Mastering Your Brain’s Cogs: How Executive Functions Impact Your Life
Do you ever feel like it’s harder to cope with daily life, studying, and work? This could be due to difficulties with Executive Functioning, a set of cognitive skills that allow individuals to plan, organise, initiate, monitor, and adapt to goal-directed behaviours
These cognitive skills allow us to plan, organise, initiate, monitor, and adapt to goal-directed behaviours, such as paying attention, remembering things, organising tasks, managing time, thinking creatively, regulating emotions, and managing impulses.
Neurodiverse individuals, such as those with ADHD, Autism, or learning differences, may experience difficulties with one or more aspects of Executive Functioning, making it harder to cope with daily life, studying, and work.
👉For example, individuals with ADHD may struggle with sustaining attention, regulating emotions, and inhibiting impulsive behaviours.
👉 Individuals with Autism may struggle with social communication and flexibility, which can impact their ability to adapt to changes in their daily life, problem-solve, and work effectively with others.
👉 In addition, some individuals with learning differences, including Dyslexia and Dyscalculia, may have difficulty with working memory, impacting their ability to remember and use information effectively.
But guess what… The same person can experience different issues with each Executive Function skill, given what else is going on in their lives.
Stress, exercise, sleep, and nutrition all play a part in messing with Executive Functions, making what can already be tricky even worse!
For me, my working memory, emotional control, and response inhibition cause me issues. Whereas my hyperfocus and therefore sustained attention, goal-directed persistence, and creative ideas are most definitely my strengths. Being Neurodiverse does make me different, but it also gives me the edge in certain areas.
As long as I am aware of my Executive Function issues and can put strategies to support me in place, I can still thrive. Executive Functions are at the root of Neurodiversity, and the more you can learn about them, the better you can support yourself or others who are Neurodiverse.
I was fortunate enough to attend Victoria Bagnall’s Executive Functions are the cogs behind cognition: Neuroplasticity, Dyslexia and Neurodiversity talk last year. It was such a pleasure to hear her speak live on a subject that she is so passionate and vocal about and one that means so much to my pupils and me personally. Do look at Victoria’s organisation Connections in Mind https://connectionsinmind.com/ for more information for yourself, as a parent or as an educator.
With all the Executive Function issues, it is like we have a faulty thermostat, and when we should react, we might not do, and when we shouldn’t, we might… It just isn’t quite adjusted in the same way as the norm, and this is stressful to live with. This is one of the reasons why Neurodiverse people tend to have high anxiety and are more prone to Mental Health difficulties. It is mentally exhausting if you are constantly trying to do the right thing and fit in!
Because I live with this every day of my life, I can understand how the children who come to me for tuition feel. I can teach them in a calm and relaxed way which will help them feel more comfortable in their own skin.
🟢 In academic settings, Executive Functions are critical for learning, problem-solving, and academic success. Students with robust Executive Function skills are better equipped to manage their time, organise their work, and regulate their emotions and behaviours, which can lead to better academic performance.
🟢 In the workplace, Executive Functions are also essential for success. They enable individuals to set and achieve goals, work effectively with others, and adapt to changing work demands. Strong Executive Function skills can also help individuals manage stress, maintain focus, and make decisions promoting professional growth and success.
For example, in online maths tutoring for children with Neurodiversities, strategies to strengthen inhibitory control can be implemented.
This includes:
- creating a calm, relaxed, and confident learning environment,
- playing maths games that involve turn-taking,
- normalising stopping & thinking, waiting, and answering,
- and using board games combined with maths on BitPaper to practice turn-taking while rewarding correct answers.
Dyslexia affects much more than just English. Dyslexic learners may struggle with worded Maths problems more than others, but many other areas are also impacted. Dyslexia can impact Working Memory, Task initiation, Time management, Planning and prioritisation, Organization, and Goal-directed persistence. Low Working Memory is a major barrier for Dyslexic learners. Whether a teacher, tutor, parent, or someone with Dyslexia, understanding the daily struggles that come with these areas and providing support can make a world of difference in their ability to succeed despite the difficulties.
Neurodiverse individuals may benefit from accommodations and support to help them develop and improve their Executive Function skills. This can include using visual aids, breaking tasks into smaller steps, providing structured routines, and offering frequent feedback and positive reinforcement. Understanding Executive Functions and how they impact people’s lives can shed light on the fact that thinking differently can affect not just English lessons but all areas of learning and daily life. Being Neurodiverse is a natural variation in human brain function, not a disorder or a deficit. The more individuals learn about Executive Functions, the better they can support themselves or others who are Neurodiverse.
🔥 Ready to enhance your teaching skills and empower your Neurodiverse students? 🔥
🌟 Fancy a chat about the tips in this post? Let’s connect and share ideas on how we can work together to support Neurodiverse learners in your tutoring session or classroom 🌟