What is Executive Functioning?
- 16 hours ago
- 2 min read
Some autistic people experience differences in executive functioning. This article explains what this means and shares some supportive strategies.
What is Executive Functioning?
Executive functioning refers to the set of mental skills that help us to manage daily life. These skills include planning, staying organised, and completing tasks.
Autistic people’s brains often need to process more information than their non-autistic peers, which can make these daily management tasks feel overwhelming.
An autistic person might:
Find it difficult to plan, for example, they might struggle to prepare for the next activity, or know where to start with a big project.
Find it hard to keep track of physical items or digital files.
Feel overwhelmed by multi-step instructions or lose their place halfway through a task.
Have difficulty combining information from multiple sources to arrive at a solution.
Have trouble holding information in their head (difficulty with short-term/working memory).
Strategies to Help
Everyone is different, but here are some strategies that might help an autistic person manage executive functioning demands:
Use visual organisers for task management: Use daily planners, checklists, and digital calendars to keep track of tasks. Breaking a big task into a visible list of small steps makes it much easier to start.
Externalise your calendar: Use a wall calendar or planner at home or in your workspace. Having your routine visible reduces the mental load of remembering what comes next.
One step at a time: If you are feeling overwhelmed, ask for instructions to be provided one by one. You can also ask for instructions to be written down so you can refer to them as often as needed.
Allow extra processing time: Give yourself permission to take longer to process directions or plan a transition between activities. Rushing often makes executive functioning harder.
Environmental support: Create a “home” for important items (like keys or phones) and use labels to help your environment do the organising work for you.
Read more on this topic: An Introduction to Executive Function for Autistic Adults.
