Everyday executive function issues from the perspectives of autistic adolescents and their parents: Theoretical and empirical implications.
Lorcan Kenny, Anna Remington, Elizabeth Pellicano
PMID 38240286WHAT IT FOUND
Executive function struggles in autistic teens are highly context-dependent, driven by anxiety, motivation and instruction clarity rather than fixed deficits.
Teens and parents report that demands often outpace development, creating tension between the teen's need for autonomy and the parent's role in organising daily life.
Key findings
01Executive function performance varies significantly with context; high motivation can enable planning, while anxiety can freeze it, and unclear instructions can cause inertia.
02Participants described a 'serial' processing style where focusing on one task prevents multitasking or switching, which they view as a different way of organising rather than a deficit.
03As teens approach adulthood, external demands often outpace their developing executive skills, leading to tension between parents' protective organising and teens' desire for autonomy.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample was small (12 teens, 7 parents) and all participants were verbal and without intellectual disability, so findings do not apply to non-speaking individuals or those with higher support needs. The interview schedule was guided by existing models of executive function, which may have biased the questions toward those models and away from other relevant factors. Most participants were male (11 of 12 teens), limiting the generalisability to autistic females. The study did not include community members or autistic researchers in the design or interpretation, which may have affected the cultural and neurodiversity-affirming lens of the analysis.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The research was supported by an Economic and Social Research Council PhD studentship.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these themes as evidence that specific interventions work or that executive function deficits are purely motivational. This is a qualitative study describing lived experience, not a trial testing an outcome.