A video review on Executive Function

[GypsyMoth]

Hi All,

Just listened to a great youtube video from Paul Micallef, host of Autism from the Inside, on Executive Function. If interested, you can access his 14-minute video here:

I liked this video because I just had the same experience he was speaking about. I had made plans a week ago to visit a girlfriend this past Friday, but when Friday came, I was confused by this text she sent saying, 'hey, are you coming?' Ah, coming where? Several hours later she followed up, reminding me about what we had planned--and what I had missed. Did I feel like a schmuck!

So, in listening to this video, part of me was saying, well, that's nice for him, he should keep a calendar. And the other part of me was saying, you don't do a very good job keeping up on your own calendar yourself, do you?

(By the way, keeping one calendar in one spot is part of Paul's coping strategy...unlike mine which often needs updating via the various paper scraps that accumulate the detritus of details. These have a habit of piling up sometimes. I hadn't considered that this paper-scrap habit might not only be less than effective but also contribute to a mental drain.)

So I decided I couldn't very easily dismiss his connection between forgotten dates and autism very well, since this does happen to be a recurring theme with me.

As he notes, it's not just one specific area but a host of areas that add up to a person's ability to regulate their overall executive function. For me, that also looks like a home that, while usually neat, does have its tornadic zones.

How about you? Do you find you miss appointments or are needlessly late, or have you a way of organizing yourself that you've found helpful?

 

[Outdated]

I'm usually very good with keeping appointments, even to the point of waiting outside a place and not going in until the old fashioned regimented 7 minutes early.

I never kept a diary or a calendar in my life, I just seem to have some sort of internal clock.

 

[Aspychata]

This was helpful because l ran into someone who says sometimes things aren't remembered but the tie in to being tired made a lot of sense. I know l concentrate several times on my appointments now to make sure l am onboard. I have had my phone calender just vanish with appts so now l make a point to keep a running list in my head. I also try not to schedule things together or on Fridays or Mondays when traffic is at a crazy level. Due to sporadic insomnia, l prefer not scheduling things to early which will just be another disaster. So l do pay attention to how it's scheduled. If two high stress items are scheduled back to back, I will probably bounce one of the appointments a week ahead or just cancel. Because everything seems to piggyback in my life so l definitely changed that coincidence by no longer allowing that.

 

[GypsyMoth]

... If two high stress items are scheduled back to back, I will probably bounce one of the appointments a week ahead or just cancel. Because everything seems to piggyback in my life so l definitely changed that coincidence by no longer allowing that.

Re-arranging a schedule to accommodate coping with expected stress makes sense.

I do the same with the insomnia thing. Sometimes I mess up, though. I was so excited to go to my conference last week--which of course began early in the morning--I would have had to have gotten up around 6 to get there on time. Except, I didn't fall asleep until after 3. I can live on four hours, but 3? Live, maybe--drive, no.