Executive Functioning Skills

Does everyone have these skills?

Some people come by these skills pretty easily as they learn and grow into young adulthood.  By learning quickly from mistakes and the observation or instruction of others, they gradually develop habits that effectively structure the complicated lives that we tend to lead in our culture. Others really struggle before they figure these skills out.  They make mistakes…then make some more mistakes…then (hopefully) being open to the ideas from other sources to try new things…and then gradually creating habits that help.  If you have ADHD or “Asperger’s” it’s pretty likely that you have had your fair share of struggle with developing your executive functioning skills.  Even anxiety can interfere with executive functioning skills.

Unfortunately, there are some people who either haven’t been open to turning to resources for help, don’t have access to such resources, or don’t even know that there are resources that could help them. It can be hard for them to figure out why they seem to struggle so much with, say, remembering to go to take out the trash or realizing that they really should start on Tuesday, brainstorming for their essay that’s due on Friday. They think, “Other people seem to make it look so easy!”  What’s wrong with me?”  These folks can feel that they are constantly caught in a swirl of disarray and failure, which affects their self-esteem and confidence as well as their relationships with other people and their ability to be successful in school or hold a job. For some, it can be problematic enough to lead to intense feelings of anxiety and depression.