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Do you talk to yourself? Like when you are doing something you want/like to do but need to go do something you don't necessarily like/want to do? Maybe it's when you tell yourself not to say something back to someone when they say something questionable to you. Perhaps, it's when you tell someone you have to check your calendar before you say "yes" to their request or invitation. If you can relate to any of the scenarios, you are using your inhibitory skills which are a part of your Executive Function Skills. Think of inhibitory skills like a light switch.  When you need to stop yourself from saying, doing or thinking something...you flip the switch by telling yourself to stop.
Now, just as a light switch can sometimes malfunction so can our inhibitory skills. When we're tired, sick, stressed, we sustain an injury etc...they may not work as they should. For some, they may not work at all. Let's think again about that child in the classroom. How easy is it for them to learn if they:
Would they spend most of their time learning from the teacher or most of their time being disciplined for being "off task" or a "behavior problem?" So what do we do?
Stay tuned for my next post on working memory and it's role in Executive Functioning. As always, thanks for reading. Jen
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 Have you ever really stopped to think about all that your vehicle's dashboard does or how you would navigate, while driving, if one or more of the components of your dash suddenly stopped working or intermittently worked? You might crash. You might not be able to see. You might not get to your destination. Scary to think about but also eye opening when you realize how each part must work well, and as a unit, in order for your vehicle to work the way in which it was intended. For the next several posts, I will be taking a closer look at the five main components of Executive Functions. We will start today with the area of selective attention. Selective attention is the ability to focus on what is important. So, in basic terms it's the ability to tune out extraneous sensory stimuli and focus in on particular things, people, situations. Selective attention happens on a subconscious level but you can learn to have some conscious control over it through Executive Function Intervention. To describe further, a person with selective attention difficulties may feel like they are trying to listen and attend to ten radio stations at once. Overwhelming to think about right? Let's take this further and think about how easy it would be to drive if your vehicle's dash system suddenly decided to work all at once. Lights flashing, wipers going, radio switching stations...would it be easy to drive? Would you be able to attend to the road with all of these things going at once? No. You wouldn't. Lets look at a real life example of selective attention demands for a child in a classroom. Think back to the sights, sounds and smells of a classroom. Remember how the fluorescent lights would buzz, the noise of the hand dryer in the bathroom right next to your classroom, the children shuffling their feet under their desks, the hum of the heater, the scooting of chairs, the faint sound of the music class down the hall, the brightly colored bulletin boards, whirling decorations on the ceiling, the teacher wearing strong perfume, the child next to you with body odor etc...? Where is the teacher's voice or subject you are supposed to be attending to? Can you hear it, see it or focus in on what you are supposed to? Even for the typically developing child, the answer may be no. For the child with Executive Function difficulties {specifically in the selective attention area} the answer is assuredly no. What do you do for a child who is struggling here?
Stay tuned for my next post on inhibition and it's role in Executive Functions. As always, thanks for reading and until next time....keep helping your kiddos BLOOM. Jen  I'm going to cut right to the chase...
Because they allow the lightbulb to go on QUICKLY. For many children, especially those on the Autism Spectrum, with Executive Functioning Delays and/or cognitive delays using fewer words and more pictures is THE way to go. Let me ask you this, think back to the last time you had to follow directions in order to assemble something. Could you have done it as easily without the directions? What about if it was quite complicated and you had no pictures to show you where things went or outline the steps? I'm going to say that it would be frustrating AND it would take much longer. We must consider this when we are trying to help children learn a new skill. A Social Story:
Traditionally Social Stories ,{developed by Carol Gray of The Gray Center}, were written with very explicit requirements. They have now evolved into the more common Comic Book Conversations {CBC} that use pictures, stick drawings and symbols to express concepts and ideas for children. CBCs are used most frequently in early intervention settings with phenomenal results. There are many tutorials and resources out there to help you learn how to make a Social Story. Please don't get bogged down in the "rules" and jump in. To help, I have created a board on our Pinterest site with suggestions found from around the web. Take a look and get started~don't worry if you aren't an artist! You can use symbols from real life {restaurant symbols and pictures of household objects} or one of the great apps out there that easily allow you to drag and drop to make what you need on the fly. Go to iTunes and do a search for Social Stories and you'll be all set. As always, thanks for reading and until next time... Keep helping your kiddos BLOOM! Jen |
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