Executive Functioning:
- An umbrella term for neurologically-based skills involving mental control and self-regulation (Cooper-Kahn & Dietzel, 2019, ldonline).
- The ability to organize cognitive processes. This includes the ability to plan ahead, prioritize, stop and start activities, shift from one activity to another activity and monitor one’s own behavior (National Center for Learning Disabilities).
- Direct instruction, frequent reassurance, and explicit feedback are recommended for the development of these important skills of control and self-regulation (2008, National Center for Learning Disabilities).
“There are only two chunks of brain function you need to succeed at school. One is your language system, and the other is your executive system.”
(Denckla, 2013, cited in Franklin, 2018, Kindle Locations 306-307).