Some children exhibit more obvious signs of Executive Function Skill deficits while others begin struggling when they start school.

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There are 8 Key Functions and examples of how they may struggle:

1. Impulse Control -Kids often blurt out inappropriate things and/or engage in risky behavior.

2. Emotional Control-Often overreact, have trouble with criticism, handle frustrations and struggle with regrouping when something goes wrong.

3. Flexible Thinking-not adjusting to the unexpected.

4. Working Memory or planning/following multi-step directions-trouble remembering directions

5. Self-monitoring-surprised by negative feedback due to not evaluating how they are doing.

6. Planning & Prioritizing-may not know what parts of the project are most important or to start first.

7. Staying on track

8. Task Initiation-may freeze not knowing where to begin

9.. Organization-can lose their train of thought, their phone or other everyday things.

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Fortunately, Executive Function Skills can be taught and practiced at home and the community. They can be included as goals in IEP's and applied to school related tasks. The most effective approach is a skill that is practiced across the board.

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Support for Students with Executive Functioning Deficits is a 45 minute video by Barbara Haas-Givler, is a board certified behavior analyst and Director of Education & Behavioral Outreach at Geisinger’s Autism & Developmental Medicine Institute. It goes into detail of of the barriers in the classroom and ideas of specifically addressing those barriers for Executive Function challenges for the child to be more successful.