Executive function, the overlap zone between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disabilities

Many children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have features of executive dysfunction. These include difficulty with the planning and sequencing of complex behaviors, the ability to pay attention to several components at once, the capacity for grasping the gist of a complex situation, the resistance to distraction and interference, the inhibition of inappropriate response tendencies and the ability to sustain behavioral output for relatively prolonged periods. These functions are heavily dependent on the integrity of the frontal lobes and their subcortical connections. Children with executive dysfunction have problems planning organizing and managing time and space. There is considerable overlap with the psychiatrically defined syndrome of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and it is likely that the deficits within the executive function domain account for the academic failure in ADHD children.