| Description | Possible Signs or Symptoms of Dysfunction | |
| Goal | Identify goal or set goal. | Acts as if “future-blind” (Barkley, 2002), i.e. not working towards the future. |
| Plan | Develop steps towards goal, identify materials needed, set completion date. | – May start project without necessary materials – May not leave enough time to complete – May not make plans for the weekend with peers |
| Sequence | Arrange (and enact) steps in proper order spatially or temporally. | – May skip steps in multi-step task – May have difficulty relating story chronologically – May “jump the gun” socially |
| Prioritize | Establish ranking of needs or tasks. | – May waste time doing small project and fail to do big project – May have difficulty identifying what material to record in note-taking |
| Organize | Obtain and maintain necessary materials and aids to completing sequence and achieving goal. | – May lose important papers or possessions – May fail to turn in completed work – May create unrealistic schedule |
| Initiate | Begin or start task. | Difficulty getting started on tasks may appear as oppositional behavior |
| Inhibit | Stop oneself from responding to distractors. Delay gratification in service of more important, long-term goal. | – May appear distractible and/or impulsive – May pick smaller, immediate reward over larger, delayed reward |
| Pace | Establish and adjust work or production rate so that goal is met by specified completion time or date. | May run out of time |
| Shift | Move from one task to another smoothly and quickly. Respond to feedback by adjusting plan or steps. | May have difficulty making transitions and/or coping with unforeseen events |
| Self-Monitor | Assessing one’s performance and progress towards goal. | – Doesn’t check to insure that each step is completed – Doesn’t monitor pace to determine if goal will be met on time, – Doesn’t check work before submitting it |
| Emotional Control | Regulating and modulating responses to situations. | May exhibit inappropriate or over-reactive response to situations |
| Complete | Reaching the self-set or other-set goal. | May start tasks but not finish them |