ExecutiveFunctioning Skills
What is Executive Functioning?
The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University describes executive functioning as “mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully.” They use the analogy that, just as an air traffic control system at a busy airport safely manages the arrivals and departures of many aircraft on multiple runways, the brain needs this skill set to filter distractions, prioritize tasks, set and achieve goals, and control impulses.
Children are born with the ability to develop executive functioning skills. We need to provide children with positive learning environments to help them practice executive functioning skills before they have to use these skills independently.
Executive function and self-regulation skills depend on: working memory, mental flexibility, and self-control.
- Working memory governs our ability to retain and manipulate distinct pieces of information over short periods of time.
- Self-control enables us to set priorities and resist impulsive actions or responses.
- Mental flexibility helps us to sustain or shift attention in response to different demands or to apply different rules in different settings.
The focus of our executive functioning program is on teaching several skills that foster planning and organization. A person with autism learns executive functioning skills differently, taking into account sensory, motor, and social issues. Our executive functioning program targets skills that follow appropriate developmental milestones in a sequential order, allowing our youngest learners to build on the foundational skills needed to continue to learn and grow as they transition to more complex situations.
For early learners, we may focus on fundamental executive functioning skills such as:
- Following routines
- Staying focused
- Working memory
- Flexibility
- Controlling impulses
For older children, we may focus on:
- Planning a schedule
- Remembering information
- Organizing time
- Organizing materials
- Following through with tasks
- Initiating tasks
- Flexibility
- Regulating emotions
Executive functioning skills for adolescents and young adults may include:
- Completing work by deadlines
- Making a plan for completing tasks
- Following through with tasks
- Using a calendar for organizing events
- Completing checklists