ÍNDICE ALFABÉTICO
FOGAPI; 981 FONCODES; 439,
Executive
Functions
Section 5:
Executive Functions
Description:
Executive functions are described as the directive capacities of the mind routed through the frontal lobe that act in a coordinated way to direct perception, emotion, cognition and motor functions. They work together and can be thought of as co-conductors or a coaching staff and give commands to engage in purposeful, organized, self-regulated, goal-directed behavior. They cue the use of other cognitive abilities such as reasoning, language, visual perception and memory processes. They are involved in the direction of shifting strategies and adapting, inhibition, abstract reasoning, metacognitive capacities and sequencing and organizing processes.
What to look for:
Individual students can have strengths or weaknesses in one or more of the executive functions at any given time. Students with an FASD may have a well developed executive ability while also having one or more underdeveloped abilities. Underdeveloped executive functions may become apparent through the following ways:
• The student may demonstrate a failure to perceive new information. The student may not appear to hear what is being said, see what is occurring around him/her, know where things are located, or may not realize when physical contact is made or sensations are present. The student or the parents may report the student has difficulty getting out of bed despite adequate sleep.
• The student may be slow to initiate or engage in an activity. You may observe a lack of initiation of social contact by the student. The student may be unable to modulate his/her behavior which may be misconstrued as being lazy, careless, unmotivated or irresponsible. You may observe that the student does not monitor or regulate his/her social behavior and emotional control through self observation and self analysis.
Executive
Functions
or says things that might embarrass others of the same age.
• There could be an apparent failure to judge or size up tasks or the student approaches tasks in a haphazard way lacking in forethought. The student may seem unaware of what is required to get a task done or completes tasks in unusual, inefficient or ineffective ways. The student may immediately start working before hearing all directions and then frequently has to change the strategy because of mistakes. The student does not think about the future or the end product while completing a task as he/she is absorbed in the immediate moment. The student does not display problem solving efforts or does not realize when problem solving skills are required.
• The student could be slow to flexibly shift from one activity to another or may try the same plan or strategy even when the results are inaccurate. You may observe perseveration or the tendency to repeat the same actions over and over. There might be difficulty in stopping or interrupting an activity or mental process. He/ she might maintain a rigid adherence to the routine even when circumstances have changed and it is necessary to develop a new plan. The student may be organizing information and materials so that it is out of sequence, fragmented or incoherent.
• The student may show a lack of focused and selective attention to or inability to consider the information being presented or the task at hand. You might observe that the student’s attention may be briefly focused but not maintained for the period of time necessary or the student has a good initial performance followed by a steady decrease in consistency. The student may frequently request repetition of directions, fail to complete all the steps in a multi-step direction or assignment or give vague responses about information that is being held.
• The student may demonstrate difficulties with processing the information presented. Some common concerns can include the lack of focus on a concept when the details are important. The student may be slow in processing the details and producing responses and reactions that are appropriate. The student may not realize when specific routines are required or may not effectively complete routines.
• You may observe that the student has trouble monitoring the passage of time and estimating how long something will take to complete. The student may accomplish little work during a specified period of time, consistently hand in assignments late, show up late for activities or events, need to be reminded to hurry up and require significantly more time to complete work. The student may either work too quickly or too slowly even when aware of time constraints. You may notice careless errors in assignments and tests or that the student does not check his/her work.
Executive
Functions
The following table provides specific executive skills, descriptions and possible signs orsymptoms of deficits.
Executive
Skill The ability to… Possible Signs or Symptoms of Dysfunction
Planning and
Sequencing • Develop steps to reach a goal or complete a task, identify materials needed and set a completion date. • Arrange steps in proper order. • May start project without necessary materials • May not leave enough time to complete • May not make plans for the weekend with peers • May skip steps in multi-step task • May have difficulty relating story chronologically • May “jump the gun” socially Organization • Obtain and maintain necessary materials to completing a sequence and achieving goal. • May lose important papers or possessions • May fail to turn in completed work • May create unrealistic schedule Time Management and Prioritization • Estimate how much time one has, how to allocate it, how to stay within timelines and deadlines. • Set and make appointments. • Establish ranking of needs or tasks, deciding what is most important and should be done first.
• May waste time doing small project and fail to do big project
• May have difficulty identifying what material to record in note-taking
Working
Memory • Hold information in mind while performing complex tasks. • Draw on past learning or experience to apply to the situation at hand. • Project problem solving strategies into the future.
• May not follow directions
• May not write down, complete or hand in assignments or bring appropriate materials
• May forget the process for assignments (long division, proper headings) • Remember to perform responsibilities • Lose things
Executive
Functions
Executive
Skill The ability to… Possible Signs or Symptoms of Dysfunction
Metacognition • Understand the big picture of oneself in a situation.
• Observe or think about how they solve a problem. • Self monitor and use
self evaluation skills.
• Make careless mistakes, fail to check work
• May fail to check assignment to make sure rules were followed
• Fail to recognize there is problem and fail to ask for help
• Fail to evaluate their own performance • Fail to see how their behavior affects
the group, an individual or situation Inhibition • Stop one from
responding to distracters and think before they act. • Resist the urge to say or do something. • Delay gratification in service of more important, long- term goal. • May appear distractible and/or impulsive • May take others’ items, lie or verbally or physically lash out without warning • May pick smaller, immediate reward
over larger, delayed reward
• Personal safety may be compromised due to inability to consider
consequences before acting Self Regulation • Manage emotions
to achieve goals or control and direct behavior.
• May exhibit inappropriate or over- reactive response to situations
Initiation • Begin a task without undue procrastination in a timely fashion.
• Difficulty getting started on tasks may appear as oppositional behavior
Flexibility and Ability to Shift Between Tasks • Revise plans in view of mistakes and the adaptability to changing conditions. • May get stuck on one approach • May not know how to access appropriate resources • May become easily frustrated and throw temper tantrums • May be slow to stop one activity and move on to the next
• Tend to continue trying one plan or strategy even when the results are negative
• Rigid adherence to the routine regardless of the circumstances • The need to do only one task at a time
Executive
Functions
Executive
Skill The ability to… Possible Signs or Symptoms of Dysfunction
Focusing
Attention • Focus attention to the most relevant information in the environment or situation while ignoring less relevant events. • May lose important information needed to complete assignments accurately • May not realize they need to change
their behavior based on the setting
Sustaining
Attention • Maintain attention and effort for a prolonged period of time.
• Attention may be briefly attained or focused but not maintained for the period of time needed to complete a task
• May have good initial performance followed by a decrease in consistency as time goes on
Storing
Information • Move information to the present into storage for retrieval at a later time • Fail tests due to lost information • May struggle to remember day to day events • May be unable to recall information after a delay Retrieving
Information • Find and retrieve previously stored information
• Inconsistent performance; some days the student can access stored information and some days they cannot
• Talks around topics or subjects. Describes the concept instead of just saying the word
• May raise hand to answer a question and have forgotten the answer by the time they are called on