What is: Executive Function? (Part 5)

Supporting Adults with Executive Function Challenges

Welcome to the fifth and final post in this series about executive function.

Read Part 1: Working Memory
Read Part 2: Cognitive Flexibility
Read Part 3: Inhibitory Control
Read Part 4: Developing Executive Function

Recap: What is Executive Function?

Executive function—the combination of working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control—is an important part of daily life. It is a learned skill that develops through childhood and into young adulthood. For this reason, most of us, whether or not we have heard the term “executive function” before, unconsciously associate healthy, developed executive functioning skills with maturity.

There are many neurological differences that can cause a child to not develop executive function as quickly as their peers. The most commonly known ones are ADHD and autism. These same neurodiversities also affect executive functioning ability in adults.

Supporting Adults with Executive Function Challenges

Here are some tips for supporting someone in your life with executive function difficulties. If you know that your student or employee is autistic or ADHD, or if they mention difficulty with any of the executive function skills we have been discussing, here are some things you can do to help them perform at their best.

• Communication
  Since individuals with cognitive flexibility issues have difficulty with change, be sure to communicate any changes to routines, procedures, and expectations early and often.

• Time
  In addition to communicating a change, time to adequately process that change is important. Your student or employee may experience increased anxiety when a coming change is announced. Providing an official time for them to ask questions and voice concerns ahead of the transition can help.

• Written Communication
  Put that question, or important communication into a text or email. Verbal communication can be easily forgotten by someone with working memory challenges, but written communication can be referred back to.

• Notes
  Note-taking is difficult for individuals with working memory challenges, since they often forget things before they can write them down. A good accommodation for an adult in university, is to provide them with pre-written lecture notes, or designate someone to take notes for them. In the workplace, a handout to accompany any presentations is also a good accommodation. Notes and handouts should have an outline and/or key points written on it, so the student/employee can focus their attention on listening, and not on worrying if they have written down everything they need.

• Schedules
  A written schedule is important for anyone with working memory difficulties. Just because they were verbally told that their usual Monday meeting or class was rescheduled, doesn’t mean they will remember. Having a schedule available to view takes off the pressure of remembering things that are not routine. (Digital schedules that can be accessed by phones are great for this!)

• Step by Step Instructions
  Forgetting a step in a large sequence of tasks is a common problem for individuals who struggle with their working memory and/or inhibitory control. Providing a handbook with very detailed step-by-step instructions, or even posting step-by-step operating instructions by each piece of equipment is very helpful. This not only supports the individuals who need it, but supports all of the students/trainees/employees using the equipment, potentially preventing unnecessary mistakes and accidents.

• Checklists
  In addition to providing step-by-step instructions for certain equipment or tasks, a checklist of an entire day’s duties/assignments may also help employees and students who struggle with working memory or inhibitory control, as it gives them something to come back to if they forget or become distracted.

• Simulation
  Providing time to practice is a huge help for anyone with cognitive flexibility challenges. Try to avoid “throwing them in the deep end,” or assuming that they will learn on the go. They are more likely to become overwhelmed and quit then they are to adapt on the fly. Make sure your student or employee is comfortable using the computer, the cash register, etc… by doing several practice runs before leaving them on their own to do it “for real.”

What accommodations would you add to this list? I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

If you are a professor or employer, please keep in mind that accommodations are things that you can do for your students or employees. This list of accommodations is not a list of things that they can provide for themselves. It would not be helpful or effective to tell them to make their own calendar or checklist, for example. This is now extra work and an extra step for them to keep track of. When you provide these accommodations for someone with executive functioning challenges, you are making their task more manageable for them, and giving them a better shot at success.

Why Accommodate?

So why go to the effort of accommodating neurodiverse individuals in the first place? Especially when it can mean more work for you?

I like to compare accommodations to a trellis used in gardening.

Some plants require some extra structure to grow tall and climb high. Sure, a gardener could refuse to give their tomato plants a trellis because their potato plants don’t need one and they produce potatoes just fine. But if they do that, they will probably not get the results they are hoping for. They will end up with tomatoes that have ripened on the ground, and have large rotten spots on the bottoms.

If a gardener chooses to treat a tomato plant like a potato plant, they are missing a very important duty of gardening: providing the ideal conditions for each plant to grow and thrive.

I am so thankful that so many of the educators I know are “good gardeners.” They take their job of nurturing their students seriously, and are willing to go the extra mile to provide a good environment for them.

The majority of employers I know and have known, however… eesh. Not so good. I don’t think many employers consider it part of their job to invest in, or even care about, their employees. They’re all about what they can take from their employees, not what they can give. I truly hope these attitudes begin to shift. Not just for the sake of neurodiverse employees, but for the mental health of all employees.

Well, we made it! Five weeks on a topic that some of you didn’t know existed before five weeks ago. Now you’re experts! Haha. Thank you Readers, for coming along as I write about the things I care about. I hope you can find some of them as fascinating and educational as I do.

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