Executive function is a set of skills that reside in just behind our foreheads in the prefrontal cortex. They are our cognitive and mental capabilities that help to engage in goal directed action and executing tasks.
They control our direct actions, behaviour, and motivation. Often referred to as the management system of the brain or the CEO. Executive function skills underpin our day to day, determining our success in education, work, and life. They are skills that enable us to get things done, to accomplish and execute complex tasks, goals, and objectives, they are responsible for emotional and self regulation, and they prepare us for future events.
Executive function skills are key to planning, sustaining attention, remembering instruction and managing multiple tasks. Children and adolescents with neurodiversity such as ADHD struggle with executive function delays and impairments compared to their peers. Executive function development continues to mature until our mid 20’s. For those with ADHD, dyslexia and other neurodiversity’s maturity of executive function are slightly later and can be up to 30 years. With ADHD, executive function are up to 30 to 40% delayed in development. Though with neuroplasticity we now know executive function can continue to strengthen throughout our lives.
Executive function skill challenges are often the result of a disorder such as with ADHD, Autism, dyslexia, brain trauma, genetic, substance abuse and trauma such as neglect. It is believed up to 90 percent of children and adolescents with ADHD struggle with executive functions, as these skills can be up to 3 to 5 years delayed compared to their peers.
The good news is as the brain is malleable and new neural pathways can be created. We know executive function challenges not to be fixed; we can make changes, generate new habits, establish accommodating environments to support children, young people and adults to strengthen their executive function skills.
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Executive Function Problems
- In education this may impact on their academic work, hinder revision for exams, failure to hand in homework, struggle with transitioning to a new year group or lesson
- May struggle to organise materials, regulate emotions, set schedules and stick with tasks. They misplace papers, reports, and other school items. They might have similar problems keeping track of their personal items or keeping their bedroom tidy.
- In the business world this may present as putting off a task until the deadline, poor time management, failure to finish a task, not appearing to listen and follow instructions, indecisive, struggle with change, poor organisation.
- In life, it can impact relationships, decision making, social interaction, getting to places on time, managing your house, such as paying bills on time, tidying rooms
- It can cause academic failure, poor employment history, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Often labelled as lazy.
- As challenged EF skills can hinder progress it can cause low self-esteem. They are key to improved mental, physical health and overall quality of life.
Executive Function Coaching
Through working collaboratively with you, we look to further your EF strengths and build on your challenges. The coaching enables and empowers you by creating awareness of EF, the significance of EF skills and how to strengthen them.
As the brain is neuroplastic, new skills can be learnt and embedded such as how we learnt to walk or driving a car. Both of which require a number of executive functions such as working memory, flexibility, emotional regulation, organisation, planning and prioritising, management of time are just some examples. EF skills will be different for everybody, age will have an impact, as will having a disorder or a brain trauma or trauma such as neglect, whether there are delays and or impairments, the key commonality is they can all be strengthened.
The EF coaching looks at strategies to support:
- Planning and prioritising
- Organisation- effective systems, routines, such as waking up and getting ready for the day, sticking to plans.
- Time management
- Getting on task
- Response inhibition – ability to hold back, to be able to pause and think before you act or speak. Inhibit immobilising thoughts which can affect long term goals
- Sustained attention – ability to sustain focus and stay on task by avoiding distractions
- Self-awareness and awareness of others
- Emotional regulation – managing emotions in order to access EF.
- Flexibility – ability to cope with change, transitions
- Working Memory – capacity to hold information in memory, remember it and recall it.
- Goal direction persistence
Services
ADHD Coaching
Through working collaboratively with you, we address your ADHD symptoms, how it affects you and your personal objectives.
Executive Function Coaching
Executive function is a set of skills that reside in just behind our foreheads in the prefrontal cortex.
Life Coach
The life coaching empowers and enables the client to create and identify goals, encourage personal growth, self-improvement, find solutions and support future thinking.