As children grow they have to learn to do all these things with their brain. By the time they are adults they are competent at multitasking, keeping attention on a task, changing focus quickly, planning and organising, fixing misunderstandings, and controlling impulses. They need to be able to display emotions that are appropriate to a situation and to remember and process information.
The frontal lobe part of the brain is involved in all these executive functions. If children do not develop their executive functioning skills at the rate expected for their age, they have all sorts of difficulties with attention, communication and relationships. They can be bright, intelligent children who become frustrated and don’t seem to achieve their potential. The situation can be extremely frustrating for parents and for teachers.
Children with executive functioning deficits find it difficult to control escalating emotions. They tend to overreact and often people feel … Read the rest
