ABSTRACT
'Executive function' is a broad term that refers to the cognitive processes which help us regulate, control and manage our thoughts and actions. It includes planning, working memory, attention, problem-solving, verbal reasoning, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility, initiation of actions and monitoring of actions. The theory of executive dysfunction in autism makes an explicit link to frontal lobe failure in this disorder in analogy with neuropsychological patients who have suffered damage in the frontal lobes and have impaired executive functions. Executive dysfunction can be seen to underlie many of the key characteristics of autism, both in the social and non-social domains. People with poor executive functions also have difficulty with time management and with monitoring and regulating their behaviours. These difficulties can include monitoring and changing behaviour as needed, planning future behaviour when faced with new tasks and situations, and anticipating outcomes and adapting to changing situations.
