EXECUTIVE FUNCTION REVISIT

 

Congratulations! You’ve made it through the halfway point of the year, and hopefully you’ve settled into a routine and started to figure out how to make life in ATYP work for you.What? You still struggle to start your papers? You’re still losing your math homework? You still don’t know what to do first?

Welcome to the world of Executive Function…or dis-function, depending on how you look at things.

If you think back to orientation, you might remember a discussion about executive function skills as part of the presentation. Every year, an informal survey of our families would probably find that 5% start with an understanding that their student has some type of executive function deficit. These tend to be either the families of students who have some type of recognized neurodiversity issue (ADHD or Asperger’s, for instance), and families of students with a history of “the dog ate my homework.” By recognizing that they have skills to develop, these students and families frequently come prepared to put in some extra work.

Another 25% or so of our families might think, “Well, we don’t think there is an executive function concern here, but we will stay alert and see if anything pops up.” By keeping their eyes and ears open for problems with things like task initiation, organization, and sustained attention, they can help students tackle these issues and address them as they arise. These are not always fun conversations, but they can keep a small concern from spiraling out of control.

Then there are the other 70% of families who think “My child does not have any executive function issues, work has never been late, they don’t lose things, we always have time to do homework and go to the zoo and go to the movies and play five sports. It will be fine.” These families are often in for a rude awakening because the fact is almost everyone – students, parents, instructors, staff – has some executive function strengths AND some executive function weaknesses. It’s just a matter of time before you have to figure out which are which, and how to work with both.

Accepting you have some growing to do is less daunting if you understand the following fundamental truths:

• Having an executive function weakness – in any area – does not make you a bad person, or less intelligent, or broken in some fashion. It may mean that your brain hasn’t fully developed yet and you’re still catching up, or it may mean that you could use some practice or coaching to improve. If you were a soccer player who was a great passer and shooter, but needed help to improve your footwork, you probably wouldn’t think twice about it. You want to be a great soccer player, but you also want to be a great student. Sometimes that requires work.
• Many executive function issues don’t show up until put to the test. A student who has never had trouble prioritizing projects or activities may suddenly find that this is a concern when there are more items to juggle, and this frequently happens in middle school when students have multiple teachers or as work becomes more challenging. This is a fairly typical developmental issue; it just looks scarier when the more challenging work happens all at once – like at ATYP.
• Everyone has executive function domains where they are stronger and where they are weaker, just like everyone has talents and gifts in some areas, and “not so much” in others. For instance, I am good at planning and organizing, but I am not very flexible. It is okay to be great and not-so-great in different domains, as long as you shore up your weaknesses so they don’t become an obstacle to success.
• You continue to develop executive function skills until young adulthood, which means you have a lot of time to grow into the skills you need. Don’t freak out if goal-directed persistence isn’t your thing at 12; it might definitely be your thing at 22.

Highly gifted children sometimes underachieve or struggle because executive function concerns aren’t addressed. It doesn’t have to be that difficult! Talk to your instructor or to me if you think this is an area where you could use some help.

Until next time,

Ms. Nan

P.S. You can find previous blog posts on executive function on December 7, 20202, and February 18 & 25, 2021 if you want to read more!

WHY DEADLINES?

Every once in a while ATYP hears questions from students that we feel require answers, and lately one of the questions that has trickled down is “Why does our homework have deadlines?”

First, let’s acknowledge the fact that most people don’t enjoy deadlines. They’re stressful, they can cause anxiety, and in general they are not a lot of fun. But let’s face it – life is full of deadlines, and learning how to meet those deadlines is part of learning how to be an adult (#grownup101).

Deadlines for homework serve a multitude of purposes. One, if half of a class of students is working with one deadline, and a quarter of a class thinks it has a separate deadline, and a few stragglers are turning things in even later, it likely means the class is in all different places with the material. If you’re not doing the homework and behind on absorbing new information, is the rest of the class having to wait for you? That’s not fair to them. And if they work to meet a certain deadline and get one grade, and you don’t meet a deadline but get a better grade because you took your time, that’s not fair either.

Two, the teacher grading the homework is likely grading all of one type of homework at a time, and it’s much easier to grade all of one assignment than to have to keep checking to see who has turned in that work, then grading it, and checking again, and grading it. When everyone meets the deadline, teachers can be much more efficient. In essence, turning in your homework on time is a sign of respect for your instructor, showing that you understand the time and effort they put into what they do – and that you do not want to make their work harder.

Third, we have deadlines because school in general (and ATYP in particular) is as much about life lessons as it is about coursework and curriculum. And meeting deadlines is a huge part of life. Think about the deadlines you will have to meet just for college – submitting admission and scholarship applications, as well as financial aid documentation. I know one young man who forgot to turn in his housing application and nearly didn’t have a dorm room his freshman year. As you get older you will have to meet all kinds of deadlines at work, and not meeting them could mean you don’t have a job. You must pay your mortgage and make your car payment on time, because you want to have a home to live in and a vehicle to drive. Those are all deadlines, and they all matter.

Finally, Dr. Kelly and I find that, frankly, if a project doesn’t have a deadline, it doesn’t get done. Sometimes that’s procrastination, and sometimes that’s just a function of busy schedules and not having time to get to everything. But items do get checked off the checklist when there is a due date, because there isn’t a choice. So think about your homework. If there wasn’t a deadline, when would you do those last five math problems? When would you turn in your logical fallacies?

There are all kinds of tricks and tips for prioritizing work, avoiding procrastination, and being better organized so you CAN meet deadlines – you can always email the office to ask to meet with me to work on those skills. Meeting deadlines and being on time with assignments is a lifehack that will serve you well not just in ATYP, but many years from now. Your future boss will thank you for figuring it out!

Until next time,

Ms. Nan