Executive function skills are the processes in our mind that manage and monitor our behavior and thoughts. Thomas E. Brown’s six-cluster arrangement helps explain a deficit (or simply inefficiency) in our executive function skills,commonly referred to as ADHD. Dr. Brown refers to this deficit as ADD syndrome. In this blog, I will use the terms, executive function deficit and ADD syndrome, interchangeably.

Brown’s six-cluster model of executive functions

1. Activation: Organizing, prioritizing and activating to work. This cluster includes the motivation to start a task that you know you need to get done. In addition, this function of your brain helps you sort out and assign priorities to various tasks.

Many individuals with ADHD complain of procrastination as a major problem. They struggle with finding the motivation to do what they know they need to do.  Sometimes the tasks are everyday jobs such as doing the laundry, finishing homework, or paying the bills. Sometimes the consequence is clear and immediate. Sometimes the consequence is further down the road or simply uncertain.

2. Focus: Focusing, sustaining and shifting attention to tasks. Trouble focusing their attention on a task and keep focusing until the task is completed is a common difficulty. Tasks that require sustained focus such as reading can become chronic trouble spots, particularly if the reading is assigned as opposed to something the student selected on his or her own. When the subject matter is not interesting to the student sustaining focus increases in difficulty and often times the student will not being able to block out distractions.

Shifting focus is another aspect of this cluster. In school we call this, changing subjects such as doing English homework then switching over to math homework.  The opposite of not being able to focus is “hyper focus.” This is where they are unable to stop focusing on one thing and redirect their focus on something else when needed. It’s not unusual for these individuals to become engrossed and unaware of surroundings   especially while using the computer.

3. Effort: Regulating alertness, sustaining effort, and processing speed. Students with ADD syndrome often just fall asleep if they are not actively involved in a task. This is not due to a lack of sleep but rather to a re-occurring difficulty in sustaining alertness. The individual needs steady feedback in order to stay alert. They need to be moving or mentally engaged to stay awake. In contrast, many times they appear to doze off because of their sleeping patterns. They aren’t getting enough sleep at night because they cannot regulate their alertness at bedtime and their brain just keeps working. Hand in hand with regulating alertness comes the challenge of managing brain energy to sustain effort for work task. These students’ brain power tires easily if there is little immediate reward.

4. Emotion: Managing frustration and modulating emotions. Individuals with ADD syndrome might have difficulty in managing emotions. These problems with emotions seem to fall into two types: 1) very low threshold for frustration and 2) chronic difficulty in regulating subjective emotional experience and expression.

Everyone runs into their boiling point at some time or another. Maybe you’re overtired, over worked or just overwhelmed when a small delay such as a red traffic light triggers a surge of over the top frustration and irritation. However, most of the time, most individuals’ reaction matches the irritation. Most people are able to recognize the size of the irritation and respond accordingly.

In contrast individuals with ADD syndrome often display a short fuse. They overreact to an irritation. Some have described the relatively small annoyance as a feeling or emotion that floods one’s mind, taking up all available space.  In some cases the struggle to modulate emotional response to every day frustrations meets full criteria for other psychological disorders, such as anxiety or depression.

5. Memory: Utilizing working memory and accessing recall. Chronic difficulties with working memory seem to be a core problem with ADD syndrome.

Working memory is the Mind’s ability to hold a thought or bit of information while simultaneously doing something else. Many aspects of academic work rely heavily on the executive functioning of working memory. Participation in a group discussion requires that one understands what is being said while formulating a response. Working memory is what a student must use while taking a test where he or she must find the “file” with all the information studied last night. Sometimes the problem is recalling the name of someone whose face is familiar. Sometimes the problem lies in retrieving information or procedures needed to answer a question or solve a math problem. Working memory holds the never ending flow of external input such as images, sounds and impressions. The mind must integrate the external input with internal long term memories. Your mind is an amazing manager integrating new information with information you already have.

6. Action: Monitoring and self-regulating action.

The hallmark characteristics of ADHD emphasize hyperactive and impulsive behavior. These individuals tend to act without much thinking ahead. But ADD is more than not being able to restrain actions. Take for example the task of crossing a street. We must know when to go and when to stay on the curb. In our daily life we must efficiently assess our environment and engage in actions as well as hold back actions when appropriate. In addition our mind must take into consideration personal circumstances such as an injured foot; or pushing a stroller; the slower pace of the person crossing the street with us; or simply taking into consideration unknown traffic patterns.

Monitoring social situations and knowing how to interact with other people can be challenging for individuals with ADD syndrome. They might be focusing on unimportant details or simply trying to remember what was just said.

Executive functions provide the framework to monitor our own actions Knowing when to stop, taking in our surroundings, being aware of one self and knowing when to take appropriate actions.