Executive Dysfunction?

Courtney Baron Fontaine, M.Ed., CAGS, NCSP What are ?

● Executive functions are a set of mental processes that help us connect past experience with present action. ● It is the conscious regulation of thought, emotion, and behavior. ● Used to perform activities such as , organizing, strategizing, self-regulation, paying and remembering details, and managing time and space. Executive Functioning Behavioral Categories

● Impulse control ● Emotional control ● Planning/Prioritizing ● Flexibility ● ● Self-monitoring ● Task Initiation ● Organization Development of Executive Functions

● Executive functions develop over the life span. ● Emerges during infancy and goes through marked changes ages 2-6. Does not peak until age 25. ● https://www.youtube.com/wa tch?v=efCq_vHUMqs ● Start to decline with old age. Executive Functions and the

● Executive function development happens primarily in the with connections to other cortical, subcortical, and brainstem regions. ● Our understanding of neuro foundation improves with technology. ● Unlike anywhere else in the brain, even mild stress can flood the prefrontal cortex with the neurotransmitter , which causes executive functioning to shut down. How are my child’s executive functions functioning? https://www.understood.org/~/media /040bfb1894284d019bf78ac01a5f1513 .pdf

● Students with LD or ADHD nearly always have difficulty with one or more executive skills, which can further compound learning challenges and reduce overall independent functioning. Strategies to support your child

● The first step to helping your child is taking a deep breath, and accepting that they are not intentionally trying to drive you crazy. ● Adjust your expectations to meet their abilities. Executive function abilities are rarely consistent with cognitive abilities in children and adolescents. ● https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-i ssues/child-learning-disabilities/executive-functioni ng-issues/executive-functioning-issues-strategies-yo u-can-try-at-home Strategies to support your child

● Lots of great strategies listed in the booklet ○ https://www.understood.org/~/media/040bfb1894284d019bf78ac01a5f 1513.pdf

Resources:

Smart but Scattered: Peg Dawson and Richard Guare

The Behavior Code: Jessica Minahan References http://psychcentral.com/lib/executive-function-problem-or-just-a-lazy-kid-part-1 / http://www.rainbowrehab.com/executive-functioning/#attachment wp-att-6197/0/