Executive functioning is the job of children at home who need to dress themselves in the morning, in school as they get their classwork completed and turned in, at play as they interact appropriately with peers. Executive functioning is the job of an adult navigating through the tasks of managing life.
From a neurological perspective, there are two areas of the brain: the subcortex and the cerebral cortex. The subcortex (brainstem, midbrain and forebrain) manages more primitive and basic survival functions such as breathing, hunger, sleep/wake cycles, emotions and memory. The cerebral cortex is the larger and newer portion of the brain that manages higher level skills of consciousness such as sensory perception, motor coordination, self-regulation, planning, organization, time management and reasoning skills.
The subcortex must be functioning effectively in order for humans to properly access and develop the cerebral cortex. That is, primitive brain functions affected by lack of oxygen, hunger, fatigue or stress cause disturbances in higher brain functions and development. For this reason, it is important to ensure that basic needs are being met through proper nutrition, sleep and emotional health in order for the brain to develop.
When subcortex functions are working properly, the cerebral cortex is free to develop naturally through the activities of daily life and interactions within our environments. Children learn how to process sensory information by interacting with a variety of sensory input. Likewise, children learn how to coordinate and control body movements by moving and participating in a variety of physical activities. The other executive functions of the cerebral cortex such as self-regulation, planning, organization, time management and reasoning skills are learned and developed from early childhood to late teen years.
Children develop many executive functioning skills through play. During play, children learn flexibility, social communication, how to manage emotions and how to execute different life roles. They learn cause and effect and how to respond to environmental expectations.
During early years, children can learn how to be responsible, plan and carry out simple tasks such as dressing, participating in simple chores and how to inhibit unsafe or inappropriate behaviors.
During elementary years, children learn how to complete multistep academic tasks and chores, responsibility for personal belongings, time management and demonstrate further development of appropriate social and communication behaviors.
During junior high school years, children learn how to plan ahead, use organizational systems to keep track of belongings, assignments and events. They further learn how to independently manage school and extracurricular schedules.
By high school years, executive functioning skills should be nearly fully developed, with independent management of home and school responsibilities, time management, goal setting and appropriate social behaviors.
Executive functioning skills are often acquired by children as they experience and adapt to various environmental expectations and responsibilities. Some children develop these skills more easily than others. Executive functioning deficits are often present in children with learning disabilities, ADHD – attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder – and autism. These children may have difficulty completing basic self-care and academic tasks independently; appear inattentive and chronically disorganized; struggle with maintaining appropriate behaviors in school and social situations; and seem to lack general awareness of time and space.
Caregivers and teachers can help children overcome these deficits and facilitate the development of executive functioning skills in a number of ways:
Ensure children’s basic physical and emotional needs are being met.Promote an abundance of sensory, physical and social play opportunities.Establish daily routines with predictability of times of day, sequences, materials and people.Establish and talk about predictable expectations of behaviors during daily routines (e.g., meals, classroom, play, community events, etc.).Teach children how to read their environment including the sensory and physical actions of others, materials and social cues in any given situation to modify their behavior. Provide visual cues using picture schedules and visual examples to support children’s abilities to understand and sequence activities more independently.Use checklists and charts to document task completion.Set goals and provide positive reinforcements for completion of tasks.Use clocks, calendars and timers to support understanding of time management. For older children, use electronic calendars to support time management.Teach children how to organize their space (room, closet, drawers, desk).Teach mindfulness of feelings, energy levels and self-regulation strategies to support children’s abilities to appropriately manage behaviors, attend to and complete tasks.For information about executive functioning and strategies to support its development, there is a wealth of information on the internet.
Liz Cosgrove, is an occupational therapist at the San Juan Board of Cooperative Educational Services. Reach her at lcosgrove@sjboces.org.
