Common signs include losing track midtask, missing key steps, underestimating how long work will take, or getting stuck when switching from one task to another. Some people orbit around a task without starting; others jump in fast and hit avoidable mistakes. Communication can feel jumbled; it is hard to find the headline or order points. Email piles up. At home, bills or medicines are easy to forget without prompts. None of this is a moral failure. These patterns reflect a mismatch between demands and supports. Once tasks are broken into steps, time is visualized, and prompts are built into the day, momentum returns. Keep in mind, our services focus on the impact of executive functions on communication. Not all symptoms of executive function difficulty may fall within an S-LPs scope of practice – but many do.

Other signs adults experience, include:

– Difficulty paying attention when necessary
– Difficulty planning your schedule or your day
– Difficulty sequencing the steps required to complete a task
– Difficulty in finding a solution to a common problem
– Misplacing your belongings
– Disorganized or cluttered living environment
– Being chronically late or excessive procrastination
– Having trouble thinking of a different perspective, solution or side to a story
– Difficulty thinking about concepts that are not concrete
– Difficulty starting tasks and in transitions
– Difficulty with emotional outbursts and anger
– Difficulty executing a plan
– Difficulty in self-evaluating 
– Difficulty knowing what is ethically right or wrong
– Difficulty making decisions

For more information on executive functions or cognitive remediation for traumatic brain injury or concussions, see here. 
For more information on executive functions or cognitive remediation for adult ADHD, see here.