of America)
- Explaining Executive Function (Scholastic)
- What is Executive Functioning Disorder? (LD Online)
- Executive Function (Child Mind Institute)
- The Science of Smart: A surprising Way to Improve Executive Functioning (PBS)
- Executive Functioning Overview (Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities)
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This video from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University gives an overview of the paper Building the Brain's "Air Traffic Control" System: How Early Experiences Shape the Development of Executive Function. It discusses how executive functioning skills develop as well as the factors that can disrupt their development.
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