WHY ARE EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS IMPORTANT?

Executive functions are crucial for successful adaptation and effective functioning in daily life. They allow us to:

• plan, initiate and complete actions;
• stay on the task in spite of difficulties and interruptions;
• refrain from inappropriate behavior;
• use time effectively while performing tasks;
• play mentally with ideas;
• focus on the most important aspects of the task, ignore distractions and many more.

This incomplete list gives us a clear idea that we rely heavily on executive functions all the time and they ‘work’ especially hard at school. It has been proven that academic achievement at primary school depends more on executive functions than on intelligence! Of all executive functions working memory correlates with academic achievement most significantly.