EXECUTIVE FUNCTION
Executive function skills are those skills that allow an individual to manage time and attention, change focus, plan and organize and remember details. Executive function skills are vital to success at work or school, to independent functioning and to maintaining appropriate relationships.
Organization and regulation are the two major categories of executive functioning. A person can be born with deficits in executive function and the disorder has been found to run in families. Executive function problems are associated with disorders such as depression, ADHD and learning disabilities. Brain damage related to Alzheimer’s disease, stroke or head injury can also cause deficits in executive function.
In children, executive function problems may first be evident during elementary school when schoolwork must be completed on time. The child with executive function problems may have difficulty planning projects and estimating how much time homework assignments or projects will take. They may have difficulty initiating tasks, memorizing information and retaining information while doing something with it. Children with executive function issues may also have difficulty telling stories, whether verbally or in written form. Early attention to executive function problems can help the child outgrow and compensate for weaknesses since the brain continues to develop into adulthood.
Adults with executive function difficulties will experience the same issues as children do. Executive function problems can prevent a person from achieving goals and controlling behavior. Such problems are evident in the individual’s inability to evaluate a situation and change behavior in response to it, since experience and prior knowledge must come into play. There are numerous strategies for adults to utilize to improve planning, time management and general organizational skills which will assist them in coping with executive function deficits.
Call us to learn how the professionals at C.C.I.C., Inc. work with individuals to manage executive function difficulties.
Call our main office central intake number to schedule an appointment. 513-771-7655
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