What Is Executive Functioning?

1. The executive functions are developed and controlled by the frontal lobe in the brain

2. They are the set of skills that allows a person to focus, control their behavior, organize information and then carry out a plan

3. Poor executive functioning skills can cause functional limitations that impact a child’s ability to achieve developmental milestones

Types of Executive Functioning Skills:

1) Initiation: A child’s ability to independently begin a task by generating ideas and problem-solving strategies for initiation.

How to work on this skill:

• Eliminate/limit distraction in environment

• Verbalize instructions with simple and concrete wording

• Use a countdown timer to signify the start of an activity

• Allow child to take turns with you to complete sections of the task to limit demands

• Use a checklist to show task expectations

• Encourage child to verbalize the steps of the task prior to beginning

• Begin with the least challenging task and slowly increase difficulty

• Provide visual and physical demonstration on how to begin the task

Checklist

2) Sustaining Attention: Maintaining attention to a task despite internal or external distractions.

How to work on this skill:

• Clear and concise directions

• Limit/eliminate distraction in environment

• Begin with small time intervals for task completion and slowly increase time demands

• Break up tasks into small increments

• Transition between preferred and non-preferred tasks

• Allow child to take movement breaks prior to and during series of activities

• Play games such as eye-spy, "Simon Says", puzzles, freeze dance, memory matching games

Examples of movement breaks: running in place, wall pushups, hopping like a bunny, bouncing on a therapy ball, dance parties, jumping jacks, jump on a trampoline

Puzzles

3) Organization of Materials: The ability to keep personal items tidy and easy to access.

How to work on this skill:

• Label all materials

• Take pictures of how objects should be organized as a visual cue

• Physically demonstrate to child how to organize items

• Provide visual reminders or a checklist of required items for the task

• Demonstrate how to clean up as the task progresses

• Allow the child an extra few minutes to clean up and organize items at the end of the activity

Organizing toys

4) Shifting Attention: Voluntarily moving attention from one task to the next with ease.

How to work on this skill:

• Provide verbal countdowns or timers to signify the end of an activity

• Use a “first this, then that" approach

• Provide a visual schedule to show what tasks are coming next

• Prepare the child for the transition with verbal and visual reminders

• Work on activities that have a clear start and finish

• Model how to perform the tasks

An example of a visual schedule

5) Planning: Taking the time to manage the steps needed to accomplish future goals and tasks.

How to work on this skill:

• Discuss the important steps of familiar activities such as making an ice cream cone or snowman

• Have the child talk over the most important details of what needs to be accomplished within the task

• Provide child with a calendar to visualize when events or activities are taking place

• Create a checklist of steps or to-do lists

• Practice performing multi-step crafts or obstacle courses

• Allow child to help take part in setting up activities

6) Time Management: The ability to estimate and prioritize the amount of time needed to complete a task.

How to work on this skill:

• Utilize an hourglass or analog clock as a visual to signify time passing

• Use planners and calendars

• Keep to a consistent routine and schedule

• Try to avoid over-scheduling or extremely busy schedules

• Set priorities of the most important events or tasks in their day to accomplish

• Practice estimating how long certain tasks take with your child

7) Emotional Control: The ability to notice and appropriately respond to emotional circumstances.

How you can work on this skill:

Infants:

• Singing lullabies

• Physical contact from rocking, hugging and kissing

Toddlers:

• Naming emotions in daily life as they occur such as “I wonder why that boy was sad?” or “ Did that make you feel angry?”

• Learning by watching others and their reactions to situations

• Give choices to allow for independent decision making

Children:

• Acknowledge when the child is making good decisions and give positive affirmations

• Talk openly about feelings and emotions

• Provide opportunities for children to name the feeling such as asking open ended questions like “How does playing with friends make you feel?"

• Teach emotions through books and real-life situations

• Help the child problem-solve through high emotion situations

• Use coping strategies such as providing child with quiet time throughout the day by deep breathing, listening to music, reading a book, hugging a stuffed animal, yoga poses etc.

Yoga Poses Reading a book

DISCLAIMER

The content in this blog should not be used in place of medical advice/treatment and is solely for informational purposes. All activities/exercises posted in this blog should be performed with adult supervision, caution, and at your own risk. Big Leaps, LLC is not responsible for any injury while performing an activity/exercise that has been posted on this blog. If you have any information on the content of our blog, feel free to contact us at info@bigleapsct.com.