Executive Functioning:
A Major Key to Academic and Social Success
Executive Function (EF) is the ability to interpret, and act upon information. The EF capability of the brain has been referred to as the "orchestra conductor" or "CEO." EF can be thought of as an umbrella term which covers a collection of interrelated functions responsible for purposeful, goal-directed, problem-solving behavior. The specific cognitive processes that support executive functioning are active mostly in the frontal lobes and basal ganglia. Recently, researchers have examined how this crucial brain function affects how children manage everything they learn.
Dr. Martha Denckla, Director of the Developmental Cognitive Neurology Clinic at the Kennedy Kreiger Institute, describes children with EF difficulties as experiencing hardships planning, organizing, and managing time and space. Dr. F. Zavier Castellanos describes Executive Function as “the ability to delay responses and sustain or shift attention so that an individual can set priorities.”
Most EF difficulties are identified in middle school when organization and independent work are required. However, young children who have difficulty transitioning from one activity to another or experience trouble following a sequence of instructions may be demonstrating EF problems.
How Does Executive Function Work? What Happens When it Doesn't?
How Do Executive Function Problems Affect Academic and Social Success?
How can EF be developed?