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 Lazy
Kid or Executive Dysfunction?
by Tracy Landon, Ed.D. and Linda Oggel, M.A., CCC-SLP;
Innovations & Perspectives; March 2002, Volume 5, Number 2
For more articles like this
visit
https://www.bridges4kids.org.
Do you have a
student who seems incredibly lazy? Intentionally forgetful?
Absolutely unmotivated? Deliberately late? Do you feel like a
broken record? Constantly asking where his homework is?
Constantly asking him to clean out his desk? Constantly asking
her to pick up stuff around her desk? Do you have a student who
is chronically distracted? Are you repeating directions to get
the student back on task when he gets distracted? Do you have a
student who knows the information but can’t seem to communicate
it to you in a logical sequence? Do you ask a question and get
an answer that’s related but not quite connected to the
question? If so, it might be that the student is not using these
behaviors intentionally.
One of the least studied and most frequently overlooked
contributors to academic and behavioral problems is a problem in
the frontal lobes of the brain known as executive dysfunction
(Parker, 2001). Students with executive dysfunction have
problems of a neurobiological nature that particularly affect
“planning, flexibility, organization, and self-monitoring (Ozonoff,
1998, p.282). These students may have “difficulty picking a
topic, planning the project, sequencing the materials for a
paper, breaking the project down into manageable units with
intermediate deadlines, getting started, and completing the
activity. And because these students frequently underestimate
how long something will take, they’ll generally leave the
project until the night before it is due” (Packer, 2001, p. 2).
Just imagine how difficult it would be if you had trouble
organizing your time, materials, belongings, thoughts or any
combination of these!
If you believe your student has executive dysfunction (also
called executive function deficits—called “executive” because
the tasks are often the responsibilities of a company
executive), consider helping the student to organize himself.
Begin by developing a relationship with the student that is
emotionally supportive. Emphasize that you want the student to
succeed. Help the student to understand his problems and that
there are strategies he can use to organize him/ herself. For
example, you could say, “Kids with executive function problems
have difficulty in certain areas. There are many ways you can
help yourself. Let’s talk about the areas and supports. Then you
can choose which ways to help yourself.” Then describe the
following potentially troublesome areas and potential supports
that are identified in the shaded area. (Linda Parker, 2001):
Managing Time
-
Use time
management techniques such as the use of checklists, prioritized
“To Do” lists, and prioritizing assignments.
-
Estimate how
long a task will take and then check on the accuracy of your
estimate.
-
Plan for more
time to do a project that you think you will need.
-
Break long
assignments into chunks with time frames for completing each
chunk.
-
Establish
intermediate deadlines for big projects with your teacher and
show her the project at these deadlines.
-
Use a word
processor and time management software such as the Franklin Day
Planner, Palm Pilot, Lotus Organizer.
-
Write the due
date on the top of each assignment in a brightly colored marker.
Managing
Space
-
Ask the student
to identify ways he would like to organize himself.
-
Have separate
work areas with complete sets of supplies for different
activities.
-
Schedule a
weekly time to clean out your desk and book bag (in school).
Managing
Materials
-
Leave a large
supply of pencils/pens in the class-room with the teacher.
-
(For younger
students) Have one notebook in which all assignments are
recorded. Ask your teacher to check the assignments at the end
of each day to insure that the assignments are recorded properly
and that the necessary materials to com-plete the assignments
are packed in your book bag. Also ask her to make sure the due
date for each assignment is written at the top of each page.
-
(For older
students) Use a three-ring binder with organized sections
enclosed by a zipper. Head-ings could include “Assignments
Due/Date,” “To Do Tonight,” “Ongoing Work.” Use dividers in the
notebook that are color-coded (e.g., Red for assignments that
must be done right away, yellow for those due at the end of the
week, etc.).
-
Color code
materials. Cover the textbook for one course in the same color
as the notebook for that course. Use the same color coding to
prioritize assignments.
-
Establish a
daily routine for school organization and include a written
version of it in the notebook (e.g., turn in homework at the
beginning of classes, get out paper/text/pen and check
blackboard for assignment, prepare to leave class three minutes
before it ends—pack books, papers, etc., turn in assignment book
for checking and initialing at the end of each day, etc.). Use
this same approach at home (e.g., do homework at a certain time,
have parent initial homework, clean out book bag, check for
necessary supplies for school).
-
Obtain two
copies of each textbook. Mark one “To be left in school” and the
other “To be left at home.”
Managing Work
-
Use a checklist
to guide you through an independent assignment. Include items
such as: get out pencil and paper, put name on paper, put due
date on paper, read directions, ask teacher to further explain
if needed, do work, put work away in note-book in appropriate
section (e.g., to do tonight, to do this week), write assignment
on assignment sheet, get teacher to sign, take home and complete
work.
Finally, have
the student identify which strategies she would like to try
using and get started.
Consider meeting
with the student after a week to evaluate her use of the
strategies. Be sure to praise the student’s progress rather than
focusing on areas of continued disorganization. In addition,
suggest that student’s family be included so that they can help
him or her continue the strategies at home.
As the educator
you can support the student (and others) by making some changes
in the classroom. Some suggestions (Stokes, 2001, pg. 6) you can
implement include:
-
Maintaining a
highly structured classroom.
-
Using a written
(visual) schedule to keep the student focused and “on task” so
that he or she can complete tasks as independently as possible.
-
Giving written
directions whenever possible (dry erase boards, index cards,
etc.) rather than auditory prompting.
Giving fewer problems/questions on worksheets and/or creating
boxes next to each question so the student can check it off as
it is answered.
-
Making the
classroom as distraction free as possible (away from windows,
doors or favorite activity areas).
-
Keeping
assignment folders in specific and consistent places.
-
Using a visual
calendar for both school and home to help the student anticipate
events.
-
Using a visual
timer to help the student understand time constraints.
Also, if you
suspect a student has executive dysfunction, consult with your
school psychologist. While executive function deficits are most
commonly associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder, they also are
known to occur in students with ADHD, Fragile X Syndrome,
conduct disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, traumatic brain
injury, and schizophrenia (Ozonoff, p. 277). Although there are
currently no agreed-upon protocols that constitute a battery of
tests for executive dysfunction, several tests have been used in
research that seem to tap into aspects of the disorder. These
include the Matching Familiar Figures Test (Waterhouse & Fein,
1982), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and various computerized
tests. For more information on tests and their purposes, see the
resources at the end of this article.
Teach your student with executive dysfunction to organize
himself. In addition, provide support by making some adaptations
in your classroom and in your interaction style. Remember that
students with executive dysfunction are not unmotivated or
willfully engaging in problematic behavior. They really cannot
organize and flexibly solve problems themselves without
appropriate supports.
References:
Parker, L. (2001). Executive Functions. Tourette syndrome
“plus”.
www.tourettesyndrome.net/ef.htm.
Stokes, S. (2001) Children with Asperger’s syndrome:
characteristics/ learning styles and intervention strategies.
Resources:
Ozonoff, S. (1998) Treatment of executive dysfunction. In E.
Schopler, G. B. Mesibov, & L. Kunce (Eds.), Asperger syndrome or
high-functioning autism (pp 263-289). New York: Plenum Press.
Pennington, B.F., Rogers, S.J., Bennetto, L., Griffith, E.M.,
Reed, D.T., & Shyu, V. (1997). Validity tests of the executive
dysfunction hypothesis of autism. In J. Russell (Ed.), Autism as
an executive disorder (pp. 142-178). New York: Oxford University
Press.
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