What Are Executive Function Skills? A Parent-Friendly Guide
You have heard the term “executive function skills,” and you know they are essential. But what exactly are they? Read on for a parent-friendly guide.
Executive Function Skills: The Basics
Executive function skills are mental skills that allow a person to navigate life successfully.
Just as an executive runs a company by managing, analyzing, and making decisions, executive function skills are the mental processes of management, analysis, organization, and decision-making.
These skills develop throughout childhood and the teen years.
A person must master the executive function skills to be successful in school, work, and relationships.
Executive Function Skills List
So what are the executive function skills exactly? Here is a list.
Working Memory
Your brain has several types of memory. The shortest is sensory memory, which lasts only for an instant (like seeing a flash of lightning and registering what you see).
Your brain also has long-term memory, which stores information (or memories) for a long time.
This type of memory helps you to remember how to ride a bike, recall the year Columbus sailed across the Atlantic, and recall a funny moment from a childhood vacation.
The type of memory that lies in the middle is an executive function skill: working memory, or short-term memory.
Short-term memory lasts for 15-30 seconds. This helps you to remember a phone number long enough to dial it, perform mental math, repeat a sentence or phrase, etc.
Why is working memory an executive function skill? Consider these applications:
- Perform mental math
- Follow multi-step directions
- Remember what happened on a previous page (reading comprehension)
- Write a composition (juggle spelling, sentence structure, and ideas)
- Make decisions based on the information you have available
Impulse Control
If you place a pile of marshmallows in front of a toddler, he will eat them.
The executive function skill of impulse control allows a person to resist their impulses and focus despite distractions.
The famous mantra of “think before you act” is the executive function skill of impulse control.
Adaptability
If a person is mentally flexible, she can adapt to new situations, see an issue from different perspectives, and try a new tactic.
Not only is adaptability essential for problem-solving tasks, but it also helps the development of empathy.
Planning and Organization
Planning and organization are closely related.
If you have the executive function skill of planning, you can set a goal and follow the steps to meet it.
With organization, you can find what you need when you need it.
Organizational skills help you keep track of the pieces you need to fulfill your goal.
Self-Monitoring
Have you ever told your child to clean their room and then walked away, only to find they immediately stopped working once you were no longer watching?
They lack the executive function skill of self-monitoring.
When you self-monitor, you hold yourself accountable to finish the tasks that you start.
You can track your progress as you work toward a goal.
Regulation of Emotions
Emotions can sweep you up in a tide, derailing you from your purpose.
Once you can regulate your emotions, you can act appropriately in social situations and keep your cool in challenging circumstances.
What If My Child Lacks Executive Function Skills?
If you read that list of executive function skills and realized your kid struggles with many of them, don’t despair.
Executive function skills develop over time. Some of the executive function skills will not fully appear until the prefrontal cortex is completely developed (this can be as late as the mid to late 20s).
Kids with ADHD, learning differences, and exposure to trauma may develop executive function skills later (but they can develop them).
You can speed up the process by teaching these skills explicitly. Read more about how to teach executive function skills here.
You can also enhance executive function skills with practice. Do not expect a teenager to jump out of bed one day and ask for a planner to organize his life.
Model these skills, provide frameworks and assistance, and give feedback to your kids.
They will develop these all-important skills to be successful in life.
