By Tracy Landon and Linda Oggel
Students sometimes described as lazy, unmotivated, distracted, disorganized, and chronically late may in fact be struggling with a condition know as executive dysfunction. This problem, in the frontal lobes of the brain, is one of the least studied and most frequently overlooked contributors to academic and behavioral problems.
Students with executive dysfunction have problems of a neurobiological nature that particularly affect planning, flexibility, organization, and self-monitoring. These students may have difficulty picking a topic, planning the project, sequencing the materials for a paper, breaking the project down into manageable units with intermediate deadlines, getting started, and completing the activity. If you believe your student has executive (called “executive” because the tasks are often the responsibilities of a company executive) dysfunction, consider the following strategies that may help:
Managing time
- Encourage your student to use checklists and prioritized “To Do” lists.
- Have your student estimate how long a task will take and then check on the accuracy of the estimate.
- Encourage the student to plan for more time to do a project than he/she thinks is needed.
- Break long assignments into chunks with time frames for completing each chunk.
- Establish intermediate deadlines for big projects and check in with your student at these deadlines.
- Use a word processor and time management software.
- Write the due date on the top of each assignment in a brightly colored marker.
Managing space
- Have separate work areas with complete sets of supplies for different activities.
- Schedule a weekly time in school to have the student clean out his or her desk and book bag.
Managing materials
- Have one notebook in which all assignments are recorded.
- Check the assignments at the end of each day to insure that the assignments are recorded properly.
- Color code materials, using one color for each subject’s materials (e.g., book covers, note books, pocket folders).
- Establish a daily routine for school organization and include a written version of it in the notebook. Use this same approach at home.
- Provide an extra copy of text books to be left at home.
Managing work
- Develop a detailed checklist to guide the student through an independent assignment.
- Meet with the student after a week to evaluate his or her use of the strategies. Be sure to praise the student’s progress rather than focusing on areas of continued disorganization.
As the educator, you can support the student by making some changes in the classroom:
Maintain a highly structured classroom
- Use a written (visual) schedule to keep the student focused and “on task” so that he or she can complete tasks as independently as possible.
- Give written directions whenever possible (e.g., on dry erase boards, index cards, etc.) rather than auditory prompting.
- Give fewer problems or questions on worksheets.
- Create boxes next to each question so the student can check it off as it is answered.
- Make your classroom as distraction-free as possible.
- Keep assignment folders in consistently specific places.
- Use a visual calendar for both school and home to help the student anticipate events.
- Use a visual timer to help the student understand time constraints.
If you suspect a student has executive dysfunction, consult with your school psychologist. While executive function deficits are most commonly associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder, they also are known to occur in students with ADHD, Fragile X Syndrome, conduct disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, traumatic brain injury, and schizophrenia. Although there are currently no agreed-upon protocols that constitute a battery of tests for executive dysfunction, several tests have been used in research that seem to tap into aspects of the disorder. Remember that students with executive dysfunction are not unmotivated or willfully engaging in problematic behavior. They really cannot organize and flexibly solve problems themselves without appropriate supports.
Adapted from an article by Tracy Landon and Linda Oggel. Resources available upon request. Edited for length.
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