The following are excerpts from our notes on a class on executive functions presented by Karole Howland of Boston University:
Developing Executive Functions in Young Students with Language Impairment
· Executive functions: The ability to maintain an appropriate problem solving set for attainment of a future goal.
· Impact of Deficits in EF:
o EF skills in preschool predict academic success
o Children with poor EF skills are at risk for social/behavioral problems
o EF skills are essential to the development of theory of mind
· We cannot afford to wait until middle school to work on EF
· Behavioral intervention often assumes the issues are based on a cognitive choice to misbehave, rather than behavior problems that need to be managed. We need to think of executive functions as skills that need to be developed
· Inhibition:
o Closely related to emotional regulation in preschoolers
o Inhibition is hard work!
o Some types of inhibition:
§ Delay of gratification
§ Emotional self-regulation
§ Resisting distraction
§ Conflicting action
· Cognitive Flexibility:
o The ability to change or adapt plans as circumstances demand
o Requires recognition of the need for change
o Requires the ability to inhibit the original action in favor of a new response
· Planning:
o Requires a future image-what is the goal?
o Requires a high degree of inhibition
o Requires working memory
· Teacher Ratings are more effective than formal testing to diagnose EF
· Spoken Language Characteristics of Children with EF disorders
o Disorganized and Tangential: Leaves out or mis-sequences steps, goes off topic. Vague references lead to confusion.
o Uses verbal mazes as a result of word-finding and planning problems.
o Excessive detail about minor points.
o Insufficient detail about major points
o Overproduction: Talks much but communicates little
o Underproduction: Planning demands are too high, shrugs, gestures, shuts down