Executive function is our ability to make a plan, come up with the steps we need to follow the plan and then follow through with that plan. It is our ability to figure out what we need to do to fix our breakfast or pack our lunch. It is the ability to realize what we need to do to hang a picture or fix a clogged drain. In our mind, we need to be able to see the whole activity, decide what we will need to complete the task, assemble the tools we need to complete that task and then see the task from beginning to end.
I am a mother of 4 children. I have one in elementary school, one in middle school, one in high school and one in college. Two are in scouts, two are playing basketball, two have jobs. We have four drivers, four cars and four school and work schedules, my husband working 30 miles north of the house and me working 25 miles south of it. In the morning, I have to make sure I know where everyone will be for the entire day. I make sure that everyone will have a car and a ride where ever they need to go and be picked up from. Lunch money, field trips, deadlines, gas money all have to be coordinated. I usually have some sort of plan for dinner before I leave for work in the morning too. Making a plan, even for a large family is usually not a problem for me. My executive function works well.
My husband struggles with it though. (In the past year, with the help of the calendar on his phone, he is getting much better) He has been called at home to see how far he is from the office because his appointment, that he forgot about, is there. He has forgotten meetings or not realized he had people coming in. He has traveled and not had gas money or money for lunch. At the house, he is known for starting on a job and needing a runner to get the things he needs to complete the job because he does not have all the tools necessary.
What does this look like for a student? Quite honestly, it can make a normal day impossible. I have known executive function struggles to cause such severe anxiety that it can render a person almost dysfunctional. One student I worked with carried everything she needed for school, all day, every day in two backpacks. She didn't use her locker. She was afraid she would arrive at math class without her calculator or science class without her book. She might not have put her homework for French in the correct binder, (if she had remembered to bring it to school) and would get a zero if she didn't turn it in. A child who struggles with executive function is the one who never has binder, book, homework or pencil. They are the student who can't do a project without 17 trips around the classroom to get each thing they need to complete it. They are also the student who never makes it home with their homework or back to school with their book.
So what do we do with this child to help establish habits to encourage success? The younger the student when we realize they are struggling, the more we can offer help. To begin with play games that encourage the use of strategy. Games like chess and checkers, mancala... even Life, Uno and Connect 4 all require the person to think ahead, come up with a plan and then follow through with that plan to win. Having the person help plan events will help too. It doesn't have to be a big event, it can be as simple as going to the grocery store. We are going to the grocery store, what do we need to do to get ready? Have them help come up with a list. Have them take the list and find the right coupons. Do you need recycled bags?
Executive function is critical to the success of a student. The use of calendars, planners and other means of scheduling can help a lot. Teaching them to plan and strategize also helps. While not having it can be quite detrimental, it can be coped with utilizing tools.
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