Executive functioning is the set of mental skills that allow a person to turn intention into a finished result. These skills include, but are not limited to, planning, organization, focus, emotional regulation, follow-through, motivation, and working memory. Mainly developing and residing in the frontal lobe, executive functioning gradually develops from infancy through adolescence. For gifted children, this development does not always keep up with the regular pace.
Why Gifted Students Struggle With Executive Function
1. Asynchronous Development
Many gifted students develop asynchronously, meaning their cognitive, emotional, and physical development can progress at very different speeds. The different development times are displayed with a child’s executive functioning. A child may have an incredibly strong working memory but can struggle to shift their attention between tasks. Or a child may have reasoning skills beyond their age but have difficulty remembering to turn in the homework their reasoning produced.
2. The Prefrontal Cortex May Mature Later
Some research points to brain development. Most children’s brains begin pruning unused neural connections around the age of eight. This pruning allows the prefrontal cortex to mature. For gifted kids, this pruning may not start until they are closer to age 12, suggesting their executive functioning skills can be three or four years behind even though their academic abilities outpace their peers.
3. Early Success Can Hide the Gap
Many gifted students pass through elementary and middle school without ever needing to plan, organize, or manage their time, as the work did not require it yet — these skills never develop. However, the gap tends to surface later when coursework becomes more difficult, or a student has to manage a full schedule on their own for the first time.
4. Executive Functioning and Emotional Regulation are Intertwined
Executive functioning also governs mood and emotional control, not just organization. Gifted children often grasp big, difficult ideas before they possess emotional tools to process them. This mismatch of tools can fuel anxiety, which can reduce the capacity needed for planning and follow-through.
5. Executive Functioning is Often Compounded for Twice-Exceptional Students
For twice exceptional (2e) students, executive functioning challenges are often magnified. Strengths can mask struggles, and struggles can mask strengths, so schools built around neurotypical expectations often miss it entirely, reading a skills gap as a motivational problem instead.
Resources for Families
For over 20 years, the Davidson Institute has worked directly with gifted and twice-exceptional families. The resources below can help parents understand why executive functioning is such a common struggle for gifted kids, and how to support their children through it.
Tips for Parents
- Tips for Parents: Executive Functioning in Daily Life: Emotional Control, Impulsivity & Practical Strategies
- Tips for Parents: The Gifted Brain: Strengthening Executive Functioning and Future Thinking
- Tips for Parents: Executive Functioning at Home and School
- Tips for Parents: High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders Q & A
- Executive Functioning – what is it, why we need it, and how we as parents can support our children’s development
Davidson Gifted Blogs
- Executive Functioning and Gifted Children
- The Profoundly Gifted Brain
- Anxiety and Gifted Children
- Developing Life Skills for Twice Exceptional Students
- The Challenge of Transitions for PG and 2e Profiles
- Keeping up in the digital classroom
- The gifted child’s rocky path to adulthood… and how you can help
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