Is Your Child Failing Because of Executive Functioning?
Is your child failing because of executive functioning deficits?
I have tested a lot of students over the years and I am still amazed at the failure rate for children who have a delay in executive functioning development.
What is executive function?
Executive function is a set of mental skills that helps you get things done. These skills are controlled by an area of the brain called the frontal lobe. Executive function helps you manage time.
Below are eight of the executive function skills that impact most on learning.
Impulse Control
Emotional Control
Flexible thinking
Working Memory
Self-Monitoring
Planning and Prioritizing
Task Initiation
Organisation
There are many subskills to each area.
What does executive function look like?
Recently I tested some children in a group situation and watched as they worked through a comprehension test. There were the fast finishers, the late arrivals and the disinterested, to name just a few of the participants. I had been teaching one of the boys over a period of time (in support) and I knew that he was bright but was not showing his potential in testing results.
He finished the testing, I scored his answers and found that once again he had failed miserably. So, I decided that I would complete a little action research! I asked the pupil to come to my office and I repeated the test with him. This time he read the reading aloud and answered the questions orally. He scored one of the highest scores possible.
What does this result tell me? Procrastination, disengagement, inability to attend to a lengthy task, lack of resilience all play a part in the poor results. This child could read and comprehend at a high level. His problem was not reading, he couldn’t sustain his attention for any length of time.
Another example will show a different set of deficits. A student was continuously failing to begin, maintain and finish a task. I had a little chat to him and he aired his reasons for not completing assignments. He was continuously losing items that he needed-his pencil, rubber etc. He also couldn’t find what was needed in a very messy desk. All of these problems upset the pupil but he didn’t know how to remedy the situation.
After a chat, we used a permanent felt pen to draw a map inside his desk. We removed all the unnecessary materials to a bag that hung on his chair, we placed loose sheets in folders, we placed items inside the desk in identified spaces and we developed some self- monitoring ideas.
These bright children are not reaching their potential because of executive functioning delays. They need our support until they reach independence.
How can we help:
Identify the problem 
- Write down the problem
- Identify where to begin
- Action plan
You may not be able to make the task easier or more interesting but there are small steps that can help. Here are some more specific action plan steps that I have found useful.
- Acknowledge that the task may not be something your child is enthused about, even though it’s important.
- Ask if you can help him get started but don’t do the work for him….. this only enables and can lead to learnt helplessness.
- Showing empathy teaches him that there are things that we must do even though we don’t want to. The consequence for not doing these things is greater than the pain of working through the task.
- Help him to keep track of the homework and assignments and figure out the time needed for each task. Use a weekly schedule sheet and a daily planner to elaborate on steps to put the tasks into manageable actions.
- Remain calm and notice the small changes that are developed through consistency and support.
- Provide an incentive-this could be a snack or a special treat once the daily grind has been completed-eventually, the motivation would be a weekly item once the plan has gained some positive results for a period of time.
- Normalize the behavior. Tell your child about the times that you struggled and had to begin a task and then maintain and finish. He will appreciate your honesty and empathy.
Is your child experiencing a problem that is affecting his results? Let’s all be a supportive community and help others who need support. Leave you comments below.
Have a great, interesting and happy journey with your child’s learning.
Ann
Email: letterboxdelivers@hotmail.com
Website:www.letterboxlearntoread.com
Ann tutors children who have executive functioning difficulties and introduces strategies for them to improve their access to the curriculum.
Hi Ann,
First off this article was very enlightening, especially for those of us with a child that has struggles learning or keeping pace with other children their age.
Our son Evan (now 6 years old) was diagnosed with ADHD at a very young age and has an extremely tough time concentrating long enough to finish virtually any task assigned him be it school work or a task at home.
You mentioned the following and I nearly fell over:
Impulse Control, Emotional Control, Flexible thinking, Working Memory, Self-Monitoring, Planning and Prioritizing, Task Initiation, Organisation.
He has trouble with all of these.
Evan (after staying back in kindergarten) is beginning to be able to ‘read’ a little. He recognizes some words but seems to trip over other words again and again as if he’s never seen the word before (even though he’s been introduced to the same word dozens of times). He continually tries to ‘sound words out’ even when it’s the same word he may have seen minutes before and minutes before that.
My wife and are using some of the techniques you mentioned to make tasks easier for Evan.
Remaining calm and noticing the small changes that are developed through consistency and support seem to be the most positive things we can do to help Evan’s self-esteem.
He is making progress, albeit slow, but we are extremely proud of him and do try very hard to reward his positive achievements and not accentuate the negatives.
You mentioned you tested some children recently. What age group were these children? Also, do you think ADHD is related to Executive Functioning?
If any one can appreciate all you’re doing on this website it’s my wife and I. It’s book marked and Thank You!
Hi Matt,
I test a lot of children from Prep to High School.
Yes, children with ADHD have a lot of executive functioning difficulties. I would venture that they are delayed in this area.
My heart goes out to you both. However, with such devoted parents, this little boy will be fine.
I will send a checklist and you can check it and place numbers beside each indicator to show the priority of each skill. By this I mean, the skill that is limiting your child’s access to the curriculum most. I will give you an example.
I went to observe a boy in Year Four who has been diagnosed ADHD. I was mainly trying to find out why a bright boy was NOT soring well in standardised assessment. His teacher had checked an executive functioning checklist for me prior to the visit.
I had a chat to the boy and asked a few questions. I asked him why he wasn’t starting his work as quickly as he should be. He told me that he was continuously losing his items that he needed for class and spent his time trying to find them. While doing this, he was missing the instructions and didn’t know what to do.
You can see that this little fellow needed help in being organised. I made a map inside his desk to mark where all the items should be placed after he had finished using them. Then I tied his pencil to the desk with a piece of string-he actually loved this idea! He now has a bag on the back of his chair that holds all the books etc that he uses less frequently.
I asked his teacher to monitor the mornings when he comes to school-he has to make sure all his pencils are sharpened and books ready to begin.
Once this step is consolidated we will move to the second step of maintaining attention to the task and then finally, finishing the task.
I have been conducting a lot of research on why some bright children are failing in school. Following testing, I take some of the children to work with me on the test. I don’t help, I just make sure that they are reading the test and answering the questions. I am amazed that the children with executive functioning can score 100%. They just don’t have the resilience and the attention to start, maintain and complete a task. That is very different to NOT knowing the content!!
I think I have said enough about one of my pet subjects.
Take care,
ANN