Executive Functions are a set of mental processes that help us with planning, organization and task management.  In day-to-day life, these functions enable us to focus our attention and activity in useful ways by integrating, making sense of, and prioritizing other cognitive and emotional processes and information.  Many students with disabilities experience problems with executive functioning that can affect one or more of the following: attention, organization, time management, impulse control, memory, and self-monitoring.  Because problems with executive functioning can negatively impact learning and social development in a number of ways, it is very important for educators and family members to provide these students with appropriate supports and plenty of opportunities to strengthen these skills.
 
Here are some ways to support students who exhibit problems with executive functioning:
 
Provide students with organizational tools.  Students who have difficulty with time management and task management may benefit from using checklists, calendars, day-planners and timers to keep track of assignments and to stay on track.  It is essential to teach the student how to use these tools, and to reinforce their use as part of the student's daily routine.  For additional suggestions about how to foster strong organizational skills, check out the Tip of the Month from August, 2007: "Begin with Good Organizational Skills".
 
Provide step-by-step instructions.  Children who have problems with executive functioning often experience difficulty with following complicated instructions.  Breaking tasks and assignments into smaller steps reduces the amount of information the student must remember at any point, which helps to prevent distraction and emotional frustration. In addition, oral instructions should also be written down so that the student has something to refer to if he or she gets stuck.
 
Provide strategies for dealing with problem situations and opportunities to practice those strategies.  For example, students who exhibit weak impulse-control may benefit from working with a teacher to identify situations that have led to conflict in the past, and then role-playing around those situations to develop more appropriate coping strategies and patterns of interaction.
 
Build in time for organization.  Students with weak organizational skills not only require explicit instruction on how to manage their work and their physical spaces (notebooks, backpacks, desks, etc.), they also need to have some time specifically dedicated to those kinds of organizational tasks.  Make sure students have a few minutes each day to write down their homework, organize their assignments, and return class materials to the proper storage areas.  For additional suggestions about time management, check out the Tip of the Month from June, 2007: "Please Wait! Incorporating Wait Time into Classroom Activities".
 
Encourage self-monitoring.  Often students simply rely on feedback from teachers and parents to know if they have been successful on a particular task.  Using some of the aforementioned tools and techniques, have students assess their own performance and track their own progress over time.
 
Demystify the Executive Functions.  It is important to let students know when they have a problem with executive functioning and help them to understand the impact it may have on their performance in school.  For example, a student with weak time-management skills or short attention may perform poorly on timed tests, even when he or she fully understands the content.  Helping that student to understand the source of the problem empowers him or her to take an active role in developing and implementing appropriate supports and accommodations.

To learn more about the Executive Functions, check out the recent article at LD Online titled "What is Executive Functioning?"