Executive Function disorder?

I've used some of these workbooks for clients of Traumatic Brain Injury in which Executive Functioning needed to be addressed (as well as attention, memory) etc. [url=http://www.academictherapy.com/detailATP.tpl?action=search&cart=127541886818887&eqskudatarq=DDD-1230&eqTitledatar q=Brainwave%20-%20Revised&eqvendordatarq=ATP&bobby=%5Bbobby%5D&bob=%5Bbob%5D&TBL=]ATP: Brainwave - Revised[/url][tbl] Also thinking of ordering some more as my older elementary students would benefit as well.

Thanks, Dannie, I'll check those out! We love daily exercises! We've used BrainGym-type stuff in the past, but didnt' stick with it long enough to see results. But they were "fun" for my kiddos! ;)

No but this sounds like my L to a tee!! Let me know how it goes!

I like them as daily exercises as part of a whole approach....usually 'easy' for upper grade and up....really focuses on the attention, memory, visual motor etc.....but I think it's great that the plan your child is on includes reflection and problem solving. I think daily exercises that are a little more "fun" plus the whole picture is great! Good luck!

Wow! Really cool stuff for me to check out for my son. He is also 12 and struggling horribly with executive functioning. He also does a lot of guessing or just filling out random answers. My question for you, is your daughter aware of her problems and is she interested in making improvements? Everything I come across regarding organizing, planning, schedules, etc. seems to depend on the person being aware of and willing to work on weaknesses. My boy is either not there, yet, or has passed it and gone on to complete discouragement/apathy. Moving to a SpEd class seems to be working as far as getting extra support, but I haven't seen any movement toward him learning to eventually do things for himself.

No, mine isn't aware that she's lacking planning/organization skills as she still just jumps right in, guesses, and then hopes it's right. She won't evaluate her answers to see if they're right (like doing subtraction problem and then adding the answer back in to see if it was right). The tutor/therapist who will start her on Interactive Metronome next week (and the Feuerstein program) said that kids with EF issues don't think through anything, so they don't think anything is wrong. (This explains why she doesn't understand why kids won't play with her for long at school---she misreads social cues, etc.) The therapist did wonder if she has a nonverbal learning disorder as well, but will focus on just the planning, execution, and then review/evaluation to check her own answers. (This will be a great skill for lifelong learning, too!) Will keep everyone posted as the therapy progresses. Added: We have found that Sp Ed pullout was helpful only in that it gave her extra time to complete work and a 1-1 teacher to help her through things. (Just found out today that she passed our math state test, but not the Language/Reading one.) We think she's able to keep newly learned facts in her short-term memory, but doesn't transfer them to long-term memory. I don't know if this is an Executive Function thing, or just that she never really "learned" it to begin with.

Just an update for Millie and anyone else interested... K (12) has completed 7 sessions where she'd do 30 min. of IM and 30 min. of the Feuerstein thing (I can't explain--you'll have to read about it online) or a full hour of just IM. The therapist thinks the IM is more effective in changing the brain, so she's been doing that every time. After the 7th session, the therapist was pleased to announce that my kiddo had finally reached the "baseline"! (The point where people generally start training with IM. My kid was so far below this level at the eval due to impulsivity, she had to start far below the baseline setting!) So, after 7 sessions, the good news is that we've found that she doesn't require her ADHD med anymore! (Focalin XR, 20 mg) Because...she's just as loud and hyper at the end of the day without the med and she is with it. And prior to this, she was loud and hyper, in-your-face, aggressive ALL DAY LONG. Now she's like this only when I send the kids out to play (she's the oldest) and the parent supervision isn't line of sight. So this tells me that she has developed the ability to turn her behaviors on/off at will. This was NOT something she could do before. Without meds, she'd need repeated reminders to "use an inside voice" or "stay out of your sister's face" or "take your time and work through the problem." Now she'll do all of these things as long as I'm nearby. (It sounds like regular kid behavior, but she screams as if she's being tortured when outside without an adult right there with her. Even her younger sibs tell me she's "too wild" for them, and they prefer not to play with her alone. (NOTE: I watch through the window, so she's not really unsupervised, but I do notice how the behavior changes the moment she THINKS I'm not watching.) ;-) OTHER IMPROVEMENTS?: None that I've noticed. She still has major verbal issues. Ex: Just yesterday she announced re: all the kids at camp chanting for younger (scared) sib's success at the Slip n' Slide, "I SAID them to help!" I repeated, "You SAID them to help? Are you sure? How do we say that?" She could NOT come up with the correct verb, so younger sib had to provide it for her, "I TOLD them to..." This is a daily occurence, and it's A LOT worse when she's off the ADHD med. It seems her lack of focus extends all the way to her planning when it comes to speech. She isn't stopping to think of the correct way to speak, but just blurts things out (incorrectly) without thinking. And she's not correcting herself when she's off the ADHD med. (While on it, she'd catch herself saying something wrong, and think aloud, "No, that wasn't right. How do I say that?" Now she's not even noticing the constant grammar errors. But this has ALWAYS been a problem for K when off meds, and it wasn't worth keeping her on the ADHD med over summer. She needs her sleep. Not sure what to do to help with this, or it if will just come with more IM sessions. Not feeling terribly great at the rate of progress given the expense of these sessions, but I am pleased that she's much calmer during the day without her ADHD med. NOTE: I did add two supplements for all of the kids this summer, and they seem to be helping with sleep and general calmness/cooperation during the day: a Magnesium/Calcium/Zinc combo + a B complex vitamin (all with Dr. approval). EtA: I didn't add the calming magnesium and B vit until last week (around 7th session of IM), so I know it was IM that changed her brain enough to get her off the ADHD med, rather than these 2 supplements. The mag supplement is to try to help with the wild behaviors when playing, so I'm waiting for that to kick in. :)

The impulsive, not planning is L; but he's not aggressive or in-your-face. He's the opposite; he's a follower. I know he suffers from MERLD; it sounds like there's a bit of EF thrown in. Thanks!!

Millie, what is MERLD? I probably should have mentioned this before, but my K had an IQ score of 83 at last check (Jan. 2009), up from 73 (3 years earlier, before she had been dx'ed with ADHD and began taking Concerta)...also up from 69 (at age 6 during a traumatic time in her life when parental rights were terminated). Because of these increases over the years (from MR to Borderline/Low Average), we'd like to believe that with tutoring and experiential learning, she'll continue to improve and learn. However, after 9 IM sessions and no improvement in the language (receptive or expressive) or processing (language, auditory, math) areas, I'm beginning to wonder if she will remain in the Borderline MR rage forever? (Think Forest Gump--that's my K.) ;) But on the up side, I really am seeing changes with her ADHD. She still hyperfocuses with TV, but now she's able to read for longer periods (of course she does't understand what she's reading and can't retell it, but she is saying the words and staying at it). She's impulsive with math problems, but when reminded to think it through BEFORE writing, she'll spend less time erasing wild guesses. :D AND she has calmed quite a bit during free play time outside, even when I'm not watching! She's still loud, but it's a more normal kid loud, not a "that kid sounds like she's being tortured" loud!

whoownsthis - I was wondering if you've ever seen the Wii Fit games, and how they would compare to IM. Obviously, wouldn't have a trained professional to facilitate learning, but it seems like there are very similar games using the Wii Fit board and controllers. Wii Fit plus has a marching game that seems especially like what IM does. My son loves these (and is actually pretty good at them). I'm wondering if he would get some benefit from them at home? Maybe I will just encourage it anyways, certainly can't hurt :)

Grrltrouble, I have read some comparison reviews of Wii Fit games vs. IM, and it seems the IM folks like that it has instant, microsecond feedback, which forces the child to work hard to get on beat. Apparently Wii does this, too, but maybe not as precisely. ??? We don't have any video gaming systems, and I'm reluctant to add this to our house unless there's some proof it would work to change the brain. Are you aware of any studies on it?

I believe DPT therapy is used for this stuff. But the client has to be willing to commit. If my daughter ever makes the phone call to the therapist, I might know a little more about this. She doesn't like to commit to therapy.

MERLD is Mixed Expressive Receptive Learning disorder. Basically, there's a problem with them expressing themselves. L has this and also when writing. He has a hard time making sentences.