Executive function disorder?

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I am just fascinated with learning differences and disabilities in part because I have one, my father had one and many of his relatives have one.

I have been hearing a lot about Executive function disorder lately.
Has any parent here had a child diagnosed with it or diagnosed with it themselves?
I have read some info that it can be confused with ADHD?
I heard it being co-morbid with autism and intellectual disability
Can it be confused with intellectual disability, dyspraxia, dyslexia or other learning differences.
Who diagnoses or assess it? A doctor, a teacher?
can it effect iq tests?

I am pretty sure my older son, who I don't believe is on the spectrum, has this. But, when he was evaluated (a couple of years ago), I don't think this was a diagnosis on the table. They said he had Sensory Processing Disorder and a lot of Executive Functioning issues. He does have some traits of ASD, but is very good at socializing and communication.

I do not believe it has an effect on IQ tests, as he came out with a really high IQ.

One doc believed he had ADHD (a neurologist), but the neuro psych said it was SPD and Executive Function issues appearing like ADHD.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the DSM-5 has a separate Executive Function Disorder. The symptoms are considered to be part of ADHD -- just without the hyperactivity, most likely dx would be ADHD-pi for primarily inattentive type.

That said, one of the most useful books is Smart but Scattered, which goes into a lot of depth about all the different executive function skills and how to help teach them in a step by step fashion.

These issues do affect lots of people with ASD, ADHD, Dyslexia, and other non-neurotypical wiring.

I wondered about EFD and myself as well as my spectrum child but I know I can't diagnose but there is so few info about EFD.

Thanks my child has autism and something else which does effect iq testing.
Child can speak autism symptoms are milder now but still has huge problems academically.
In special ed full time.
I am told it might be a very mild intellectual disability plus autism. It might be denial but I feel my child is much brighter than tests and the developmental doctor didn't spend as much time with my child as I would have liked.
But even if it is ID my child's functions well enough that my child can someday marry get a job but working on reading and math and other life skills will make things easier.

The special ed teacher also said that she thinks my child is brighter but only time and perseverance

Score extremely low near age 3 but told that was not going to be the right score and not to worry
With my child it was score borderline at 5
Score 13 to 15 points higher near age 7
Then score lower again at age 8/9 lower again little lower than the borderline score

There was a regression from age 7 to 9 that I noticed
What I need to do is make progression noticeable without test scores
A huge part of the issue is attention span and you really can't test someone with attention span issues
until they are fixed.
I had a much higher iq as a child, but honestly in many ways my autistic child functions better than I did.
I didn't learn to tie my shoes until adult hood. My child learned at 9.

I'm no expert, but I've never thought of executive function issues as their own disorder; it is simply a common problem many ASD individuals have. It is so pervasive with ASD that it is often considered an indicator of ASD. That is how it integrates into the conversations I've normally seen, anyway.

As I said, I'm no expert. But, honestly, I don't think how it formally fits into DSM matters. What matters is understanding that your ASD child is likely to struggle with executive function, that their struggles are not a matter of not caring or being lazy, and solving the problem will never be as simple as teaching some new tracking system to the individual or providing organization hints. It is likely to be a fundamental, life long struggle that the individual will have to find his own adaptations for (staying away from careers that require high volumes of different projects each with unique due dates is a good idea).

DW_a mom wrote:

thanks all for your input

DW_a_mom
I don't view my child as lazy and I know that a lot of the issues can't be helped.
I view it as not being born with perseverance and grit.
I give rewards and break up tasks which dose help a lot.


Zette my child is now verbal but would the non verbal test work with verbal children with attention issues?

Deinonychus
The reason I wondered if EFD was its own disorder was beacuse of this article
Is It Executive Function Disorder (EFD) or ADHD?
it states that some children can have EFD on their own so I was just wondering
since I don't know a lot about EFD
http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/7051.html

Many people with learning challenges have executive function challenges.
Executive function skills are learnable skills that are rarely explicitly taught in schools or by parents, therefore not learned by children with a tendency of weakness in that area.
http://www.4mylearn.org/ExecutiveFunction.html talks about common pattern of ADHD/ADD executive function challenges and provides examples of what can be expected at a given age, from 4 to 13 years old.

You can determine your child's Executive Function Quotient (EFQ) for each executive function, find the age level your child is currently at and divide by his age. For example Emotional Control, say a child is 10 and is currently at 5, his EFQ would be 5/10 or 50% for that function. This indicates this child needs considerable explicit support to learn that skill. You can build a profile of all his functions. Above 120% is strength and below 80% is a weakness. Use strengths to compensate for weaknesses.

KariLynn
Thank you for the advice it was really helpful


Valerie

I would try emailing the author of that article. It's frustrating that things on the web do not carry a publication date. While ADDitude is mostly very good, sometimes their articles hang around for years and can be outdated. For instance, it used to be that you could not be diagnosed with both autism and ADHD, leading to a false choice between is it ADHD or ASD -- sometimes the child meets the criteria for both, and should have both dx.

I would think based on that article that Executive Functioning Disorder would only be a non-standard label (ie not in the DSM-5) for those who do not meet enough criteria to qualify for either ADHD or ASD.

sorry I posted this before but for some reason my post didn't post.

zette
I wish they had put a date on it and maybe I should email them. I wish there was more information out there.



DW_a_mom
I didn't think the lack of grit was part of an executive problem
The lack of grit could be the autism or it could be just an unrelated family trait. A lot of people in my family lack grit and it doesn't matter if they are on the spectrum or not.
I do want to learn more about EFD even if I don't have it.
My child is sweet but its very hard to follow directions, pay attention, keep on task.
I am not frustrated but I do like to know new things to educate my children.