Executive Functioning is the term used to describe a constellation of skills required for goal directed behaviors. It is not intelligence, but rather the use of intelligence in appropriate ways. Some aspects of executive functions include: attention, memory, organization, impulse control.

Think of executive functions as the "CEO" of the person. It is involved with all aspects of our daily living and all parts of the brain are involved. It is how we know that it's okay to stand up and cheer while rooting for your team (personal note - hopefully, the Yankees) at the ball park and that it's not okay to produce that same behavior while at religious services. What is acceptable behavior for young children is not acceptable as they mature and that is why executive dysfunctions are often not apparent until middle school.

Some of the visible problems that may emerge include: sleep problems, attentional problems, difficulty focusing on required subjects, difficulty initiating or starting a task, difficulty shifting or changing from one task to another, difficulty delaying gratification.

Parental input includes: organizational help at home, developing metacognitive thinking strategies (thinking about thinking), use daily routines, warning prior to change in activity use of verbal strategies to remind oneself to slow down or think before acting, breaking down homework time into smaller segments, breaking down directions into one or two steps, helping child recognize degrees of difficulty and which homework assignment requires more effort and time and use of a reward system.

The school and home are a team - a collaboration of two skilled interest groups. It is our job to help our children develop patterns of critical thinking and reasoning. To accomplish this, they must stop, look, and listen to their world. They must be able to analyze problems, to think of potential solutions and to use appropriate strategies. They must use their memory and develop scaffolding or connections to previously learned material and ultimately they must reach their own conclusions.