I’m including the text of my talk below, with links for further explanation.

The Paradox of Giftedness:  When potential doesn’t necessarily predict performance

What are executive functions?

Here’s one definition:  self-directed actions functional to self-regulation and the coordinated planning of present and future actions and goals toward distal objectives. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3488938/)

What is a distal goal?  A distal goal is a goal that is distant, in either time or space.

Dr. Thomas Brown’s view of executive functions includes six categories:

1. -activation
2. -focus
3. -effort
4. -emotion
5. -memory
6. -action

http://www.drthomasebrown.com/brown_model/

What part of the brain controls the executive functions?

The prefrontal cortex, which is located right over the eyes, is the part of the brain that controls the executive functions.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefrontal_cortex

Conditions that can cause EF deficits:

• depression http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11972136
• autism spectrum disorders http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16682102
• traumatic brain injury http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/87565641.2004.9651925
• learning disabilities http://jad.sagepub.com/content/16/2/138.abstract
• ADHD

Russell Barkley, a prominent ADHD researcher, tells us that ADHD is primarily a disorder of the executive functions, causing him to term it EFDD.  http://www.weinfeldeducationgroup.com/1/post/2011/10/understanding-adhd-with-russell-barkley-part-i.html Most of the information that I will use in this presentation will come from research into ADHD, since it deals primarily with EF deficits.

Executive functions are also compromised during panic attacks, for a slightly different reason.  When the amygdala is engaged and the fight-or-flight instinct is in effect, bloodflow and oxygen is shifted from the PFC to the amygdala, causing us to think less rationally and act more rashly.

Putting emotions into words activates the PFC and bypasses the amygdala. http://www.jneurosci.org/content/30/49/16673.full

How do we know if executive functions are compromised?

DSM-IV contains the diagnostic criteria for ADHD.  http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/diagnosis.html

DSM-V will change the guidelines.  http://www.additudemag.com/addnews/70/6914.html

In addition to the DSM, Ari Tuckman has come up with a list of “soft signs” which are different behavioral manifestations of the formal diagnostic criteria. http://books.google.com/books?id=fI6oUHy4TcAC&lpg=PA28&ots=A8M–pyjzZ&dq=ari%20tuckman%20soft%20signs&pg=PA28#v=onepage&q=ari%20tuckman%20soft%20signs&f=false

What about stimulant medications? Are they universally awful?

Since the brain works by means of electrical signals, it makes sense to think of neurotransmitters as affecting signal (how much comes in) and noise (how clear the signals are).  Increased amounts of norepinephrine boost signal, and increased amounts of dopamine decrease noise.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3925395

Stimulants increase one or both of these neurotransmitters, either by increasing it directly, by improving reuptake efficiency, or both.  Many people report having a “quiet mind” while taking stimulant medications, and report being able to accomplish uninteresting tasks for the first time in their lives.

Most executive function deficits show up at work or school, since interesting tasks are not subject to EF deficits.  Interesting tasks basically create their own dopamine, making them rewarding in ways that are difficult for uninteresting tasks.  This leads to EF deficits often being viewed as a moral issue.  Frequently, teachers and parents will say things like “why can’t you try harder?  We know you CAN produce wonderful things, why can’t you do that all the time?”

How do we test executive functions?

One way is the Connors scale for diagnosing ADHD.  A questionnaire is given to the patient, their family, and their work or school.  http://www.attentiondeficit-add-adhd.com/adhd-connors-test.htm

A thorough psychoeducational evaluation will use several methods of testing EF.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_functions#Assessment_of_executive_functions

Occasionally, even if school and parents know there is a problem, testing will show that there isn’t one.  This can happen because the novelty of testing and the one-on-one attention from the tester can cause EF symptoms to not show up.

What do we do once EF deficits are diagnosed?

Stimulant medications are one option, but as the common saying goes, “pills don’t teach skills.”  All they do is level the playing field so skills can be learned more easily.

Lev Vygotsky was a 19th-century Russian educational theorist who coined the term “zone of proximal development,” or ZPD.  It refers to the idea that the best learning takes place when the learner is attempting a task just beyond their comfort level, assisted by an expert learner such as an adult or accomplished peer.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_of_proximal_development

Vygotsky died two years after coming up with this theory, so it was fully developed by other people such as Jerome Bruner.  Bruner came up with the idea of scaffolding, which is his name for the support that the accomplished learner offers in the ZPD.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instructional_scaffolding

How does this apply to EF deficits?  We would not expect small children to accomplish things such as time management and organization on their own.  We assist them and model successful strategies for them, and then we slowly remove support as our children become more accomplished and encourage them to practice on their own.  This is what we should do with a child with EF deficits – meet them where they’re at, not where they SHOULD be, and provide the support and modeling necessary to assist them until they develop the skills on their own.

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Kids with EF deficits are usually well aware of the things they don’t do well.  With a psychoeducational evaluation in hand, it’s possible to capitalize on their strengths, rather than trying to convince them to strengthen their weak areas.

http://www.adhd-federation.org/fileadmin/user_upload/10_2012_Abstracts/Treatments/Positive_Psychology_and_Self-Ef_cacy_-_Potential_Bene_ts_for_College_Students_with_ADHD_and_Learning_Disabilities.pdf

Mindfulness

One thing that we’ve learned from mindfulness is that paying attention to what we’re paying attention to improves our attention!  This is very related to metacognition, the executive function that enables us to assess how we’re doing.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17672382

Mindfulness also improves emotional regulation, which can be a huge issue in EF deficits.  http://www.dr-fleischmann.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Chambers-Gullone-Allen-2009.pdf

Different techniques for approaching meditation, which can often be hard for people with EF deficits:

-”blue sky” – the idea that, like clouds, emotions will pass if we simply observe them and let them exist http://www.buzzle.com/articles/vipassana-meditation-touching-the-blue-sky-within.html

-labeling intrusive thoughts to encourage them to pass http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Meditation-Techniques-Labeling-Thoughts

-walking meditation http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/articles/instructions-for-walking-meditation/

-using breath as a touchstone http://www.tricycle.com/blog/breath-meditation-instructions-sharon-salzberg

Educational accommodations?

Educators have done a lot of thinking about how best to support executive functions.  The Universal Design for Learning Guidelines has an excellent section that includes concrete tips for supporting students with EF deficits. http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines/principle2#principle2_g6

Russell Barkley says that interventions must take place at the “point of performance,” which is when the actions that need changing are being performed.  Since executive functions make it difficult to keep future consequences in mind, behavior modification must take place regularly and instantly, in the actual situations that the behavior is usually displayed.  http://www.russellbarkley.org/factsheets/ADHD_EF_and_SR.pdf

Self-compassion

Self-compassion is another major component of executive function coaching, and also of being a parent of a child with EF deficits.  This is hard!  It’s incredibly important to be kind to ourselves, for having a hard time, for not always succeeding, and for trying to live up to “shoulds.” http://www.self-compassion.org/

Please let me know by email if there is anything else that you would like me to address in future posts or talks!  Thanks for reading.

Throughout the month of December, I’ll be writing a post a day for the fabulous project Reverb 12.  It’s an opportunity to reflect on the year that’s wrapping up and using the fruits of that reflection to shape the year ahead – in other words, exactly the kind of thing I love to think about!  So, without further ado, here’s today’s prompt.

Traditions:  Do you follow old traditions or do you work to create new traditions?  What role has tradition played in your life over the past year?  Are there traditions you hope to create or embrace in 2013?

This year, my younger daughter has become increasingly interested in her Hungarian heritage.  Our family has been trying to incorporate a bit more Hungarian tradition into our year, like Mikulás.  We’re also learning more of the Hungarian language and finding Hungarians in popular culture and history as much as possible.

Generally speaking, we don’t hold to any one tradition.  We do things that feel meaningful as a family, based on what traditions are ours to choose from.

Throughout the month of December, I’ll be writing a post a day for the fabulous project Reverb 12.  It’s an opportunity to reflect on the year that’s wrapping up and using the fruits of that reflection to shape the year ahead – in other words, exactly the kind of thing I love to think about!  So, without further ado, here’s today’s prompt.

Change of heart:  Did you have a change of heart about something or someone in your life this year?  What or who was it?  Why?

I didn’t have a 180-degree change of opinion, no.  I’ve been trying my hardest this year to accept things in their magnificent complexity, which really does minimize the possibility of sudden reversals.  Just as well.  Sudden reversals are exhausting.

Mindfulness for the win!

Throughout the month of December, I’ll be writing a post a day for the fabulous project Reverb 12.  It’s an opportunity to reflect on the year that’s wrapping up and using the fruits of that reflection to shape the year ahead – in other words, exactly the kind of thing I love to think about!  So, without further ado, here’s today’s prompt.

Appreciate:  For what did you find a new appreciation this year?

OmniFocus!  I’ve been involved in a lot more things this year, so it’s been increasingly important for me to organize the things I need to do. In productivity, there’s the idea of a trusted system.  A trusted system is one in which you reliably write down all the things you need to do so that your brain won’t be overtaxed trying to keep track of them.  As is the case with so many things, having one is more important than having just the perfect one.  The system I chose is more or less irrelevant, but the fact that I’ve started writing down all of my plans in a consistent place makes for a quieter mind and much greater productivity.  Which, of course, leads to much greater satisfaction.

That and the electric teakettle.  I do love a good pot of tea on a cold day.

Throughout the month of December, I’ll be writing a post a day for the fabulous project Reverb 12.  It’s an opportunity to reflect on the year that’s wrapping up and using the fruits of that reflection to shape the year ahead – in other words, exactly the kind of thing I love to think about!  So, without further ado, here’s today’s prompt.

Song:  What has been your theme song this year?  Have there been several?  Make us a mix tape and tell us the meaning behind it.

Ooh, a mix tape!  I haven’t done that for so long!

I’ll edit this one later and put in a Spotify link.  But for now, please let me know what music you’ve been loving this year.

Throughout the month of December, I’ll be writing a post a day for the fabulous project Reverb 12.  It’s an opportunity to reflect on the year that’s wrapping up and using the fruits of that reflection to shape the year ahead – in other words, exactly the kind of thing I love to think about!  So, without further ado, here’s today’s prompt.

Look: Sometimes you are left standing on the outside looking in.  As you stood there, on the other side of the glass, were you thankful for the boundary?  Or do you wish you could’ve been on the action-side?

Oh, absolutely.  Being the parent of a teenager is a lesson in new boundaries.  It’s strange to be in a position where I have to step back and let her be her own person.  I don’t regret it – on the contrary.  I’m unspeakably proud that she’s such an astonishing, complex, brilliant person, and that her decisions are based on a beautifully sound analysis of all the information available to her.

But, yes.  It’s strange to watch instead of being a participant, but that’s how raising an eventual adult goes.

How about you?

Throughout the month of December, I’ll be writing a post a day for the fabulous project Reverb 12.  It’s an opportunity to reflect on the year that’s wrapping up and using the fruits of that reflection to shape the year ahead – in other words, exactly the kind of thing I love to think about!  So, without further ado, here’s today’s prompt.

Stuff and Things:  What products have you discovered this year that you love?  Tell us all about them, and why you love them.  Become the celebrity spokesperson of whatever it is you like!

I’ve been an increasingly huge fan of the iPhone.  I was reluctant at first, for a lot of reasons.  I’m not a fan of Apple’s business practices.  I don’t like their planned obsolescence – it’s abhorrent to me to have to refresh hardware every five years for no other reason than that it can’t run current software anymore.  I don’t like how they’re increasingly forcing customers to buy proprietary hardware.

But gosh darn it, I do love the apps.  I have a very hard time organizing my time and remembering things, and things like Evernote, Continuing Education Tracker, HootSuite, and Daily Routine (among others!) make it possible for me to have a busy life without double bookings and organizational embarrassment.

I’d like to start doing weekly app reviews for the iPhone.  Are there any you’d like me to try out?  Any categories that you’d like me to investigate?  Please let me know!  I’d love to help.

Throughout the month of December, I’ll be writing a post a day for the fabulous project Reverb 12.  It’s an opportunity to reflect on the year that’s wrapping up and using the fruits of that reflection to shape the year ahead – in other words, exactly the kind of thing I love to think about!  So, without further ado, here’s today’s prompt.

Crap: What was just absolute rubbish for you this year?  What would you do to change that? Describe something, or some moment, that was just hopelessly awful, and tell us how it could (or could not) be made better.

There were some very difficult interpersonal challenges this year, mostly relating to homeownership.  As is usually the case in these situations, it would have been much easier if boundaries and expectations had been communicated at the outset, instead of practicing the fine art of avoidance until the 11th hour.  When it’s put that way, it always sounds so easy.

I have a pet theory, which is that when we experience irritation while thinking about someone we’re in relationship with, it’s usually because there’s a boundary that needs to be set or reinforced.  Does that ring true to you?  If not, what does irritation in a relationship signal for you?

Throughout the month of December, I’ll be writing a post a day for the fabulous project Reverb 12.  It’s an opportunity to reflect on the year that’s wrapping up and using the fruits of that reflection to shape the year ahead – in other words, exactly the kind of thing I love to think about!  So, without further ado, here’s today’s prompt.

1000 Words: There’s the old saying that a photo is worth 1,000 words.  Give us a photo with that impact that sums up some significant event of your 2012, or give us 1000 words about a pivotal moment in 2012.

Simone sits in front of the fireplace during the hurricane

Throughout the month of December, I’ll be writing a post a day for the fabulous project Reverb 12.  It’s an opportunity to reflect on the year that’s wrapping up and using the fruits of that reflection to shape the year ahead – in other words, exactly the kind of thing I love to think about!  So, without further ado, here’s today’s prompt.

Surprise:  The most surprising thing that happened this year was…

I’ve thought about this a lot, and I’m not sure there were any huge shocks this year.  Maybe that one time we lost the bag of Ikea shelf hardware, only to be found three months after our move.  That was surprising, both to have lost it and to have re-found it after cutting our own shelf pegs from a brass dowel.

How about you?  Surely someone must have had a more interesting year than that.