Nobody is Born with Executive Function

Executive functioning skills are general life skills that help individuals manage their daily tasks and responsibilities. There is no consensus as to what these skills are, but they are skills like:

1. Organisation
2. Keeping track of possessions
3. Planning and Execution
4. Staying focused and not getting distracted
5. Controlling impulses
6. Getting started with a task, and finishing tasks.
7. Shifting focus from one topic to another
8. Coping with change
9. Emotion regulation
10. Problem solving
11. Working memory

Children learn these skills to a greater or lesser extent via play and via interaction with other children and adults. For example, the game ‘Simon says’ is very good for developing focus and control of impulses. Make believe games are good for developing organisational skills, and board games are good for learning to handle failure and losing whilst not over-reacting when winning. Engaging in general conversation is good for learning to shift focus from one topic to another.

By adulthood, most people have gained sufficient executive functioning skills so that that they manage adult life, including family and work and generally contribute to society. It is normal for competency at these skills to vary. For example, some people are good at being organised while others are less good; some people excel at problem solving while, others have strengths elsewhere. Areas of weakness can often be improved with practise - and experience.

However, there are instances where cognitive impairments impact on the ability to learn these skills. For example:

• Slow or delayed processing often impacts on the ability to handle sudden and unexpected changes. Often, someone with slow or delayed processing can learn to handle common every day changes simply by learning what to do when certain things happen. Then it appears that they have overcome their difficulties with change, as they become adept at handling familiar situations. However, when something that has not happened before occurs, challenges with change will become apparent, especially if this means working out how to handle the situation quickly without adequate time to process what is going on.
• Feeling emotions too intensely can impact on learning emotion regulation. While this can be learnt enough to handle losing games comfortably, handling events that provoke more intense emotion can be challenging and they will find it much more difficult to maintain control. This can be particularly challenging when combined with slow or delayed processing. The challenge of processing and regulating emotion while also trying to process what has happened can be too much to handle all at once.
• Poor working memory is often seen in people with Dyslexia have poor working memory. There is little you can do to improve working memory, but learning to add structure can make a big difference. In fact, some people with dyslexia compensate by being good at remembering the structure of visual information.

Sometimes deficiencies in certain skills can lead to the development of other skills to a very high level to compensate. For example:

• Difficulty with change, due to processing issues, can lead to the development of highly developed organisational and planning skills to compensate. Being well organised and planning for eventualities can minimise the risk of having to make unforeseen changes.
• Difficulty with planning and execution can lead to the development of highly developed problem solving skills. When planning and execution is difficult, for example, because the person is easily distracted, problem solving to the end of task can be more effective.
• Difficulty with working memory can lead to the development of enhanced skills in pattern analysis or even handling complexity. Compensating for poor working memory requires building structures to ‘chunk’ the information in order to make the most of available working memory. This can lead to the development of the ability to handle complex information.
• Difficulty with reading and writing can lead to highly developed visual reasoning skills. People who struggle with reading and writing may rely more on visual and spatial information. They may become skilled at interpreting visual information quickly and accurately. Mindmaps are often recommended for people who struggle to read and write.

The symptoms of ADHD are primarily due to issues with executive functioning skills especially weaknesses in controlling impulses. This can make it hard to stay focused when something does not grab your interest and makes you easily distracted. ADHD brains tend to go off on tangents and get distracted by any passing thought. People with ADHD can also find it difficult to get started with something and then, if it is a long task, it may not get finished because they have got distracted by something else.

To manage these challenges, it can help to have someone to buddy with and to hold you accountable. This is why apps such as FLOWN have been developed. Some people find the ‘Pomodoro technique’ helpful. This is where you set a timer for a period of work and then have timed short breaks. Variations of this technique, such as aiming to get to a certain point in your work before having a break can also help.

It is not clear why some people don’t develop executive functioning skills as easily as others. With ADHD, stimulants are often prescribed to aid focus and control impulsivity. Some people self-medicate with caffeine. However, it has been shown that improvements can also be achieved with Omega 3 supplements in some people. We have found that Omega 3 supplements can help general processing ability in autism as well - but again, not in everyone.

It would appear that issues with executive functioning are potentially down to a variety of different underlying causes, each with different solutions. Omega 3 improves insulation between conductive fibres in the brain so there is less interference. Stimulants increase the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain, thus improving the efficiency of the connections. This provides two different mechanisms to explain difficulties in learning executive functioning skills.