The 12 Executive Function Skills
I have grouped these skills into 5 'meta-groups' of particular Executive Function skills which tend to work together. Do remember these are skills and they can be learnt.
Where a child has absent or delayed 'in control' skills, this is the most important place to start.
'In control' skills :
Before being able to engage with any task, the following three Executive Function skills are required:
Response inhibition (impulse control) – the capacity to think before you act – be able to resist the urge to say or do something, thus allowing time to evaluate the situation and how this behaviour might impact it. To apply a 'mental brake' and STOP.
It is no accident that this skill is at the top of the list, as it can be particularly problematic, for you, your child, and others, when it is not fully developed by the expected age.
To better understand your child's skills in this area, I have developed a Strengths and Challenges Checklist for Response Inhibition which can be printed off and added to your child's Skillset Portfolio.
Emotion Management (emotional control) – a narrow definition could be : 'the ability to manage emotions to achieve goals, complete tasks, or control and direct behaviour'. But I have a broader understanding of this skill. Rather, I think it is about being able live in a calm, contented state most of the time. Finding the optimum emotional well-being, 'in-balance', or 'just right', state (also known as eustasis).
When a child doesn't have the mind and body skills to maintain a calm and contented emotional state, they often become highly reactive. Parents have describe this like 'a switch being pressed'. The child also becomes dysregulated. 'Emotional dysregulation' is the response we see when these skills are poorly developed. This can sometimes be an extreme and frightening reaction for loved ones.
To help understand your child's skills in this area, I have created a Strengths and Challenges Checklist for Emotion Management which can be printed off and added to your child's Skillset Portfolio.
Flexibility – also called 'shift' sometimes. A typical definition would be : 'the ability to revise and change plans in the face of obstacles, setbacks, new information, or mistakes. To adapt to changing conditions'. This skill is often linked with 'keeping going' EF skills (see later in the text).
My professional observations have been that a lack of flexibility, or difficulty with 'attention shift', means it can be very hard for a child to 'switch focus', or change their train of thought, and so they become 'stuck'. This reduced mental agility can have a significant impact on their ability to feel 'in control' of themselves. More on this later.
'Getting Started' skills:
To get started on any task, there are three key Executive Functions skills needed:
Task initiation – the ability to begin projects without undue procrastination, in an efficient or timely fashion.
Planning / prioritisation – the ability to create a road map to reach a goal or complete a task. It also involves being able to make decisions about what is important to focus in and what is not important.
Organisation – the ability to create and maintain systems to keep track of information or materials.
'Doing' skills:
To perform or 'do' a task or activity, three further Executive Functions are required:
Sustained attention (focus) – the capacity to keep paying attention to a situation or task in spite of distractibility, fatigue, or boredom.
Working memory – the ability to hold information in memory while performing complex tasks. It incorporates the ability to draw on past learning or experience to apply to the situation at hand or to project into the future.
Time management – the capacity to estimate how much time one has, how to allocate it, and how to stay within time limits and deadlines. It also involves a sense that time is important.
'Keeping going' skills :
In order to 'keep going to the end', so as to finish a task or activity, the main Executive Function skills required are:
Goal directed persistence – the capacity to have a goal, follow through to the completion of that goal and not be put off or distracted by competing interests.
Problem-solving - being able to come up with different ways to complete a task if the one held 'in mind' isn't working. (What's our 'Plan B'?)
'Putting it all together' skill:
An over-arching Executive Function skill:
Metacognition – the ability to stand back and take a bird’s-eye view of yourself in a situation, to observe how you problem-solve. It also includes self-monitoring and self-evaluative skills, for example, asking yourself ‘how am I doing?’, or ‘how did I do?’
