Executive functions have been called the cornerstones of success. They are vital for emotional intelligence, mental health, interpersonal relationships and productivity. Executive functions are a collection of internal cognitive processes which are required for the successful management of behavior: successfully monitoring and choosing behaviors that facilitate the achievement of pre-determined goals. Executive functions are engaged when the self-regulating processes of the mind take over to regulate the way one behaves in response to external stimuli which can influence the achievement or failure. An executive's ability to make decisions is divided between the different types of thinking processes: rational and non-rational thinking. This executive function ability is based on the theory that the brain has to make use of both internal (conscious) and external (extensive) resources to solve problems.
The executive function consists of five basic areas: emotional control, information processing, performance management, planning and interpersonal skills. Executive dysfunction is often manifested as a dysfunctional relationship between an individual and their emotions. In fact, when a person is emotionally unbalanced, they may exhibit poor self regulation and poor impulse control. The inability to maintain healthy relationships and the inability to manage their time may also result to the accumulation of executive dysfunction. As a result, when there is an imbalance between the amount of emotions being released and the amount of time one has to spend on managing their emotions, the result is poor time management and poor emotional control.
Executive functioning skills are developed through progressive exposure to increasingly difficult situations. The executive functions that are formed by experience include: the ability to decide and understand, the ability to organize thoughts and behavior, the ability to define and criticize, the ability to make decisions and the ability to evaluate or act. These skills are learned through a life experience which comes from various exposures and various forms of learning. There is an important role played by the frontal lobe in executive functioning skills, with the Frontal Lobe consisting of the parietal cortex and the central cortex, and these areas support the executive function. Click here for more info about these experts.
The executive function in children is primarily affected by two factors: how they interact with others and their neural structure. Children with Autism usually lack self-regulation skills, have low self empathy and poor self sympathy, which then translate to poor socialization and poor academic performance. Because children with Autism have difficulty making connections, they are likely to be aggressive or have a lack of eye contact. With regards to the executive function, children with Autism tend to be slower to learn new things, have limited self-regulation and poor control over behavior. They can have poor academic performance and a tendency toward impulsive and erratic behavior.
Executive dysfunction also causes the brain to rely on working memory to compensate for a lack of information or failure to process information. Executive dysfunction also causes the absence of planning skills, the inability to organize tasks and failure to establish goals and objectives. The executive function is important for people who are planning to rise above the average levels of performance in their given tasks. When this part of the brain is impaired, people may find it difficult to rise to the challenge of academically or professionally.
People with Autism are not alone in dealing with this type of deficiency. A large proportion of the population will encounter some difficulties with executive functioning skills during childhood and early adolescence. It is important to know that there is help for those with this condition. The most important issue is self-regulation training as it addresses the issues surrounding self regulation and helps improve self-regulation skills, which are essential for people with Autism. For additional details regarding this topic, check out this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_functions.
