ABSTRACT
Executive function skills matter in everyday life as we decide what is important, determine how we are going to use our time, organize our materials, stay focused on a task until it is finished, monitor our progress, and regulate our emotions. A child’s brain has to attend, take in all of this incoming information, decide whether it is useful, and if so, make sense of it and use it in some meaningful way. There is ongoing discussion among researchers about exactly what is included in the term executive function. Executive function includes a person’s ability to: focus, decide what is important, set goals, use prior knowledge, initiate action, manage time, self-monitor performance, use self-restraint, and remain flexible. EF has been the subject of numerous studies, books, and presentations as people in disciplines of psychology, education, and neurology try to understand how deficient executive functioning skills impact children’s development and ultimately their success as adults.
