ADHD should probably be known as Executive Functioning deficit disorder. The ADHD brain has weaknesses when it comes to Executive Functioning. What is Executive Functioning? Read on to learn more.
This image breaks down the parts of Executive functioning. Each part plays an important role in being able to reach expectations of society, school and life. There are a few models of executive functioning but I find this breakdown makes the understanding of how it impacts the ADHD brain a bit easier to understand and remember when parenting.
1. Self-Awareness
Self-Awareness is the ability to be aware of what we are thinking, feeling, doing or saying. It is the ability to monitor and notice your action. So if you have weak executive functioning or delayed executive functioning ability, self-awareness will be weak also.
- You may find it difficult to think things through before doing or saying something.
- You may find it difficult to know when enough is enough.
- You may show strong emotional reactions and not recognise their impact on others.
A parent can support your child’s self-awareness by gently calling attention to aspects which are less socially acceptable e.g. if you child talks loudly, asking them if there are aware of this is more effective than telling them to be quiet.
2. Inhibition (Self-restraint)
This is the ability to stop doing one thing in order to replace it with another behaviour. It follows on from self-awareness as even when there is awareness of an inappropriate behaviour, it can be impossible to stop the behaviour. This weak executive function also can be seen as impulsivity. The inability to resist doing or saying something which has an undesired consequences. Often the realisation is immediate and the guilt/shame follow quickly. However, in the moment, a weak executive function of inhibition does not allow yourself or your child to resist acting.
Another potential impairment resulting from this is rush things or doing something slapdash to just get it over. Often this will be seen for an activity that is not enjoyed e.g. brushing teeth!
3. Non-Verbal working memory
This executive functioning is the ability to hold in your memory ideas and thoughts to guide your behaviour. We use non-verbal working memory to keep us on track to get activities done and to work out the consequences of something. So if this is a weak function, there is weak ability to work out consequences. This is known as hindsight and foresight.
An simple example of when we use non-verbal working memory is when we are reading, we need to be able to remember the characters we meet in the story to enable us to recall who is being referred to during the story. If you have a weak working memory, you may have to keep checking back to who someone is. Some books include a list of characters used in the book so you could devise your own list as you read. Another example of the impact of weak non-verbal working memory is doing maths problems. A simple problem like 3 x 2 x 7 requires the ability to remember 3 x 2 before being able to do the second part. A simple tip to reach young children is to write down each answer as they go.
4. Emotional Self-Regulation
Emotional self-regulation is relatively newly recognised as being a part of ADHD. Not all people with ADHD have this weakness but it is one which can cause many social problems as often the most challenging emotion like anger, fear or frustration can look the scariest when out of control.
There are other less obvious aspects of emotional self-regulation like being overly sensitive to others, getting feelings hurt easily and being very easily irritated. These emotions are often less scary to others but significantly challenging for those who feel them. The most important aspect to recognise that when a person is out of control as a result of strong feelings/emotions, the only way forward to let them regulate before talking about solutions or problem solving.
5. Self-motivation
This Executive functioning is one which is often misunderstood the most as it can look like laziness or not trying/not caring. However, the ability to self-motivate comes from being able to take a first action. A first action towards a goal generates motivation. If the ability to take the first step is weak, motivation becomes very weak. The result is the goal then looks unattainable and there can be no self-motivation.
Breaking down a task into small steps is the way forward but often even this can be challenging and will need to be supported.
6. Planning/problem solving
This is the ability to be able to identify all the parts of a task, prioritise them and plan a sequential order to do the parts to achieve the overall task. There are many skills required here. The skill of breaking down a task into its individual parts or steps. The ability to work out which is more critical or which needs to be done first. The ability to estimate how much time a step will take and then put the steps in order depending on time it will take. Phew! That’s a lot of skills.
Planning and problem solving is difficult because it involves being able to work out consequences and be able to understand time. These are weak due to weak executive functioning which is the reason why it can be very difficult to getting and staying organised and to following a set routine or structure.
Final thougts
Executive functioning is weak in children, perhaps up to 30% weaker than their peers. Executive Functioning does develop but slower than peers. We know that a male neurotypical brain is not fully developed until aged 26/27 so with the impact of ADHD, that can bring it to 34 years. That does not mean that all areas of executive functioning will be weak but there may be one part that is weaker longer.
The important aspect of understanding about Executive Functioning and the ADHD brain is to recognise that some behaviour or reactions are as a result of ADHD and not chosen behaviour. As a parent, there are many ways to support and teach skills and strategies which support these weaknesses. However, it you don’t recognise the deficit, you will not be able to reach an appropriate support.
Please contact me if you’d like to know more about this subject and some skills and strategies to support your child.
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