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!
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