Executive functioning

While inattention and hyperactivity are key diagnostic criteria for ADHD, ADHD is also understood as a condition of impaired executive functions (EFs). EFs, considered the “cognitive managers” of the brain, are necessary for successful navigation of most aspects of life, including employment, relationships, the management of both physical and mental health, risk-taking behaviors, and efforts to cultivate well-being. In conjunction with motivational challenges inherent in ADHD, impaired EFs contribute to difficulty taking effective action. Because of a common history of failure, and resultant low confidence, adults with ADHD may need a good deal of support to take the first steps in building their EF skills. Coaches and therapists can support the development of EF skills through a combination of five interconnected processes: evoking, modeling, teaching, guiding, and sustaining. Working with clients to develop and bolster their executive functioning skills in a gradual and stepwise process is an important component of supporting intrapersonal growth. Such growth ultimately leads not only to useful improvement in these vital EF skills but also to achieving personal goals and cultivating fundamental internal resources of hope, resilience, and an overall improved sense of self.