ABSTRACT

The clinician who works successfully with adults who have attention deficit disorder (ADD) needs to view the disorder from a broad perspective, taking into consideration all of the aspects of daily functioning that are affected by the cognitive skills deficits associated with ADD. Zametkin's research (Zametkin et al., 1990) has implicated the frontal lobes as one of the major neurological structures involved in attention deficit. As has been widely documented, the frontal lobes are considered to be the area of the brain that controls “executive functions” (Luria, 1966; Stuss & Benson, 1986). Executive functions are the oversight or managerial functions so often af- fected in adults with ADD. Luria (1973a) wrote that one of the primary functions of the frontal lobes was the verbal regulation of motor behavior (i.e., thinking and talking about what we do before we do it). The executive functions of the brain include attention, memory, organization, planning, initiation, self-inhibition (self-discipline), ability to change set, strategic behavior, and self-monitoring in relation to time (time management). It is this broad set of concerns—executive functions—that I address in this chapter, considering their effect on practical life management skills.