Ways to improve executive functioning?

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This is a much more severe problem for me recently than it was for most of my life. A few years back I had a brain injury, frontal lobe, wouldn't you know it. Every little oddness or difficulty I had before, has now been magnified, because that's where those functions hang out. It's really messing me up, needless to say. It's got company in that regard, but I would love to regain some of what I had before.

Has anyone been able to improve their executive functioning, or regain after losing some, and if so, could you please tell me how you did it? I'm not ready for this. Let me put my affairs in order first for goodness sakes.

Another question, is there a way to get around needing executive functioning, but the things still get done? Like a detour through another part of the brain, something that can be learned? Maybe?

It's one of those things that I didn't appreciate it, when I had more of it. But wow, it's really essential... I'm amazed by some of the things I can't seem to do anymore. Things that used to be automatic, or almost automatic. This really isn't fun, I wonder if I was born with the impairment or it happened when I was younger it might be easier to readapt? I guess that also, I wouldn't have a concept of what I was missing.... That's only a guess though, what do you think?

Wonder if there are any clinical studies coming up, but I'm not looking to take any more drugs. Fewer, or no drugs would be ideal. Well, not really..... not as things stand today. I'm still getting a benefit from the meds or I wouldn't be taking them. I can't handle new, complicated medications too well, everything I can tolerate was simple enough to have been invented/ figured out long ago. They're really grasping now, IMO. Profit driven.

My abilities do seem to fluctuate. Has that been anyone else's experience?

Is this an AS thing or just ADD? (Because I had problems with it before too, just not so badly that I had a name for it.)

I remember watching a PBS documentary recently. They visited a neurologist who was studying brain scans of Autistics. He said he has noticed marked differences in the parts of the brain that Autistics use to process certain information, especially when interpreting facial expressions. If I remember correctly, most people process this information in the frontal lobes, but he noticed Autistics were showing more activity toward parts of the brain in the back area, closer to the brain stem. He surmised this was how Autistics were adapting, but that it was much slower, and not quite as accurate. The patients on that show seemed to have fairly severe Autism though.

It does seem possible though, to learn to use a different part of the brain to process certain types of information than would normally be used. It just may not be as effective.

Who knows? Maybe "practice makes perfect" can work with that kind of thing. Or, maybe not. I guess it depends on circumstances and the person.

what symptoms are you experiencing?

I don't have any answers to your questions, but I really admire you for sharing your problem and seeking solutions. Regardless of any executive functioning problems you may have, your post's meaning was very clear.

Sorry to hear about the accident.

I'm wondering which of these items below has become harder to "execute" (where relevant)

1) Eating decisions such as which food to eat or forcing yourself to eat when you should.....Grabbing a snack may be even more tempting to you these days.

2) Dragging yourself away from fun things like computers/namely games or whatever you consider fun.

3) Avoiding impatience in queues or whilst waiting for people etc

4) Formulating any rotas or daily/weekly plans

5) Arranging events or appointments

6) keeping appoinments

7) MAking decisions at a appropriate speed

Short term memory tests recall, order etc

9) Successfully remembering something that you were meant to do that you told yourself 6 seconds ago, but faded away and you don't realise until you are reminded again.
other examples.........

I wish I had some answers to that -- curious to hear them myself. In my case I have various strategies like notes, or a bag hung on the doorknob with things I need to take when I leave the house. I also remember hearing someone say that they put their car keys in the 'fridge so they wouldn't forget to take their lunch to work.

Just remembered: there's a yahoo group called "autistic daily living," you might try there, too.

Well, here are some things that I do:

- write notes to myself and put them around the house, in places where I am likely to notice them (this is not a foolproof method, but it does help somewhat). For instance, if I have perishable food items in the fridge that I don't usually keep on hand, I might put a note on the fridge to tell myself that they are there.

- make lists. You mentioned forgetting grocery lists. I have to have a list when I grocery shop because my mind goes blank the minutes i walk into a grocery store and I start getting sensory overload. One thing you can try is, keep some notepaper in your purse (or wallet) and have an ongoing grocery list where you write down something you need whenever you think of it, and then whenever you go to the grocery store you will have your list with you with things you need on it. Not perfect, but might help some.

- for appointments - if there is anything I have to do that's not part of my daily routine, I record it everywhere, at least three places usually. I keep a card in my wallet, I write it on a calendar, I write it on notes which I place around the house (in the bedroom, near the desk, in the bathroom) and I also enter it into my cell phone so that I will get a reminder (set it to vibrate). This works pretty well - I haven't missed an appointment in over a year.

- for bills - if you have a cell phone, put a reminder in it on a certain day telling yourself to pay the bill(s). You can set this up so that it recurs each month. But you have to set it to go off at a time when you know you will just be at home and able to pay the bills immediately, because if you don't do it right after you get the reminder, you will forget.

- for food - I, too, have the problem of forgetting to eat until I am very hungry. This is a major problem for me, because when I am very hungry, I can completely lose my ability to function AT ALL. Keep protein bars on hand at all times. Don't like protein bars? Well, learn to like them. And by "on hand" I mean keep them in various places around your house and in your car and in your purse whenever you go out anywhere. The purpose of this is not to live off of protein bars; rather, when you are overhungry, you eat the protein bar, and then you do whatever you need to do to feed yourself properly. The protein bar gives you the energy to make food-related decisions and take action.

- laundry - I don't have much of a problem with laundry, since I don't have much. Whenever I run out of clothes (once a week), I do a load of laundry and that's about it. Keep it simple! I just do a dark load and a light load every week and that's basically all my laundry. You can make notes to yourself to wash bedsheets and towels and things like that.


Yeah ... I hope some of this is helpful. Sorry it's so long!

The thing is, all of this requires implementing various strategies, and - as you know - it's possible to forget to do this (for instance, you forget to take a protein bar with you one day, you forget to write things on your grocery list beforehand, etc), but what you have to do is just write a note or do any of the above whenever you think of it, right away, before you forget. It won't work all the time, but for me at least, it does help.

Thank you! I'm thinking a really detailed list might help. Like a to-do list but with everything, maybe even broken down into steps.

I wish I had MS Office. I miss having Excel. That's been a bit of a stumbling block in the making of lists. I can't seem to figure out how to use iWork, I think it's missing way too many features, or else they are too hard to find.

http://tadalist.com/