What is Executive Functioning?
Fahy and Richard define executive functions (EFs) as:
“those cognitive and meta-cognitive skills that collectively provide for the capacity to regulate, adapt, and control our behaviors, responses, and actions, both for present demands, and as foundations for future-oriented goals. Executive functions include attention, inhibition, and working memory, as well as components of fluency, strategic planning, initiation, flexibility, and self-monitoring.” (Fahy & Richard, 2017)
In short: executive functions are high-level brain functions that help us organize, regulate, and adapt our behaviors in order to achieve our goals, both big and small.
Executive Functioning Skills in Action
Let’s imagine a student named Tim whose goal is to do well in his algebra class. He needs to: pay attention to his teacher in class by listening to her, inhibit his desire to talk to friends and inhibit his old, unsuccessful way of approaching the type of problem his teacher is explaining, and he needs to engage his working memory (ability to keep information in mind and hold it long enough to execute the desired behavior) to hold what the teacher is saying in his mind for long enough to process it and maybe take some notes. Those are the foundational EFs components: attention, inhibition, and working memory. They are absolutely required for Tim to learn anything in his algebra class, despite his “innate” skill or lack thereof in math.
But Tim is going to need to enlist more of his EFs in order to get an A in his algebra class. Let’s say that Tim notices that he doesn’t understand something in class (self-monitoring). He has to utilize the EFs component goal determination and recognition to decide if he can figure it out on his own (and decide what the consequences might be if he can’t) or if he should raise his hand to ask a question. If he is doing homework later that night and doesn’t know how to answer a problem, he will utilize the EFs component fluency to generate multiple, creative options to find a solution, such as looking in his notes, re-reading his textbook, asking a parent, asking a friend, or asking his teacher. Once he has generated these options, he will use his strategic planning and organizational skills to predict the outcome of each plan to generate a final plan (my friends seemed confused too…my parents aren’t that good at math…so I should ask my teacher before school). Tim will use his flexibility to determine an alternative plan (look in the teacher’s lounge) when he can’t find his teacher in her classroom. If it ends up that he doesn’t have enough time to talk to his teacher before class, he will use his self-regulation skills to accurately monitor and evaluate the outcomes of his efforts and emotions, and try a different plan next time (“I feel anxious leaving it to the day that the assignment is due, I will ask my teacher after class or consult a tutor next time.”).
I hope that gives you a taste of what executive functions are. Look at my other executive functioning posts for more information!
Please reach out to me at hollis@mindfulspeechchicago.com if you have any questions or if you think you or your child could benefit from an evaluation into EFs.
Resources:
Fahy, J. K., Richard, G. J. (2017). The source development of executive functions. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.
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Hi, I’m Hollis, the owner of Mindful Speech.
I’m a speech-language pathologist licensed in Illinois and Colorado.
I specialize in providing speech therapy to help children, teens, and young adults to improve language, reading, writing, and executive functioning skills. Now offering in-person sessions in Chicago!
Learn more about me on my About Hollis page.