Executive Functioning In Adolescents: Article Analysis

The article “Dude, Where’s My Frontal Cortex?” by Robert Sapolsky talks about the delayed maturation of the frontal cortex in teenagers and how the underdeveloped frontal cortex is the cause of erratic behavior of teenagers. Sapolsky explains to the reader how the frontal cortex does not fully develop until the age of twenty for a person and how that part of the brain is important for extensive reasoning, impulse control, and emotional regulation. He shows the reader how particularly emotional situations affect both a teenager and an adult differently due to either having or not having a matured frontal cortex. This example that he uses allows for the reader to see how a teenager responds to situations with extreme thoughts and behavior which

Based on the assessments, the Developmental Assessment of Young Children (DAYC-2) and the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills Revised (ABLLS-R), administered by the ASIP team in August 2015, Robert’s results reveal deficits within all developmental domains (i.e. Cognition, Communication, Social-Emotional, Physical Development and Adaptive Behavior). Furthermore, the DAYC-2 revealed that Robert functioned at the age of 9-21 months on all developmental domains. The ABLLS-R’s results revealed

Researchers can look at the brain of a teen to examine their behavioral decisions.Teenage brains these years are more active and dynamic which means it’s still developing.Processing in the Limbic system is a result of risky behavior.The construction of a teenage thinking brain is not cable of fully processing necessary to make responsible decisions.At this stage the brain is still developing.The brain changes depending on interactions, helpimg the teen make changes. At this time the brain will need focused and support for a healthy connection.Surrounding impacts the child faces such as challenging situations is an effective technique.Parents need to consider the teens emotional

The author of the article states that there is no better time than now to review how we are raising teenagers for many reasons. First and foremost there have been many strides taken recently to understand how the adolescent brain develops, strengthening ones understanding, and in turn, shedding light on errors made in the way adolescents are being raised in relation to their neuro-development. This means that because scientists have learned substantial information about the brain recently, it is important to reevaluate how parents are raising teenagers now more than ever. Second, according to the article it is a good time to review how we are raising teenagers because children are becoming adolescents earlier based on their physical maturation increasing faster each year, therefore it is important to examine why this is occurring. Finally, the author states that there is no better time to review how we are raising teenagers because of the recent discovery that the brain is malleable during adolescence due to neuroplasticity, meaning that the brain is able to be transformed during this time period solely based on the environment in which these individuals are exposed to, as per the article (Steinberg, 2014).

This essay is going to list and compare adult and adolescent behaviour, characteristics and try to analyse how certain adolescent characteristics change into adulthood. It will look at what characteristics change and what don’t, look up the information to do with the question and rewrite the information without changing the meaning and make sure it will have the source links at the bottom of the essay. It will show images of the brain at different ages. It will show; development of the brain, consequences of adolescence for example drink driving, what is fMRI, sMRI, PET and EEG.

Fritscher. L. Physical & Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood. (2008). Retrieved July 6, 2014 from

Infants usually have a small birth weight; sensitivity to light, noise and touch; poor sucking; slow development; poor sleep-wake cycles; and increased chance of getting an ear infection. Toddlers have poor memory capability; hyperactivity; lack of fear; no sense of boundaries; and they have a need for excessive physical contact. Grade school-years have a short attention span; poor coordination; and difficulty with both fine and gross motor skills. Older children usually have trouble keeping up in school; low self-esteem; and lying, stealing, or antisocial behavior. Teenagers cannot distinguish between public and private behaviors; they have poor impulse control; must be reminded of concepts on a daily basis; and depression and anxiety. Adults need to deal with many daily obstacles; they need appropriate and affordable housing, transportation, employment, and money

Biederman (2004) studied the impact of executive functioning deficits on academic outcomes. His study also examined the prevalence of impairments in executive function with ADHD, and found that the majority of children with ADHD had executive functioning deficits. Deficits in executive functioning were defined as at least two impairments in executive functioning measures. His study found that participants with ADHD were more likely to have deficits in executive functioning in comparison to the participants who did not have ADHD. The research also concluded that children with both, ADHD and executive function deficits, performed worse on achievement scores and measures of school functioning in comparison to the children with just ADHD and their healthy counterparts (Biederman, et al., 2004). The findings discovered that children with ADHD and the deficit were more likely to repeat a grade, having a learning disorder, and a lower IQ by at 10 points than their peers with ADHD alone. Biederman’s research shines a light on the need for additional academic interventions for children with these

The methods of this research required a cross-sectional study. This was conducted among 200 children who were all between the ages of 4-7 years old. Participants were then divided into 4 groups based on age (group 1=4 year olds, group 2= 5 year olds, group 3= 6 year olds, group 4= 7 year olds). Participants of the study were all of Asian Indian origin, and all from the same socio-economic status. Asokan et al. (2014) used three experiments to assess three characteristics of participants (egocentrism, concept of cardinal numbers based on centration, and lack of conservation/reversibility). All participants were exposed to the three experiments and two interview questions. Asokan et al. (2014) describe

from the necessity to control one’s own thoughts and actions to carry out many everyday-life activities such as reading, driving, or even crossing the street. The development of executive control during childhood has attracted substantial scientific attention because the developmental dynamics of executive processes have the potential to shed new light on later regulatory process as well as academic achievement social competence and problem behaviors during childhood. (Chevalier, Huber, Wiebe, & Espy, 2013). In the developmental dynamics of executive processes when dealing with delay in achieving milestones can causes issues with academic’s, social skills, and behavior control within early and middle childhood stages.

For my second reflection, I am going to focus on Module 6 and “how would executive functioning deficits affect a student’s ability to acquire reading, writing, or math skills.” To begin, executive functioning, according to Virginia Nusca, refers to our ability to regulate our thoughts, behaviour, and emotion, including behavioural inhabitation (Nusca, Virginia). Behavioural inhibition is an executive function that allows us to attend to one thing inhibiting other sensory information or motor responses (Nusca, Virginia). This allows children to regulate attention and motor responses as well as their behaviour. Executive functioning deficits can greatly affect a student’s ability to read, write or mathematical skills. Many skills are affected including working memory and inner speech which can in turn affect the student’s reading, writing and mathematical skills (Hallahan et all, 179).

Starvation and a crushed umbilical cord resulted in Ben being born three months premature. Premature birth, associated with Attention Deficit Disorder, is a developmental risk factor and will impact Ben’s school experience (Yu, 2000). Increased stress levels will also delay Ben’s development of Piaget’s adaptation, assimilation and accommodation theory (Macey, Harmon, & Easterbrooks, 1987). Furthermore, a study showed children who were born premature experience difficulty with motor

Adolescence is the distinct transitional stage between childhood and adulthood in human development, extending primarily over the teenage years and terminating legally when the age of majority is reached (Rathus, 2014). However in some instances, this biological, cognitive, social and emotional maturity may not be reached until a later stage and may be dictated by gender. Adolescence is characterised by rapidly changing and unpredictable behaviour (Freud, as cited in Rathus 2014), heightened and unstable emotions (Hall, as cited in Rathus 2014), disturbances in identity, the gradual development of one’s moral reasoning (Kohlberg, as cited in Rathus, 2014) and the gradual establishment of one’s independence. Several of these changes may occur at differing phases in adolescent growth. This development is categorized into three separate stages; early adolescence, middle adolescence, and late adolescence. Early Adolescence, commencing from the ages of eleven or twelve until the age of fourteen, comprises of several features such as rapid biological development and maturity, heightened stress levels and limited coping capabilities. On the other hand, middle adolescence, from the approximate age of fourteen to sixteen, involves the gradual cease of biological change, an increase in coping strategies and declined stress levels. Furthermore, late adolescence, commencing from the age of sixteen until the age of eighteen or nineteen, encompasses physical maturity, whereby the

This aim was tested through two experiments. In Experiment One twenty 3-4 year olds, twenty 5 -6 year olds and twenty 9 – 10 year olds ranked their ten

Plusieurs indices négatifs majeurs se présentent suite à l’intégration du numérique dans la vie quotidienne de l’adolescent qui affectent plusieurs champs. Pour commencer, aux Etats-Unis dans les années 80 des larges études ont été réalisées sur des milliers des enfants, Comstock (1995) conclut clairement suite à une évaluation exhaustive de ces études : « le temps passé par les enfants et adolescents