ADHD and Executive Function: Attention, Action, and Emotion

"Executive Function (EF) challenges or delays in mastering EF skills almost always accompany ADHD. There can be many different aspects to EF challenges that may be more evident at different ages and in different settings. This blog post describes additional challenges not described in my last blog post. EF challenges may manifest in focusing attention, sustaining attention, or shifting attention. Or, they may show up in monitoring one's actions and managing emotions. The challenges may arise alone or are often combined."

"Many have difficulty selecting what to focus on and resisting distractions. Some may experience "hyperfocus" and fixate on one thing and find it hard to shift their attention from preferred pursuits. "That's not fair! I just started to play this game!" Remember Kamil from two posts ago? He couldn't shift his focus from the previous class subject to the next. Even physically walking down the hall to his next class did not signal the need to switch gears,"

"Shifting attention (or set shifting) is a key aspect of cognitive flexibility, the broader ability to adapt one's thinking in response to changing situations. Task switching-the ability to move from one task to another-is also a key aspect of executive functioning. Both attention shifting and task switching are core executive function issues for many with ADHD; they have challenges moving efficiently between different tasks, rules, or adapting to changing situations. This can interfere with focus, productivity, and learning. This issue may seem almost"

Executive Function challenges or delays almost always accompany ADHD. Different EF profiles produce varied manifestations across ages and settings. EF difficulties can include problems with selecting focus, resisting distractions, sustaining attention, and shifting attention between tasks. Some individuals experience hyperfocus on preferred activities and struggle to switch to other demands. EF issues also appear in monitoring actions and managing emotions, and these problems often co-occur. Shifting attention or set shifting is central to cognitive flexibility, and task switching is critical for moving efficiently between tasks or rules. Impaired attention shifting and task switching can reduce focus, productivity, and learning.

Read at Psychology Today