Executive functioning is a skill that sounds more complicated than it really is. Let’s start with a definition and then chat about some of the ways that we can start working on these skills at the early childhood level.
Executive functioning is a set of skills that stems from the coordination of three cognitive processes. One is cognitive flexibility, another is working memory, and the last is inhibitory control. These three areas help us plan, focus, remember instructions, and complete tasks.
Executive Functioning: Cognitive Flexibility
The first area is cognitive flexibility, and this is our ability to pay attention and switch from one activity or task to the next. For example, children use cognitive flexibility when they focus on one activity like when they are playing and then they switch to another activity like going to the snack table with their class.
What do little ones need to smoothly transition from one activity to the next? At preschool, they need cognitive flexibility. This really caught my eye because this is one of the areas that our autistic students struggle with….transitions. So if our young autistic students haven't developed the executive functioning skill of cognitive flexibility yet, that's part of why we see breakdowns in transitions.
Autistic children have greater difficulty in shifting attention from one task to another or with changes in their routine. This is due to the greater need for predictability, challenges in understanding what activity will be coming next, or difficulty when a pattern of behavior is disrupted. A lot of this can be traced back to the executive functioning skill of cognitive flexibility.
Strategies For Cognitive Flexibility
Here are three things that can help.
1. Predictable Routines Are Key
Creating predictable routines can help kids better understand their overall day, but using additional supports within activities can also help them learn flexibility within their routine and their day. Some specific things that you can use to create predictable routines include the all-done bucket, star chart, and wait mat. The all-done bucket can help tremendously with transitions and the star chart can prepare children proactively for transitions.
Another strategy that can help with cognitive flexibility is to sing songs to help get children from one area to the next. You can also use an all-done song when it's time to clean up. The repetition of these songs creates predictability. The same thing happens when you repeat activities. It is okay to repeat activities because that's going to help kids learn the routine and understand what's coming next.
The way you structure the areas in the classroom is also really important
Creating clearly defined physical spaces is very helpful as kids come to know the predictable routine for when go to each area. For example, if the child matches a table picture to a small table used as a workspace, they will start to understand “we're gonna be working one-on-one with a teacher” when I go here. The same thing for going to other areas of the classroom such as circle time, the play area, the bathroom, or the snack table.
You can even structure activities in the different areas to help create predictability and structure. For example, at the puzzle table that I had in my classroom, you would see numbers 1-4 on the table in front of each of the 4 puzzles. Kids would start in the same chair each time, match their picture to the table, and then do the activities in front of them for numbers 1 through 4. We’d go from number one to number two to number three to number four. So we're providing that structure, and a repetitive type of sequence, but we can switch out the actual activity at each spot.
2. Using Visual Supports
Another way to support this area of cognitive flexibility is by using visual supports. And so whether you're using a single picture, a visual schedule, or a visual sequence, visual supports can help children with that cognitive flexibility. They can help children shift their attention from one activity to the next.
We may show a single picture of what's coming next to help kids understand that and make the transition easier. We can use visual sequences like a toileting sequence. This can help with planning and organizing the steps using the visual modality. Pants down, underwear down, sit on the toilet, pee or poop in the toilet, etc…. Something like that can be posted in the bathroom and it stays the same every time. And it gives that predictability that kids need.
A visual schedule, whether there is one picture on the schedule or a sequence of pictures on the schedule, is the gold standard when we're moving toward having predictable routines and smooth transitions. These will improve when you have a visual schedule in place that kids understand. You can show what is coming up next or throughout the child’s day. “Okay, we're gonna have group time and then gym, and then we're gonna go to the pink table,” and that can really help improve transitions.
3. Transition Objects as A Tool
The last strategy to support cognitive flexibility is a transition object. They provide comfort and stability and they can reduce anxiety. I feel that autistic children should be allowed to hold small items that they are attached to. This will help them feel more comfortable and oftentimes reduce meltdowns. There are ways to teach some flexibility with these objects, such as using a wait mat. But, that’s a totally different topic! Anyway, the transition object could be an object or small toy that they bring to school or one that you provide at school.
Transition objects can also be novel objects from the classroom or a piece of the next activity. When I say a piece of the next activity, it might be a piece of a puzzle at the table you want the child to go to. Or, it could be a block to put in the “put in” activity. These serve to help with that transition… almost like a beginner object schedule, but the object is used not to represent an activity… it's actually part of the next activity. This can work really well for young autistic children!
Executive Functioning: Working Memory
Then the second area when it comes to executive functioning is working memory. Working memory enables us to mentally hold and process information. Young children use working memory when they have to remember and follow one or more instructions. Just think about how many times children are asked to follow one-step directions or multi-step directions in the classroom!
Working memory involves keeping in mind the information that you need to complete a task. When kids have trouble following instructions, it's often a sign that they're struggling with working memory.
Strategies For Working Memory
So the first one I mentioned is a first then board. This is a really nice precursor to a longer visual schedule and I like to use it to show a sequence versus if you do this, then you get this. First circle time, then playground. Or, first art project, then snack time.
So it's just showing what is coming, but it just displays it with two pictures at a time for kids that would be overwhelmed by more pictures. This helps kids process what's coming next and helps keep it top of mind. Words disappear, but visuals can be kept with you and referred back to as many times as needed. You can use a first-then sequence over and over throughout the day and it keeps it simple.
The next area is breaking the task down into smaller pieces. If there are multiple steps, it will be difficult for children with working memory deficits. One way you can do this is by using visual supports for play. So instead of saying let's play with the bus….I mean that is too wide open, right?…we start with one step, “Okay, we're gonna put the people in the bus” and then we might separately work on taking the people out of the bus or pushing the bus and then we might start to put it together with the visual supports into a two-step sequence and then move on from there.
Tasks Galore
One really great resource for visually and structurally breaking down activities so they're easier to understand is called Tasks Galore. This book has pictures in different categories, such as matching, sorting, fine motor, language arts, math, reading, and play. I’m going to leave the link in the show notes for you! Be sure to check it out.
Visually structured activities are going to help you support working memory. So when you're working on sorting, you're really teaching more than sorting. You're working on the executive functioning skill of working memory. The same thing can be said for providing visual to-do lists. Visual to-do lists can break up multi-step activities into steps that are easier to follow, and easier to digest for young autistic children.
An example of this is my visual art projects. On each simple art project, you will find visual directions on the left of the page. Instead of being overwhelmed by art projects, the instructions are broken down in a visual, step-by-step manner. For example, “take the cap off”, “make the dots on the picture”, and “cap on”, and then we're all done. And it shows a clear, beginning, middle, and end in a visual way.
Executive Functioning: Inhibitory Control
The third area of executive functioning is inhibitory control. And I know this one you're gonna be like, “Yep, we deal with this on a daily basis”. Inhibitory control allows a person to stop an impulse and may display a more appropriate response. And we often see in young children when they're sharing a toy, or taking turns. If they have the skill of inhibitory control, they may say, “Can I have a turn or my turn”.
Without inhibitory control, the child might grab the toy from another child. And I think in a lot of our classrooms with our young autistic students, we see a lot of toy grabbing and maybe getting physical. It can be really hard for them to control that impulse. Lagging skills in this area make sharing, waiting, and refraining from physical aggression difficult for young autistic children. And it affects self-control. And that's something we all want to work on, right?
Strategies For Inhibitory Control
But I think a lot of times we say, where do I even start? So here are three things, three ways you can get started to help with this.
One way we can work on this skill with our young students is by playing stop-and-go games. Through these games and activities, we can teach inhibitory skills in a super fun and age-appropriate way. My favorite type of stop-and-go activity involves songs with movement. Things like, we are dancing and wiggling…and then the music stops and we practice stopping. Think of a “freeze” type of game.
You can have the stop picture and the go picture and model these as you're doing the activity. I love to do it with videos on the smart board or interactive whiteboard because kids now are just so engaged with that type of video. But you can do it without video. I also love using songs with instruments where we “stop” shaking the shakers and then we say “go” and start playing the instruments again.
Stop and Go Songs
I’ve put together a playlist for you on my YouTube channel. It’s a playlist for you to get started with and has only stop-and-go type songs.
Honoring Protests
Honoring protests whenever it's safely possible is something to really think about for kids who have difficulty with inhibitory control.
Another way to start to teach inhibitory control is through honoring protests. Protesting is a huge part of communicating with others for all of us. There are many reasons people communicate: requests, greeting, others, commenting, sharing information, and protesting. Honoring protests is something we really need to take a look at because protesting is one reason that we all communicate.
Can you imagine if your protests against things you didn't want to do, things that you're saying no to, were never honored? What if you had to resort to physical aggression because nobody was honoring your thoughts on things and you didn't have the voice to say it? So you start showing it in different ways, pushing something away, but people continue to make you do it. This is when behavior might escalate.
Communicative Means
One of the things I wanna take a look at with you is this checklist of communication functions and means. This is something I use all the time, especially with my non-speaking students. Especially when I was trying to figure out how they were communicating. If autistic children are not communicating through spoken words, we have to look at all the other ways that they're already communicating. Multimodal communication, right?
One thing the checklist looks at is the “why”. Why are they communicating? Are they requesting, or are they commenting? Are they protesting? Protesting is one of the functions on this checklist.
Look At HOW The Child Is Communicating
Are they taking your hand and leading you to what they want? That would fall under physical manipulation. Are they pulling you or pushing you or pointing? Is it a gaze shift? Are they vocalizing or grunting? You know your students who make certain noises, and you know exactly what that means for them…maybe it’s a happy sound or a frustrated sound. This is communication! When it comes to honoring all modes of communication, it often comes back to putting aside our agenda, the thing we wanted to do that day with them…and deciding we're gonna do it a different way.
One of the ways that you can honor protests is actually acknowledging the protest. Whether it's a verbal protest or they're pushing something away or they're trying to get away from the area…it is communication. And they're telling us, “I don't wanna do this activity that you have in front of me”. Acknowledging it like, “Oh, you don't wanna do this?” can go a long way. You can also grab a core board or AAC device or a single picture and model “no”, or “I don’t want that”. This is where you are REALLY teaching them about communication and that they have a voice. But ONLY if we follow through and honor the protest.
Taking Turns
Okay, another way to work on this inhibitory control is to teach turn-taking. Providing opportunities to learn to take turns in a safe, structured, low-stress setting is one way to help build those skills. Turn-taking can be a hard skill for our students to learn. Using a visual support consistently, in a structured setting so it's safe, and using a simple game, starts on the right track. It usually works well to start with 2 students and one adult. Use a simple game that you can repeat and consistently model and use the “your turn” visual. Games with a spinner or simple dice with color or shape matching work really well to start with.
All Forms Of Communication Are Valid
After you honor the protest, incorporate a well-loved activity to get them reengaged. You could give them a choice like “Okay, do you want to do this one or this one?”. And usually, even if they're not telling you through words what they want, they might reach towards the one that they want.
This is where we need to put our pride aside and be like, “Okay, it's not about us” and having to follow through with the activity we chose or had on OUR agenda today that is not working. We need to get rid of that thought and just say, okay, we wanna keep a positive relationship, right? We want kids to learn and be actively engaged. If they're protesting and we're not ever honoring that, we're not teaching them to communicate with us. We're teaching them that we're not going to listen to what they have to say about it. So we can give choices, we can take a break. If they're trying to leave the area, we can model like, “No, I don't want to do that” and let them go and then come back together with an activity that you know they love and start there.
The full show notes and episode can be found here: Episode 62
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