Education

Education

Ages: 14 - 17

Understanding Executive Functioning and Its Impact on Your Teen's Education

Understanding Executive Functioning and Its Impact on Your Teen's Education

Many autistic teens have challenges with what are called executive function skills. Executive functioning refers to a set of brain functions for managing your daily living including working memory, organizational skills, flexible thinking and self control.

Some teens may have a level of executive function challenges that may be diagnosed as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which involve difficulties in maintaining appropriate focus to the right things (such as school activities), processing information, impulsiveness and/or needing constant motion. For more details on executive functioning, see this article from Understood.

You can include goals for executive functioning in their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and with therapists. Discuss with school and your teen’s therapists strategies to help your teen with their executive functioning issues. For example if they have a hard time focusing at home on their assignments and studying, or if once they’ve completed their homework they don’t turn in all their assignments to the right teacher in the right place. Do they have a system for keeping track of their assignments and upcoming tests? Studying and test taking skills are often challenging for autistic teens with executive functioning challenges. The resources below will help you with ideas and learning more.

Additional Resources

Executive Function Skills by Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD)

Executive Function & Self-Regulation from the Harvard University Center on the Developing Child

Understanding Executive Functioning Issues from the Understood website

Executive Functions section of the Child Mind Institute's website

Executive Functions from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Institutes of Health

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