Executive Functioning: What is the impact on students in school?

Executive Functioning (EF) is a set of skills we use daily. It consists of three broad areas: emotional regulation, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. More specifically, the skills can be seen in both behavioral and academic areas, such as task initiation, task completion, planning, prioritizing, processing speed, organization, attention, impulse control, self-talk, and problem-solving. These skills take time to develop and are not fully developed until around 25- 30 years of age.

It is not uncommon for executive functioning skills deficits to co-exist in individuals with ADHD, Autism, and anxiety. Likewise, the skills that may come naturally in individuals without disabilities are seen in students with both learning and emotional disabilities and could take longer to develop. They may also be seen in students with learning disabilities in reading, math, and/or writing. It is also not uncommon for students who are identified with Autism or an Emotional Disorder to have deficits in learning as well, but due to the identification model, they will not be identified with a learning disability. Either way, students throughout school may also struggle with EF skills. 

Executive Functioning Skills in School

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Whether your child is using skills to answer questions for reading comprehension, solving math problems, or writing an essay, they must use various skills associated with executive functioning.  For starters, there is the ability to simply initiate a task. Some students are able to do this with no problems. Other skills needed to complete schoolwork include prioritizing and organizing themselves. 

Focus

They need to be able to focus, which is increasingly difficult in today's world. A strong ability to focus allows children to complete tasks such as distinguishing between letters and sounds using the addition symbol instead of the subtraction symbol.

Emotions

When work is frustrating, they need to control their emotions. Learning new material can be difficult, but if someone has a disability, sticking with an assignment or learning a new task requires the ability to manage frustrations and emotions.

Working Memory

Working memory is the ability to hold information and then use it. This skill is used all the time in school. Children use it in reading when sounding out words, writing paragraphs, and completing math computations beyond single digits. They also need to remember formulas in math, rules for punctuation, and steps in word problems with more than one step.

Flexible Thinking

Kids with disabilities may find it difficult to shift their thinking once they learn something. They may struggle to understand that words have different meanings or use context clues to determine the meaning of phrases such as “a fork in the road.” They also need to use flexible thinking to learn new math rules. Within writing, they need to be able to organize their writing and add details to sentences and paragraphs while  staying on task. They have to be able to check for errors in their grammar and spelling or understand the exceptions of rules within the English language. 

Action

Along the way, children will utilize self-regulation skills to track their actions and identify mistakes.

Executive functioning skills do not work linearly. Children may have strengths in one skill but need support in another. Working on developing these skills can begin early in life with such things as controlling tantrums, playing independently, or learning to wait their turn. These skills continue to build and grow in school as the academic demands increase. Some students with disabilities may need additional support in school, such as accommodations or specially designed instruction in the form of goals.