What Executive Functioning Is and Why It Matters

But what if you don't have an internal administrator?

May 03, 2021

Until I was diagnosed with autism last year, I didn't know much about what executive functioning was. This is pretty ironic since I’ve been struggling with issues around this for my whole life. My family found me hilarious because I had no ‘common sense’, and I learned to laugh at my frequent mistakes too. I was academic, not practical, we thought. And so I went on my merry way.

Kind of.

Before I tell you how difficulties with executive functioning messed with my life, let’s go over what executive functioning is.

Executive functioning refers to a set of abilities that help us to organize our lives, make good choices, manage our behavior and prioritize tasks. Here are the main elements:

Cognitive/mental flexibility: this means the ability to switch from one mental task to another or to think about multiple things at the same time.
Cognitive inhibition: is being able to tune out irrelevant information.
Attentional control: this refers to your ability to focus attention and concentrate on something specific in a situation.
Inhibitory control: being able to inhibit urges or impulses in order to achieve goals.
Working memory: this is an area of the brain that can hold a number of facts or thoughts in mind while also performing a different task.

Many people struggle with some of these. It is perfectly normal to be weaker in some areas of executive function and stronger in others. There are also some conditions that impact executive functioning, like dementia, for example.

But for those of us diagnosed with autism and/or ADHD many of these might be lacking. We might have almost no working memory or attentional control.

We often have a lot of knowledge and skill, but aren’t reliably able to draw from it at the time we need it.

This puts us at a pretty big advantage and also can get us into trouble. More on that later.

Imagine executive functioning as a lovely, helpful internal administrator. A capable tiny person who lives inside your head and helps you find things: names, dates, details. Or decide on things: buy this, do that, don’t punch him. The internal administrator can be cheery or taciturn so long as they are efficient. The crucial thing is that they know where everything is, and they find it for you in a timely fashion.

Da-da!

Well, some of us are missing an internal administrator.

It’s important to mention here that executive functioning skills are something we develop. They ordinarily develop rapidly in early childhood and into the teen years. These parts of our brain are still taking shape into our twenties.

As a result, a clear deficit with executive functioning at an early age can be an indicator for ADHD. However, it is also possible for kids to lag behind for a while, only to catch up a little later.

If these skills continue to be patchy, it is likely that autism, ADHD or some other developmental issue is present.

So why does understanding executive functioning matter?

Recognizing an individual’s struggle with executive functioning earlier allows them to get extra help with it. It can also provide insight around why they find education, relationship building and following rules and instructions so difficult.

I wish somebody had recognized this issue in me. I was often seen as a ‘lazy’, ‘naughty’, and ‘defiant’, when I actually just needed extra support.

I was clever and conscientious, but I found it hard to stay on task, I talked too much, and I loved acting like a tiny clown to get laughs. I was endlessly shamed for looking ‘scruffy’, told I ‘could try harder’ and criticized for being - shock horror! - ‘unladylike’.

By my teens, I was sick of trying so hard only to be told I didn’t measure up. And I wasn’t the only one. The research clearly shows that kids with ADHD feel different and faulty by 10-years-old because we get so much negative feedback.

I couldn’t keep up with my peers. I didn’t understand the rules of engagement. And I had sufficient difficulty with enough things to feel stupid in a variety of contexts (basically, outside of the English classroom).

As well as feeling ‘broken’ because of not being able to behave how the world demands, there’s another risk to having issues with executive functioning issues. There is a clear connection between ADHD and addiction issues, and a burgeoning connection between autism and substance abuse too.

I’ve been sober for five years now, and this has dramatically improved my quality of life. I first started drinking because it was fun and exhilarating (sensation seeking), but I carried on because I found life overwhelming, and I couldn’t find the support I needed to thrive. I actually didn’t know I was capable of thriving.

My reliance on alcohol and other substances gave me a break from my struggles, but it also contributed to them. While I really needed to be working harder than many of my peers to develop these skills I found difficult, I was avoiding them completely.

Without support or knowledge of what precisely it was I found so hard about growing up, I found the process so stressful that I continually sought out opportunities to escape it.

Thus my executive functioning deficits increased. I was constantly losing things, forgetting important details, making bad choices, and as a result feeling terrible about myself. As I got older, this continued, and the battle to get my life under control and feeling okay only got harder. And so I leaned more on alcohol.

It’s a vicious cycle, and it’s incredibly common.

Over the years, I developed a high tolerance for beer and learned how to throw a cigarette into my mouth before lighting it, but I didn’t learn the skills necessary to make an enjoyable life. And I almost entirely derailed my education.

My writing ability allowed me to find my way back onto at least one track. I did an MA in Creative Writing and went on to get a book deal, but my issues with executive functioning continued to harangue me every step of the way. And I still didn’t even know that this was what I was struggling with.

Eventually, at 33, I recognized that something really wasn’t right with me and my life, and I got sober. A hugely positive step that helped exponentially. This allowed me to get a clear enough perspective on my life to see where I was floundering.

Eventually, this led to me self-identifying (still awaiting diagnosis) with ADHD and getting a formal diagnosis of autism. But I was 37 by then. And that’s a long time to flounder.

I wish somebody had noticed I was struggling as a child or teen because my unadressed and unacknowledged issues with executive functioning seriously derailed my adolescence. And it’s been hard to catch up. Impossible, actually.

How much worse is it for people without as much of a buffer (whiteness, no concurrent learning disability, the bank of Mum and Dad, my disability being invisible, etc, etc.)?

So what can we do about it?

Issues with executive functioning are frustrating on an individual level, but they also partly account for why only 22% of autistic adults are in any kind of employment.

Exams, tests and interviews all rely on solid executive functioning. And anyone with autism or ADHD knows that when pressure, stress and anxiety are added into the mix, executive functioning gets even patchier.

This is why neurodivergent awareness is important.

Educating teachers about what to look for in their students so that they can get the extra support to help them thrive is helpful.

Creating work environments in which autistic adults can play to their strengths is helpful.

Parents learning about executive functioning and how a lack of it can impair a child is helpful.

Calling people lazy and messy, telling them they are not fulfilling their potential and saying that they are using their diagnosis as an excuse is not helpful.

Remember that for some of us, that handy person you rely on in your brain, the one who retrieves names and faces and information… Well, for some of us they are out of office.

They went to get a coffee and got lost on the way back or maybe just forgot that they had an office to return to.

Some of us, possibly, don’t even have an office. Or have a demented monkey instead of a helpful administrator. Watch Tim Urban at Wait But Why explain his ideas about this in the Ted Talk listed in the resources at the bottom of the letter.

This doesn’t mean that those of us with autism and ADHD are stupid. It just means we might need more tools to perform well. We might need more time to process information. We might need instructions written down.

I teach English and Creative Writing to undergraduates and postgraduates, but I often struggle to remember to eat lunch, drink water or manage my calendar. I can’t make dinner and chat nicely to someone. One thing at a time is plenty, thanks.

This was all very upsetting and confusing to me, until I realised I am neurodivergent. Identifying as neurodivergent is allowing me to learn to be compassionate. To understand that I am not alone with these issues.

I need specific conditions for my brain to be able to function effectively. And that can sometimes mean I don’t have enough brainpower leftover for the social niceties that are also required in neurotypical society.

This makes me want to stay home a lot. Do you relate? If so, talk to me. I love to hear from readers.

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