Executive... what?

It's my turn to share a story.  While it's my day job to spread the word about Bridgeway and create understanding around learning disabilities, I'm also the parent of a child with ADHD.  It's a condition that you'll find in about 40% of individuals diagnosed with LDs.  My son's challenge is with Executive Function.  Never heard of it?  Neither did I!  My take on it is below.  (Don't forget, I'm not an expert in this field!)

Rhonda

Executive function - a parent's perspective

If you don't know what executive function is, don't worry.  Until a psychologist explained that it was one of the challenges my son was facing, I didn't know what it was either.  But when she started describing the tasks that fall under the description - organization, impulse control, time management, sustained attention, planning and prioritizing - I immediately knew this is a topic I needed to learn more about.

My son has ADHD.  It's a condition I had certainly heard of before he was diagnosed, but I didn't really understand it.  Also new to me was the idea that all individuals with ADHD have executive function deficits, whatever the heck those were.  Needless to say, I've learned a lot in the last year or so. 

I think the first revelation for me was the idea that ADHD is based in the brain and is a developmental disability.  In fact, the brain of a person with ADHD is developmentally about 30% behind his/her peers.  With that information, it makes perfect sense that a 10-year-old might respond to situations in the same way a seven-year-old would.  That has really helped my understanding as a parent when I'm faced with a meltdown over something that I might think isn't a big deal.

What has furthered my understanding of the challenges my son faces is getting a handle on what exactly executive functions are and how they play a role in everyday life.  If you think of your frontal lobe as the conductor or CEO of the brain, you can start to see how it plays a crucial role in directing other brain functions, including reasoning, thoughts, actions and emotions. 

Without an effective conductor, those processes are poorly controlled.  Imagine trying to assess a situation, make a plan of attack, execute it and assess the result without that guidance.  Most of us don't consciously think about these steps as we go through life, but they come into play in almost everything we do.  Take my son for example.  I might ask him in the morning to go and get dressed because we have to leave in a few minutes.  He knows that he has to leave the kitchen, go down to his bedroom, get his clothes out and get dressed in a certain amount of time.  But when he steps into the living room, he sees the TV is on.  His frontal lobe doesn't prompt him to keep going so that he isn't late, so he stops to watch the show.  When I step in, playing the role of the frontal lobe, he makes it to his room, only to find his brother there playing with some toys.  Again, the impulse to play isn't well controlled, so he's soon down on the floor playing along.  Another reminder, and he's finally pulling clothes out of his drawer.

The constant need to keep prompting can be tiring and discouraging for a parent.  The most encouraging thing I've learned is that there are strategies we can use to help him strengthen his frontal lobe.  Take homework for example.  At my house, we've watched our son struggle with homework at times, especially bigger projects.  I now know that he panics and resists those projects because he doesn't know how to effectively plan and organize the task, breaking the big project into manageable pieces and planning his time so that he can get it done by the deadline.  (If you're a parent, you know how heartbreaking it can be to watch a child cry and call himself stupid because he believes he can't do something.)  Now that we understand why it's so hard, we can help him by teaching him how to make the job more manageable.  As soon as a project comes home, we sit down together to develop a plan to do just a little bit each day, plotting it out on a calendar.  It certainly has helped relieve his stress, and over time, we should reach a point where he can take on the planning on his own.

If you're a parent, there are many resources out there to help you help your child.  When we received our son's diagnosis, the psychologist suggested we read a book that she and her clients have found useful, "Smart But Scattered: The Revolutionary Executive Skills Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential" by Peg Dawson and Richard Guare.  It's a terrific read that not only explains what executive functions are, but provides activities and techniques we can use to help him develop his skills.

I also recently attended a presentation by Dr. George McCloskey, Professor and Director of School Psychology Research of the Philiadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.  It was all about executive functions and their impact on learning.  He gives a wonderfully detailed explanation of what's happening in the brain of an individual with executive function deficits, and how they impact reading, writing and other learning tasks.  I wouldn't dare to reteach it here, but if you have an opportunity to hear him speak, I would definitely recommend it.

The journey I've taken over the last year has been hard, with a huge learning curve and a lot of new territory.  But in the end, I think it's helping me to be a better parent.  If you're starting your journey, take heart.  There are many ways you can help, and lots of resources out there to help you along the way.