Nourishing the Body, Spirit and Mind

That's how Dr. Adele Diamond explains the importance of executive functions.

 

Attention, self-control, reasoning and other abilities can be collectively referred to as executive functions. Research has shown they play a large role in determining a person's success in school and in life.  Adele Diamond is one of the founders of the field of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, and one of the world's leading researchers on the development of executive functions.

On January 26, she will be giving a special Speakers Series presentation at Vancity Theatre, Nourishing the Body, Spirit and Mind. Ahead of her talk, the Dalai Lama Center spoke with Dr. Diamond about why these executive functions are so important in the development of children.

 

"Executive functions are core skills critical for success in school and in life, for cognitive, social, and psychological development, and for mental and physical health,"she says.

 

"They are more predictive of school readiness than IQ or entry-level reading or math. They are more predictive of final grades, even in university, than is IQ. They are critical for getting and keeping a job, and for making and keeping friends."

 

Dr. Diamond warns that if we ignore the importance of executive functions in our children, problems in school can quickly arise, such as poor grades due to difficulties with paying attention, being easily distracted or problems starting or finishing assignments.

 

For parents who would like to improve these executive functions in their children, Dr. Diamond says there are some simple solutions.

 

"If we want the best executive function performance and the best academic outcomes for our children, we need to nurture the whole child," she says. "We need our children to feel they have a supportive community they can count on, we need them to feel joyful, and we need their bodies to be strong and healthy."

 

"What nourishes the human spirit, it turns out, also appears to be best for executive functions."

 

Join Dr. Adele Diamond and the Dalai Lama Center on January 26 to hear more about how you can nourish the body, spirit and mind in both you and your children.

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