Executive Dysfunction (ED) can have many negative impacts on an individual’s life. Below are some common Executive Function (EF) skills, followed by negative impacts associated with deficits in each skill:

• Unable to break large projects into smaller tasks
• Completing tasks in the wrong order
  
• Struggling to finish long-term projects

• Feeling stuck and unable to start tasks
• Procrastination
  
• Pathological demand avoidance

• Struggling to follow multi-step directions
• Poor reading comprehension
  
• Unable to multitask
• Forgetting important tasks or appointments
  
• Easily overwhelmed by too much sensory information

• Overwhelmed and distracted by clutter and visual noise
• Spending time trying to find things
  
• Loss of important items

• Time blindness: difficulty perceiving the passage of time or estimating how long a task will take
• Difficulty planning for the future
  
• Difficulty remembering events in the correct order
• Missing deadlines
  
• Running late to appointments

• Impulsive behavior
  
• Difficulty stopping a preferred activity
  
• Interrupting others during conversations

• Difficulty transitioning from one activity to another
• Struggling to overcome setbacks
  
• Resistant to changes in routine

• Unable to tune out background noises
• Difficulty sticking to a task
  
• Daydreaming
  
• Easily distracted

• Difficulty maintaining relationships and resolving conflicts
• Easily frustrated
  
• Struggling to control temper
• Mental health issues

• Difficulty recognizing body signals such as hunger, thirst, discomfort
• Unable to accurately assess self-behavior
  
• Difficulty adjusting behavior based on feedback from others