Executive Function Program
Children’s Division of Pediatric Neuropsychology is well-known for its expertise in problems involving executive function in children. Executive function refers to the collection of abilities related to behavior control and cognition.
Common signs of executive function difficulty are:
- Inconsistent performance
- Organization and follow-through problems
- Generally not able to work at full potential level
- Difficulty “putting the brakes on” behavior, thoughts and emotional reactions.
Children with known or suspected neurological disorders, injuries or other conditions often display difficulty in various aspects of executive function. Children with the following conditions are frequently referred to us for evaluation.
Executive function includes skills such as:
- Appropriate control over impulses and emotions
- Ability to flexibly shift between ideas and activities
- Capacity to hold and manipulate information actively in working memory
- Ability to plan, organize, and enact appropriate behaviors
Gerard Gioia, PhD and Lauren Kenworthy, PhD authored an innovative set of measures that assess the difficulties of children and adults with these control functions in everyday environments – the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF).
The Executive Function clinic uses the BRIEF tool to assess the role of the executive functions and attention in affecting the lives of our patients. Children evaluated in the clinic complete one half-day of testing, and families typically receive feedback on their child’s performance the same day. Feedback includes extensive, practical recommendations for helping the child overcome specific areas of difficulty.
Patients are referred to this clinic by the Neuropsychology team.
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