Challenges for learners with impairment in their Executive Functions
Executive functions (EF) refers to the brains ability to control communication between various areas of the brain. EF manage how we organise, plan, adjust, how we initiate and carry out task in life.
Organization refers not only to how we manage our things ( papers, pack our bag, clean up our room) but also how we sort and store information and how we maintain these routines.
Individuals who have challenges in this aspect may experience
• Lack of awareness of assignments • Seem to loose things
• Messy room or bag
• Unable to manage school work
Time Management refers to how we generally understand, manage the temporal passage of time and space.
Individuals who have difficulties with time management may experience
• Turning up late for appointments
• Alway being rush to move
• Trouble completing homework
• Poor choices about how to spend time • Procrastinate
Planning refers to how we lay out and among everything that we need to do in our lives and school work. How we manage the bits and pieces of information and relate to them.
Individuals who have difficulty planing may experience
• Lack of a way to track work, tasks and activities
• Choosing to do less important thing and op for fun instead • Difficulty with long term projects or assignments
• Overwhelmed with the amount of work
• Difficulty with writing assignment
Task Analysis refers to how we look at and break down task into doable steps, how we decide what needs to be done and how we go about carrying out the task and completing them.
Individuals who have difficulty with task analysis may experience
• Unable to start making plans
• Trouble breaking down or processing information
• Get stuck in the first step of the action plan
• Needs lots of reminders to start and stay on task
• Resist asking for help or resist offer of help when given • Reacting emotionally when told
Interrelatedness of information refers to how we take large amounts of information and integrate and apply the information in other contexts.
Individuals who have difficulty with study skills and academics may experience
• Overwhelmed by amount of work to complete or study
• Study but still receive poor results
• Poor study skills
• Feeling frustrated and complaining how difficulty the subjects can be • Struggles with note taking or how to make them
Attention, Focus and working memory refers to our ability to hold attention on tasks, conversations and what is going on around us in addition to processing or actually thinking about what we are processing.
Individual who have difficulty attending or with working memory may experience
• Trouble sitting or working long periods of time
• Easily distracted and zone out
• Forgets multi steps instructions as soon as it was given
• Makes careless mistakes
• Missing important announcements about due dates, homework assignments
Self regulation refers to how aware we are about ourselves and managing our goals and expectations. When faced with challenges or blockages, the individual has the ability to be persistence and reach the intended goals.
Individuals who have difficulty regulating may experience
• Resist taking on responsibility
• Shift blames to others
• Finishes first draft with little time to review
• Does not adjust quality of work when suggestion are discussed and made
Behaviour and Emotional Regulation refers to how we manage and carry ourselves as well as how we adjust and respond to others and situations
Individuals who have difficulty with behaviour and emotions may experience
• Interrupts and blurts out responses
• Jumps to conclusions
• Acts out verbally or physically when upset
• Can be inflexible, rigid has difficulty dealing with change • Overreacts to small situations
• Trouble with perceived fairness or unfairness
• Difficulty with social cues
• Difficult self soothing or calming
• Often in tears or seem down
Have you come across these impairment of EF in the learner? The good news is ... the Feuerstein's method being applied has been shown to address and help bring awareness to the manner the learnrt receives information, make meanings of them and then relate the information so that it can be understood.
The gap in EF impairment can be bridged. Have faith because there is hope.