Question about executive dysfunction

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Is executive dysfunction common with ASD's or only as part of co-morbid ADD/ADHD?

It is a characteristic of ASDs.

Uta Frith did research into it, and saw that in people with Aspergers and high functioning autism there was a disruption in the links between the part of the brain that does big picture processing and the part of the brain that looks at the details (top down versus bottom up).

If I understand correctly, the executive dysfunction is a large part of the need for strict routines. So if those routines are maintained, you might not notice it too much. So the reason someone with an ASD freaks out if their routine is interrupted, is that now they have no way of organizing themselves. While NTs might get frustrated with the rigid routines, it's actually an adaptive thing. It's that inability to look at something and figure out how to go about it.

Maggiedoll wrote:

I'm knee deep in that today. I have much that needs to be done and can't get focused. I take Strattera because I was diagnosed with ADD but while I find it helps keep me from being overwhelmed and then exhausted it doesn't help me with the planning process well enough.

This makes complete sense for me. For the last couple of years, I have had no routine and no way of knowing how to establish one, and I have become completely disorganised.

I don't suppose you know any tips on how to establish a routine for oneself?

I was a lot more routine-oriented when I was younger...and it helped me keep everything together.
Now, the environment I am is so messy and chaotic that I am trapped in a non-productive routine that is largely based on avoiding the huge mass of chaos that I need to contend with....and that is worthy of it's own thread that I have been meaning to start for the last couple of days.

Executive dysfuncton is a part of ADD and AS...to my understanding....and other PDDs as well.

It runs rampant where I live.

I have it...always have...pretty severely....when I was little it touched everything about my life...made school a nightmare....I couldn't organize anything to save my life...I could hardly dress myself...I was in high school before I could remotely dress like a normal person....getting the rudiments of hygiene down took a very long time for me as well....Attempting to do certain things was so overwhelming that I would immediately become exhausted....and often shut down...

My partner has it. He is a mess...and he does not exactly have AS...but he has many ADD traits and has admitted he is probably a PDD-NOSer...He relies upon everybody else to do stuff and has a flippant attitude towards most of the clutter and neglect.

Another friend of mine has it..it is arguable where he lies on the spectrum...he is bi-polar/schizoaffective/and NOT NT...i have had people describe him as appearing to be autistic but he has amazing powers of concentration....so DEF. not ADD.....and his executive dysfunction manifests as an extreme difficulty with manipulating small mechanical objects...and handling himself without bumping into things...and he easily breaks things...also he has hygiene issues....but he maintains an admirably tidy personal environment.

i live with an aspie friend. it's amazing how he knows every single detail about topics of interest and then he can't keep the daily details of life straight.

some say executive functioning concerns big picture vs. small details issues.

what causes one to be able to remember (photographic memory) every detail about something **disconnected** from one's own life (ie: facts, figures, etc) but not be able to keep one's own necessary details in order (ie: schedules, hygiene, house cleaning, bill paying, returning phone calls and emails, etc)?

I always assumed that the people who had routines were also able to establish them. My son and I both need a coach. What I'm trying to do now is just do something whether it fits in with a grand plan or not.

There's an adorable little videotape I found for my son when he was younger called Mouse and Mole. The artwork is very nice. They live in the countryside of England. There's one segment called Stuff which says it all. I have too much stuff and the more seems to stick to me the more I try to get rid of it. In other words, I am Mole.


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gChwbf0-cwM[/youtube]




this a few snippets of a number of segments

I am mole too.

Awhile ago I posted about my issues with cleaning, like getting distracted and not knowing how to get started. Somebody recommended the Flylady. My mom had been doing that for awhile, and I thought she was freaking insane! ...but it works. Specifically, it's mostly about cleaning, but is also good for establishing routines in general. It's a lot like cognitive behavioral therapy, except free. Kinda changing how you think about things.

Thanks- here's a link:

http://www.flylady.net/

I just joined. Now I'm going to go clean my sink.

Is FlyLady good for helping you organise your whole life, or just the housework aspect?

I don't know. I do know I function a lot better if somebody tells me what to do. I believe I'm suffocating under all this disorder and I have a better chance of doing something constructive if I'm not spending all my time wading through crap.

i have horrendous executive disfunction, but im shure it adds to my personality, otherwise im shure i'd be boring like normal boring, not that im already boring or anything

My executive dysfunction is beyond terrible. I have always been disorganised and messy and tidying my room takes alot longer than it should because I never know what to do next. It has been a pain in the backside althrough school, I am now in college and I've already given one homework in late and I've been there only a week or so. I might check out this flylady thing...