Executive Function
Skills
There are many definitions and descriptions of executive functions. And various lists usually provide approximately eight different skills. The list below comes from Dr. Kari Miller and names thirteen skills. Dr. Miller does a great job of delineating each function. Follow the link above to read her detailed descriptions.
- Planning and Prioritizing
- Time Management
- Organization
- Working Memory
- Metacognition
- Respone Inhibition
- Self Regulation of Affect
- Task Initiation
- Flexibility
- Goal-Directed Persistence
- Sustained Attention
- Disengaging Attention
- Regulation of Processing Speed
Dr. Miller also provides a definition of executive function that is easy to understand and gives a sense of expectations.
"These are the skills that help us manage and direct our lives. They are analogous to the activities than an executive engages in to manage and direct a company or business.
Executive skills allow us to plan and organize our behavior, make well-considered decisions, overrule immediate desires in favor of longer term goas, take conscious control of our emotoions and moniotr our thougths in order to work more efficeintely and effectively."
Dr. Miller has several great resources:
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Articles: "Success Strategies for Students with Special Needs Such as ADD, ADHD, Autism, and Learning Disabilities"
http://millereducationalexcellence.com/newsletter-signup
from the Special Education Advisor, The IEP and Social Education Network
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Host blogtalk radio show - Special Kid School Talk
http://www.blogtalkradio.comspecialkidsschooltalk
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Host blogtalk radio show Education Revolution
http://hwebtalkradio.net/shows/education-revolution
Another definition along with a discussion of executive functioncomes from the encyclopedia of medical disorders
http://www.minddisorders.com/Del-Fi/Executive-function.html
"The term executive function describes a set of cognitive abilities that control and regulate other abilities and behaviors. Executive functions are necessary for goal-directed behavior. They include the ability to initiate and stop actions, to monitor and change behavior as needed, and to plan future behavior when faced with novel tasks and situations. Executvie functions allow us to anticipate outcomes and adapt to changing situations. The ability to form concepts and think abstractly are often considered components of executive function."
Other great resources in the form of articles can be found at LD Online which works in association with the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities and is an educational service of public television station WETA in Washington, D.C. More articles can be found at LD Online.
by Joyce Cooper-Kahn and Laurie Dietzel
By: Tracy Landon and Linda Oggel article
by Bonnie Z. Goldsmith this article from LD.org through the National Center for Learning Disabilities names eight of the skills and identifies the behavior exhibited that illustrates dysfunction in each area.
by Kristen Stanberry from Great Schools Inc.
Michelle Garcia Winner presents part one of a training session for parents and professionals on the Social Thinking approach to Asperger's, high-functioning autism, ADHD and other social and communication challenges. Michelle, who received a Congressional award for developing Social Thinking, offers four video training sessions, with the first part of each video available for free, and the full video training sessions of 1.5 to 3 hours each available for purchase at www.socialthinking.com. These videos are different from Michelle's workshops. They were shot in her clinical office and offer a close look at the core concepts of Social Thinking.
Article from The Council of Exceoptional Children (CEC)
from Learning Abled Kids. This article provides some recommendations for home activities.
Executive Functions - Book Selections
Smart but Scattered:
The Revolutionary "Executive Skills" Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential, Peg Dawson and Richard Guare
Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents, 2ndEdition:
A Practical Guide to Assessment and Intervention, Peg Dawson and Richard Guare
Executive Function in the Classroom, Christopher Kaufman
Promoting Executive Function in the Clas sroom (What Works for Special-Needs Learners), Lynn Meltzer PhD
Where's My Stuff, Samantha Moss Lesley Schwartz
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