Executive Functioning

Executive functions are the decision-making processes that include planning, organizing, sequencing, strategizing, and response inhibition, sustained attention, time management, flexibility and remembering details. Executive functions are required at the onset of a task or when a novel task is presented. They are needed to organize one’s thoughts and actions in order to create a plan and execute the plan. In addition, executive functions help with self-regulation, which is the ability to monitor one’s behaviors. Improving self-regulatory processes will increase executive control, which together, are central to cognitive, linguistic, behavioral, and affective control—all of which are fundamental to learning and success in school.