How to Tell the Difference Between Anxiety and a Panic Attack
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What Is Executive Dysfunction in ADHD?
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can make it difficult to stay focused on certain things, and way too easy to hyperfocus on other things. These and other ADHD symptoms can result in executive dysfunction.
At 2nd Chance Treatment Center, with practice locations in Phoenix and Litchfield Park, Arizona, our team of board-certified psychiatrists can complete ADHD testing to confirm a diagnosis and evaluate you for executive dysfunction.
Executive dysfunction basics
Executive dysfunction isn’t a condition; rather, it’s a symptom of an underlying condition. It’s mostly associated with underlying mental health issues like ADHD, brain damage due to trauma or stroke, or degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. These types of conditions disrupt your brain’s ability to control thoughts, emotions, and behavior.
If you have executive dysfunction, you’re likely to struggle with goal setting, socialization, self-motivation, and making good choices when it comes to decisions about your life. Executive dysfunction can significantly affect your work, social interactions, home life, and more.
Main executive functions
The main executive functions are as follows:
Working memory
Working memory is where any data related to what you’re doing in the present is stored. If you’re having a conversation, reading a book, or writing a paper, you’re using working memory. Problems with working memory can mean you lose track of the conversation, the place in your book, or the point you were trying to make in your report.
Cognitive flexibility
Cognitive flexibility is a measure of how well your brain can transition from one topic to another. If you’re able to be flexible in your thinking, you can adapt readily to changing situations around you, and react calmly to the unexpected.
People with good cognitive function move seamlessly between work and home life, and are usually good at problem solving. Cognitive inflexibility can mean you’ll experience sharp anxiety if routines change, or paralysis if something doesn’t go as planned.
Inhibition control
Inhibition control is a large part of executive function, and it includes both behavioral control (deals with internal thoughts and emotions, such as not just doing or saying whatever comes into your head) and interference control (the ability to block out outside distractions and focus on things that really need your attention).
Executive dysfunction and ADHD
It’s estimated that 21%-60% of kids with ADHD also struggle with some level of executive functioning. This can adversely affect learning, social development, and more. Treating the symptoms of executive dysfunction successfully means you’ll need to work with a doctor who specializes in the underlying condition, such as ADHD.
If you believe you or your child has ADHD and that the condition is causing executive dysfunction, help is available. In most cases, treatment that includes both medication and behavioral therapy can help boost executive function by addressing the ADHD.
For more information, call the 2nd Chance Treatment Center location near you, or make an appointment online today.
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