Executive Function.

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I am the exact same way.... I wonder if it is because our minds are so focused on the things we enjoy there is no room for the other things?

Do you have an issue where you struggle with long term goals... like one week you have one major long term goal then the next week it's totally different?

One thing that I am considering trying more is exercise and diet as well. I recently discovered that I have a big issue with "oxalates" in my diet. I read that other autistic people have this issue as well. For me the problem was physical but it could have psychological effects too. I don't know if this will help, but it seems in my own case my executive function issues have gotten worse the less active I am physically.

Has anyone noticed the reverse? That an increase in physical activity has resulted in a decrease in executive dysfunction?

YEAH. I used to go on daily bike rides (as hard as possible about 8 miles in hills) and my memory/EF functioning would be much worse afterwards. I wrote it off as related to dysautonomia, but I don't really know.

Exercise only seems to affect my motor skills. Karate made me less likely to walk into things.

I noticed that an increase in demand for EF from balancing several projects/job increased EF for me.

A technique for bettering motivation that might work if you are inclined to think in black-and-white:

Thinking in black and white means there is only all or nothing. Either you do something all the way, or you don't do it at all.

So you only have two choices: (1) lying down and start dying or (2) being fully motivated on life.

Number 1 is not an option, because soon enough you'll get hungry and get something to eat. And that is a sign of some motivation. But that is not "allowed". It's either no motivation or full motivation. So when you start to eat you will "need" to adopt full motivation to not frustrate yourself with your action.

Now, the more motivated you get, the more should the black and white thinking disappear. And soon enough the motivation becomes more "real".

This definitely only works with rather rigid black and white thinking, but I think it's much better than being depressed, saying "what's the purpose of it all anyway" and having no motivation at all. It's important to be able to get motivated for anything that's important to do, no matter if it's a special interest or not.

Executive Dysfunction hits me the worst in terms of working memory/memory retrieval.

It's incredible, I have such a plethora of information inside of my head, but if I'm put on the spot to retrieve and convey it, my brain goes completely blank. That's one of the primary reasons I have great difficulty talking in person, versus communicating through textual means...in person, you're constantly put on the spot, and I'm not able to retrieve quickly enough the words I need to converse.

I also suffer with motivation when it comes to things like showering, getting dressed, fixing food to eat, etc. Some days the thought of having to put something in the microwave for 1 minute is too much, so I'll end up ordering food in. I'm out of school for the summer (I'm a graduate student, studying film editing), and I haven't changed my clothes in 3 days. I missed out on a couple of unique events this year that required dressing up, because planning for and wearing anything more complicated than jeans and a t-shirt is very overwhelming for me.

I feel I see it clearly now.

Motivation comes from viewing the big picture. If you only view details, you'll have no motivation.

When you analyze things, you obtain details. This comes natural to many aspies, that's why we tend to see details. In some aspects this is an advantage, but when it comes to motivation, it's a big disadvantage.


Here's an article about viewing the big picture vs. the details:

I'd really like to hear if anyone knows how to better view the big picture. I think it's a matter of seeing the social dynamics one is a part of.

This is likely the answer to the motivation issue:

Motivation does not come before action, action comes before motivation.

Motivation or Action First?


This is in accordance with my experience. You cannot gain motivation through logic, because logically you could just say "The universe is probably gone eventually, and then all my efforts and actions were in vain."

This makes no sense. Why would those be linked?

If you notice details, you'll be motivated by details. If you notice the big picture, you'll be motivated by the big picture. Those may result in different actions, but they're both motivation.

For example, a lot of detail-oriented people will be motivated to do things like straighten out objects because the one that's slightly out of alignment is bugging them. That's a form of motivation.

Now, most detail-oriented people can see the big picture - they just prefer details. But people with Williams Syndrome can't see the big picture, for example if you ask a WS kid to draw an elephant, they will draw ears, trunk, tail, body, etc, but the parts don't hook up so the elephant looks like it's exploded.

Does their inability to see the big picture result in a lack of motivation? No. WS kids are typically hypersocial, which means social interaction is a major motivation for them. As a result, despite their visual processing problems and cognitive delays, they often have age-level facial recognition scores simply because they're obsessed with faces. They also tend to like music, and educators have found that incorporating music into lessons helps these kids learn.

Qawer, I realize you're trying to help, but you're not going to unlock any deep secrets this way, or find some kind of neuro-Rosetta Stone that will explain anything and everything about ASD.

The lack of motivation in executive dysfunction (such as with ASD or ADHD) is not the same as it is with depression - and being depressed isn't something most people choose, but a mental state that sort of "takes over" without assistance from therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, medication, etc.

I think something that is worth noting is how complicated motivation is.

I can make the statement "I want to do this", without feeling motivated to do it.

I know I need to do something, can want to do it, and still not be motivated to do it, and be stuck, trying to do it and failing.

I know how that is. I both wanted and needed to take a bath and do laundry today and never managed to do either. At least I got my hair washed.

All of this.

For me, the further out the rewards/outcome, the harder it is for me to sustain motivation. Many things I want to do I simply have too much difficulty actually doing because the motivation is either not there or not sustainable long enough to complete it.

I don't think its any stronger for me with further out rewards. But I can have something as simple as "I'm in pain from hunger, but I can't get out of bed".

Once I'm going, I can generally sustain it. (Though if it has a large enough next step then it can Tcount as something new again to me and require starting again in a way) But getting started, that's a problem.

Running attention tests on me, you see me focusing all I can on it, not actually losing and stopping sustaining attention, but not actually having proper responses on the tests and having results on the tests like someone who's not paying attention, despite actively concentrating as hard as I can. Because on that I am motivated to show accurate results, so that's a simple motivation. But motivation isn't the only executive dysfunction, there's also just not being able to deal with it even though I am doing the concentrating. So, sustaining isn't a problem in me.

But beginning it, that's definitely a problem. And its gotten worse than it used to be.

(This is why my boyfriend is paying for me to have data on my phone to use it for external motivation to get me out of the house, because he knows I want to get out of the house but struggle with the motivation)