Executive Functioning

Executive Functioning is a buzzy term frequently thrown around the world of education, often without a clear explanation of what it is and how it impacts our daily lives.

Executive functions are the skills we use to navigate our day-to-day lives; they inform what we decide to do and how we do it. As with most aspects of life, we all have different strengths and weaknesses regarding executive function skills.

Unlike other skills, we're usually not taught to identify our strengths and areas for growth. This can cause people, particularly young adults, to experience feelings of anxiety or low confidence relating to academics and extracurriculars.

Signs your child might be struggling with executive dysfunction: 

• Your child is consistently late to school, rushing to extracurricular activities, even when they try to be on time.
• Your child's spaces are disorganized beyond small messes. They often lose their belongings regardless of their importance. Their backpack is a mess of loose papers, writing utensils, and notebooks that have seen better days.
• Your child has a hard time starting necessary tasks like homework or chores and struggles to put down “fun” activities (phone, video games, etc.) 
• Your child has more than 2-3 missing assignments at any time. 

For more details about executive functioning, check out our free executive functioning handout or our blog.