#executive functioning

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

You Are Not Lazy

Executive dysfunction often looks like laziness from the outside. There's so much more to the story.

What It Looks Like: What It Really Is:

Lazy — Overstimulated

Distracted — Understimulated

Inconsiderate — Exhausted

Unmotivated. — Burntout

Irresponsible — Depressed

Stubborn — Anxious

Disorganized — Overwhelmed

Careless — Lacking Support

Impatient — Fear of Failure

Indifferent — Afraid to Ask Questions

Uncaring — Questions

Stupid — Trouble Getting Started

Rude — Uninterested

Thoughtless — Time Blindness

Inconsistent — Time Blindness

Unobservant — Uninterested

Absent Minded — Difficulty Switching Tasks

Self Love Rainbow

[structuredsucc]

So... what exactly are executive functioning supports...?

Planners, checklists, and reminders are definitely executive function supports, but they aren't the only things that are available. ...so, I've made a list of some examples. A thread (🧵)

Executive functioning includes so much, so executive function supports can be SO MANY things. Executive functions include decision making, working memory, task initiation, planning, prioritizing, many forms of self-regulation, and more.

So let's talk in broad categories

Category 1: Decisionmaking

Avoiding a decision altogether,

Choosing randomly,

Reducing the number of options to decide between,

Always doing the same decision (such as having a uniform for yourself),

Outsourcing decisions,

Having outside structure/expectations

Category 2: Working memory

Keeping things visible,

Reminders,

Collaborators who gently remind you of things,

Writing it down (i.e., notebooks, post-its, to-do lists, etc.),

External structure such as lunch hours,

Understanding why and how working memory fails

Category 3: Information processing

Avoiding weak processing areas (eg. reading for dyslexics like me)

Have information in multiple forms,

Make information processing context relevant,

Reduce incoming information or competing demands

Category 4: Task Management

Body doubling,

Transition time,

To-do lists,

Breaking tasks down (including people to help with that),

External structure for identify the next step,

clear, explicit instructions,

Schedules, planners, itineraries.

Category 5: Organization

Mind maps,

Labels, 

Notetaking templates,

Physical organizers,

Organizing methods (Kondo, Only 4 Things, etc.),

House cleaners, professional organizer, etc.

Clear bins,

An ability to toggle visibility

Category 6: Cognitive Flexibility

Transition time,

Pre-change warnings,

External support for identifying and reminding the new direction,

Context-based exemplars of similar change,

Visual schedules,

Reminders of when structure will start again

I've listed a lot of things here, but there are just so, so, so many more options.

Executive function supports can be ways that we think or approach situations (internal) or structures imposed on us by others (external). They can be physical tools that we can touch and interact with (tangible) or completely abstract ideas or approaches (intangible)

The big takeaways are that executive function supports can be any tool, structure, or communication that supports any of our executive functions.

Executive functioning struggles are core to the ADHD and autistic experiences (and secondary to other ND conditions). This means executive functioning takes a lot of energy for ADHD and/or autistic people, and the more support we have the more energy we can use for other things

So, yeah, planners, checklists, and reminders are definitely executive function supports, but so is a highschool bell schedule, hobby-related groups, professional services, and colleagues (consensually) harassing you to remember to send that email.

There are a lot of options!

[neurodiversitysci]

Three Strategies for Doing Home Chores With ADHD

A family member with undiagnosed ADHD has the following routine for washing the dishes.

When he starts making coffee, he uses that time to put away 10 dishes. Since he uses a very fast Keurig coffeemaker, it turns into a game or challenge: can he put away all 10 dishes before the coffee is ready?

He points out that making coffee would otherwise be “dead time” where he’s just standing around. These moments feel torturous for me and many others with ADHD. So, he makes use of that “dead time” to do a little bit of chores.

It made me think about such moments of down time in my life, and my own first reaction -- to pull out my phone and check my email and social media or play a relatively mindless game. I started wondering how much easier cleaning my home would be if I made better use of my dead time.

The strategies he’s combining here are:

1) Use those torturous little bits of down time to do some small “productive” thing

2) Break a task into small pieces that can fit into little bits of down time.

3) Turn a boring task into a game or challenge. (This is one of his favorites).

Have you used any of these strategies? Would a habit like this work for you?

1/14/23

[hauntedselves]

The Spectrum of Executive Functioning

Executive Function is a set of mental skills we use every single day to manage our daily lives from working to studying to every day stuff like cooking and paying bills.

Both autistic individuals and ADHDers experience struggles with executive function (as well as many other individuals!) but we can all have varying experiences with the different skills that come under executive function so… welcome to The spectrum of Executive Function.

[Image description: A spider chart divided into 8 sections. Clockwise from the top left: 1) regulating attention: maintaining focus on a task; 2) sense of time: an awareness of time, time management; 3) planning + prioritising: organisation, prioritising tasks, setting goals; 4) working memory: remembering the steps as you do a task; 5) meta-cognition: thinking about thoughts, problem solving, self-reflection; 6) starting + shifting tasks: ability to start and shift tasks; 7) self-regulation: regulating thoughts, feelings and responses; 8) adapting to changes: respond and adjust to changes. End ID]

Executive Function Spectrum

Regulating attention: maintaining focus on a task

Sense of time: an awareness of time, time management, predicting how long a task will take.

Planning and prioritising: organisation, prioritising tasks, setting goals.

Working memory: remembering important information or steps as you do a task.

Meta-cognition: the ability to think about your own thoughts including problem solving.

Starting and shifting tasks: ability to start tasks and switch to a new task easily.

Self-regulation: awareness and ability to regulate your thoughts, feelings and responses.

Adapting to changes: the ability to respond and adjust to changes that happen.

We might experience struggles in certain skills while having strengths in other skills. Our struggles with the different parts of executive function can also change day to day or depending on factors (like sensory overwhelm or burnout) which is why it's shown as a spectrum here!

[Image description: The same chart as above, with the sections filled out to various levels of severity. Sense of time, planning + prioritising, and starting + shifting tasks are all at maximum difficulty. Regulating attention is almost at maximum, adapting to changes is in the upper middle range, working memory is in the middle, self-regulation is a bit difficult, and meta-cognition is the easiest. End ID]

I filled one in myself as an autistic ADHDer and as you can see, I experience a lot of struggles with certain skills of executive function which means I need a higher level of support while I don’t need as much support with the other skills. As I have ADHD, my executive function is pretty static as in, they don’t really change much day to day. However, you can absolutely fill it in according to how you experience them day to day or how you experience them according to certain moments e.g. executive function is more challenging during sensory overload.

Want to give it a go?

You can use this visual spectrum as a self-insight tool to figure out your strengths and where you might need more support as well as a communication tool to communicate your executive function challenges or need for support to family, loved ones or even your therapist.

[Image description: The same chart, blank so you can fill it out yourself. End ID]

~ Sonny Jane, livedexperiencecounsellor [PDF worksheet version]

[lifeinpoetry]

Sometimes, when it looks like I am doing absolutely nothing, I am trying so hard to do everything that I might not see you standing there.

— Rachel Wiley, from "Executive Functioning," Revenge Body

[lazykebabvagina]

Finally did THE TASK ™️ I've been avoiding for days. It took me 5 minutes. It was just an email. A FVCKINH EMAIL

[emma-d-klutz]

I would like to invite everyone else with executive dysfunction that can usually finally get started with the spur of last minute panic but laments the waste of hours and days agonizing before it’s the last minute trying so hard to get started and just can’t to try this thing that has recently been introduced to me:

“If I don’t start by X, then I’m just not doing it.” 

Artificial last minute panic.

“Now hold on,” I hear you saying, “I have tried giving myself deadlines, and it’s never done me any good.” Ah, but were those artificial deadlines not for when you want a task completed? They had nothing to do with the task of starting. 

“Well I tell myself if I’m going to go sleep at X hour no matter if I’m finished with my stuff or not, and that’s never helped me in any direction,” I hear you counter. Yes, I did the same. But see going to sleep and starting work are entirely different tasks, and you procrastinate them both, don’t you? 

“How is this any different from making a schedule?” you persist. Well you are right to ask. And it leads me into the biggest endorsement I can give you which happened to me just last night.  See, I had told myself at 1pm that if I don’t go back to getting work done by 11:30pm, then I’m just not doing it today. (Which, given the nature of time and how you count a day, is probably a true statement whether I gave it to myself as an incentive or not.) And then I proceeded to spend hours and hours procrastinating, so sure I’d get to work ‘right after I do this one thing.’ Then I looked at my phone and realized it was 11. And. I. Bolted. The thought that came to my mind was, “Oh no I’m going to miss my chance!” So I rushed to finish what I was doing and started working at 11:18 and went until I had a good chunk done at 2:37. Was it all perfect? Did I never get distracted and waste far more time than a break should be afforded? Obviously not, but I STARTED. 

I recommend!

[limeadeislife]

A lot of my executive functioning issues genuinely seem to be just "I would rather be reading this interesting thing on the internet"

When I'm unemployed, I find it difficult to apply for jobs or do other productive tasks, partly because, when my time is unstructured and feels unlimited, it's very hard for me to stop myself from reading interesting things on the internet

When I am employed, I am generally able to wake up and get myself to my job without issues. However, I do sometimes have difficulty going to bed early enough and getting enough sleep, partly because it's hard for me to stop myself from reading interesting things on the internet when I know the alternative is going to sleep and having to wake up for work in the morning. I often end up bookmarking a bunch of tabs when I do eventually go to bed

I feel like there are multiple tangents I could go on here, including "sometimes I wonder if I have some form of ADHD after all", "I have an unholy number of internet bookmarks going back to 2015 when I was in college", and "I find it difficult to imagine what I would have been like as a person if I had been born a few decades earlier and thus didn't grow up with the internet". But I can leave those for another time

[unwelcome-ozian]

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

ADHD & Autism

The Autistic Teacher

[starr-angelofnarnia]

Sometimes self care is exhausting when you have when adhd. Because like, I'm supposed to

Brush my teeth,

Floss,

Wash my face,

Put on facial moisturizer,

Brush my hair, and

Massage oil on my cuticles

at least once a day? But I did all of that yesterday!

[neurodiversitysci]

Panicking-over-almost-nothing Demand Avoidance

Funny ADHD story

Last week, I made the mistake of volunteering for a sleep study at my old college. They pay well, I wanted to help, and maybe I’d learn something about my sleep.

I got an email a few days ago saying "here are some times you could come in," none of which are possible, and forgot to follow up.

I got another email from their lab this morning. Haven't even opened it yet, but as soon as I saw it I started panicking. OMG SOMEONE WANTS SOMETHING FROM ME AND I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE ELSE WHAT IF I FAIL OH NO. 

(My hell brain believes that Making Other People Happy is safety).

Knowledge of that email has been hanging over my head distracting me and filling me with That Feeling of Foreboding ever since. Which is inconvenient, as I have an Important Errand to prepare for this morning.

I'm reminding my hell brain that 

a) I signed up for this; I don't *have* to do anything, 

b) an email is not inherently dangerous, 

c) whether I succeed or fail, having someone else expect something from me isn't going to kill me.

My hell brain, unimpressed, continues flooding my body with anxiety.

The Pattern of Demand Avoidance

I’m reminded of that awful term “pathological demand avoidance” (seriously, who thought it would be a good idea to use a term that abbreviates to PDA?). It was coined to describe people, especially kids, who continually refuse to do things that others expect from them. For years, the only time I came across the term was in reference to “misbehaving” kids. The label sounds willfully defiant, and is inherently pejorative (I mean, it has the word “pathological” in it). 

Unfortunately, it also fits my situation surprisingly well. I’m terrified of anyone wanting anything from me, even just answering an email. 

I put off answering emails for exactly this reason, then feel guilty for being late to reply, and the cycle continues, potentially ad infinitum/until it’s been so long that it feels too late to reply, and I eventually let myself forget about it and let it go, in favor of worrying about new emails.

It’s not just emails, though; those are just an example of how innocuous my panic triggers can be.

Right now, I procrastinate on all manner of tasks related to getting involved in activities, making friends, and dating. I literally avoid reaching out to people I want to interact with, because What If They Expect Me to Contact Them Back (And Know What to Say, And Have It Not be Awkward) In a Reasonable Amount of Time.

I spend far more time procrastinating on such tasks than it would take to actually do them. 

Don’t even get me started on the yearly months-long mental tug of war over thank you notes that I went through as a teenager. Or the time I almost didn’t graduate high school because I was stuck on some paperwork and procrastinated down to the wire.

Freaking out over an email about something I literally volunteered to do, however, is a new low.

It’s no surprise that I have so little faith in myself right now. I’ve hit the wall three times now, with real consequences for my life. What if it happens again? 

I don’t trust my brain enough to want to commit to anything. What if I do it wrong? What if I do it late? What if I don’t do it at all?

And it’s become such a habit that I am avoiding doing something I literally cannot fail, except by avoiding it. Sigh.

Reexamining My Procrastination

As someone on Tumblr put it, people with ADHD go through a mental tug of war. One part of you insists “Do the thing” while another, usually stronger, part protests, “No.” Not surprisingly, it makes it hard to get started on things. If you can break through that tug of war, you’re exhausted before you even start.

I’m now considering the possibility that this deep fear of failing is probably a reason for it.

I’ve often wondered why I procrastinate so much on trivial things whose negative sensory properties I can ameliorate (like doing the dishes). The habit of fear and avoidance is probably part of it.

But also, I might just be afraid of failing myself. After all, other people aren’t the only ones who have expectations. 

TL;DR

If you see someone of any age avoiding everything others want them to do, however innocuous, consider that it may not be defiance. They might just be terrified.

10/24/22

[astrologicalz]

I need to start brushing my teeth and washing again

(sorry I’m gross ik)

[structuredsucc]

I hate the term 'careless mistake' when related to ADHD because a lack of due care usually isn't the cause.

Usually it's automated processes such as information processing, working memory, or attention regulation that leads to the mistake

If you're looking for ways to prevent 'careless mistakes,' please start by acknowledging you do, in fact, care.

Then let's find the root of the problem and address that. For example, you can set up the information in a way that's easier for you to process (eg. visual vs written)

Changing the way that you have the information is presented, such as going through the first time using words then the second time as visuals is particularly helpful.

Reducing compound items (where three steps are written as one single step) can help too.

Also, everyone normalizes to information, steps, or lists over time, so it is not abnormal, wrong, or bad to have someone else check if you missed something obvious.

If you don't have someone to check, put it down and check it later, especially after a mood shift or a cognitively different task. This can help you to focus on different details.

Combining this with changing the way the information is presented is particularly helpful, imo

[neurospicyadhd]

Big Wheels

When I was little, all the cool kids had Big Wheels. You know (or maybe you don't), those tricycle-esque rides where the seat was low but the front wheel was BIG. You could cruise up and down your driveway, or your street/sidewalk if it wasn't a busy one.

Sometimes my brain feels like a Big Wheel that's lost one of it's little back wheels. It still goes, but you don't really go the direction you want, and it's really hard to pedal. So I try to shove the wheel back on with routines and journaling and body-doubling and meditation and exercise. And sometimes that works for a little bit. The main wheel keeps rolling, and I'm moving again, but I can feel how wobbly that back wheel is. I know it will fall off again, but I don't know when. So I try to lean a bit to the other side, to take the pressure off. But eventually I get distracted or forget, and the wheel falls off. Again. And then I am upset with myself for forgetting, and I throw the wheel into the bushes and sit on the ground. Forget it! I hate this Big Wheel! It's broken and I don't want it.

Joke's on me, I need that Big Wheel. But now I've made things infinitely harder by throwing away one of the back wheels. So now I have to go find it, which is just making things harder on myself than it needs to be.

It's hard not to get frustrated when all of your efforts seem to fail, and your wheel falls off. I haven't yet found a way to keep that back wheel on reliably. Maybe you haven't either. But I'm at least going to try to stop throwing it into the bushes. It's not fair that our wheels keep falling off. Full stop. But I hope you never stop trying to put it back on.

[bleeding-star-heart]