EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

Gladys Henry, Ed.S CCC-SLP, MNPS Autism Team

Marilyn Reaves, OTR/L, Assistive Technology Department

Janelle Heathman, OTR/L; Assistive Technology Department

WHAT IS EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING?

• Executive Function is the "conductor" of all cognitive skills.

• Think of it as the "conductor's" role in the orchestra.

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING COORDINATES:

• Inhibition - The ability to stop one's own behavior at the appropriate time.

• Shift - The ability to move freely from one situation to another.

• Emotional Control - The ability to modulate emotional responses.

• Initiation - The ability to begin a task or activity and to generate ideas.

• Working Memory - The ability to hold information in mind.

• Planning/Organization - The ability to manage current task demands.

• Organization of Materials - The ability to impose order on work, play, and storage spaces.

• Self-Monitoring - The ability to monitor one's own performance and to measure it against a standard of what is needed.

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

1. Working Memory

2. Planning/Organization

3. Organization of Materials

4. Self-Monitoring

Can most effectively augment a person’s Executive

Function in the last 4 areas . . . .

GROWTH WITH EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING

• The brain will continue to mature and develop connections well into adulthood.

• A person's executive function abilities are shaped by brain changes and life experiences.

• Early attention to these skills is crucial!!

• Direct instruction, frequent reassurance and feedback are recommended.

SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER...

• We assume all these kids – especially those who are “bright” – have EF skills and we act and react to our spectrum children or students as if they did.

• Nowhere does the EF skill deficit cause more turmoil than the area of homework, producing monstrous levels of anxiety and dread in students, parents and teachers alike.

• School teams are often faced with the question, “If tasks are so overwhelming to a student’s EF system, should we just avoid having students deal with them?” The answer is an unequivocal empathetic “NO!”

• Organizational skills are life skills, not just school skills, and even though they are “mandatory prerequisites” for succeeding at school, like social skills they are rarely directly taught.

•

SO WHERE DO WE START?

• First, by understanding how complex organizational systems become by the time students reach middle school.

• Secondly, by understanding organization as a skill set, which involves static and dynamic systems.

“STATIC” ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEMS

Systems and skills are structured: same thing, same time, same place, same way.

Introduced in Kindergarten, first and second grade.

We break down tasks and ask students to explicitly complete very defined units of information, at a certain time and place.

Examples include: write your name at the top of the page, read the instructions, complete the work, when done turn the paper over and sit quietly until time is up.

“DYNAMIC” ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEMS

Systems and skills involve constant adjustments to priorities, workloads, timeframes, tasks, and places.

Less teacher-directed and more student-directed.

By 4th grade, teachers are introducing dynamic assignments to students.

HERE’S THE GOOD NEWS!HERE’S THE GOOD NEWS!

•Most of us understand that to tackle a dynamic task we have to break it down into its static elements.

•The dynamic part of the task requires thinking; the static part of the task requires doing.

•Dynamic assignment such as writing an essay requires a significant portion of the task to be spent thinking about the topic before the static tasks of actually writing the paper at a table.

•One of the great challenges for our students with ASD is learning to break down dynamic tasks into more concrete, static chunks of work.

10 STEPS TO FOSTER 10 STEPS TO FOSTER ORGANIZATIONAL ORGANIZATIONAL

SKILLSSKILLS

1. CLEARLY DEFINE WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

• Too often, we view organization goals too simply: “the student must write the assignment in his planner.” This is clearly not enough detail for most tasks and may not even be the best starting goal for a particular student.

• Adults must be organized with their own thinking if they are to effectively teach students with EF deficits this skill.

• Go beyond giving out assignments; help the student understand how to also approach the task from an organizational standpoint.

• Most students with weak organizational skills also struggle with motivation to accomplish homework tasks.

• Parents and teachers often don’t realize this lack of motivation can stem from feeling overwhelmed by the task demands.

• Students with the greatest motivational challenges are often our most intelligent students!

• We assume “smart” means “organized” and say things like “come on, I know you can do this, I know you are smart.”

• Many students need to start at a concrete level of motivation, with very small work steps combined with reward early in the task completion process.

• Self-motivation increases when students feel confident in understanding and accomplishing the task before them.

• If a student is not motivated, it doesn’t matter how well you help to teach the student how to approach the assignment, they will not implement the ideas.

2. MOVE IT WITH MOTIVATION.

3. PREPARE THE ENVIRONMENT.

• Establish a dedicated workspace for homework that includes the essential tools: pen, pencil, paper, etc.

• Color coding tasks, making sure the student has an organized binder, possibly access to a time-timer (www.timetimer.com) creates structure that promotes success during homework time.

4. CHUNK AND TIME IT.

• Make sure the student understands how to “chunk” an assignment (break it down into smaller pieces) and how the individual parts create the larger whole.

∀ Once “chunked,” students also need to predict how long each chunk will take to complete (tends to be an area of weakness).

∀ Students are more willing to tackle homework when they can reliably predict how long they will have to work on the task.

∀ When the student does not –or cannot- consider time prediction as part of his organizational set, he is likely to waste a lot of time rather than use time to his advantage.

5. USE VISUAL STRUCTURE

• Visual long-term mapping charts, such as a Gantt Chart, (www.ganttchart.com) can help students plan and monitor multiple activities.

• Frequently used in business; however, they are easy to create and use at home or in the classroom.

• Visual structures can represent entire projects and then also be used for individual chunks, creating the visual organizational framework.

• Once assignments are understood as needing to be worked on across time, we can encourage students to chunk tasks to be worked on during specific weeks, then make related lists of things to do on specific days.

6. PRIORITIZE AND PLAN DAILY

• Help students succeed with their daily schedule by teaching them to take frequent small breaks at the end of their baseline attention span.

∀ Make these breaks quick and refreshing, just to refocus attention; sensory based activities, a small snack, quick trip to the bathroom, or pencil sharpener.

7. HUNT AND GATHER

• Students need to plan time into their schedule to locate different resources to complete a task.

• For example, research at the library might be a “chunk” they plan for on their homework list.

8. CONSIDER PERSPECTIVE

• Homework is more effectively completed when students start by considering the teacher’s perspective before diving into the assignment.

• Social behavior mapping (Winner, 2007) can help students understand how expectations, actions, and reactions affect not only how we are viewed by others, but how their responses ultimately impact the way we view ourselves.

9. COMMUNICATE AND THEN COMMUNICATE SOME MORE!

∀ Αϖοιδ ασσυµινγ στυδεντσ − εσπεχιαλλψ βριγητ στυδεντσ “ ”− σηουλδ ιντυιτιϖελψ κνοω ηοω το ασκ φορ ηελπ, χλαριφιχατιον ορ εϖεν ηοω το χολλαβορατε ωιτη οτηερσ ον ασσιγνµεντσ.

∀ These skills must be specifically taught.

∀ This helps to establish peer support networks desperately needed for success in college.

10. COMPLETION AND REWARD

Remember... having a clearly defined “end” to a task is important.

Be sure the child knows what “finished” means, both at home and at school.

REMEMBER...

Planning takes time!

Teachers and parents need to work together in identifying and teaching any or all of the 10 steps.

Doing this not only gives children the tools not just to handle homework, but to be successful in all areas of life.

Teaching organizational skills takes time across a long period of time.

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY TOOLS AND STRATEGIESTOOLS AND STRATEGIES

• Working Memory

• Planning/Organization

• Organization of Materials

• Self-Monitoring

LOW TECH SOLUTIONS!

Managing Space and Materials

LOW TECH SOLUTIONS!

Assignment Checklist

Ηαϖε ψουρ µαστερ βινδερ ορ

φιλε φολδερσ χολορ µατχη

ωιτη τηε συβϕεχτσ.

Color Coded Subjects

LOW TECH SOLUTIONS!

• Timers

• Visual calendars such as an agenda

• Break large projects into manageable chunks

• Homework Checklist

Managing Time

MID TECH SOLUTIONS!

Time Timers - www.timetimers.com

Digital Recorders

• Graphic Organizer - Printed Templates

• User Friendly Software, apps and

websites that don’t require a lot of

training - such as www.bubbl.us

HIGH TECH SOLUTIONS!

Smartpen

Electronic Organizers

Android Smart Phone

iPod TouchiPhone

Timelines - they provide visual indicators of tasks and progress toward each goal

Software

Read/Write/Think Webbing Tool

Websites

www.commonsensemedia.org

www.discoveryeducation.com/parents/

www2.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/homework/index.html

Apps

Apps

SOURCES:

• www.wati.org (Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative)

• www.autismsupportnetwork.com/print/9245

• www.sc.edu/scatp

HOW TO CONTACT USHOW TO CONTACT US

Gladys Henry, Ed.S CCC-SLPMNPS Autism Team gladys.henry@mnps.org

Marilyn Reaves, OTR/LAssistive Technology Departmentmarilyn.reaves@mnps.org

Janelle Heathman, OTR/LAssistive Technology Departmentjanelle.heathman@mnps.org