Executive Functions

How do we learn to think? How does an easily distracted baby become an adult who can evaluate a problem, make a plan to solve it, and carry out the plan? Executive function – the conscious control of what we think and do – takes years to develop fully and affects many different facets of children’s mental development, from their understanding of other people’s points of view to their ability to focus on a task. If executive function goes awry, it may result in disorders such as autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. In this series, Dr. Philip Zelazo takes an in-depth look at how executive function develops in infancy, childhood, and adolescence; disorders of executive function; and how to foster its development.

Dr. Zelazo is a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto , where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Developmental Neuroscience. You can access this information at:

http://aboutkidshealth.ca/News/SeriesArchive.aspx#ExecutvieFunction (you will have to scroll down)

or at

http://aboutkidshealth.ca/News/Executive-Function-Part-One-What-is-executive-function.aspx?articleID=8024&categoryID=news-type

You can also learn about executive functions – the hidden curriculum at:  http://www.nasponline.org/resources/principals/Excutive%20Functioning_NASSP_Mar%2009.pdf