I´m an aspie, and I read several times that the main disfunction in Asperger´s is in “executive functions”, but I never understand what that means. I know it is related to memery, planning, etc., but I don´t get what is the thing that unify all that things and makes them get in one single “class”.
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Executive function is the ability to control, direct, suppress, or focus your thoughts and behaviors.
For example, suppose that you are having a lovely time sitting on your couch, but you have something you need to do in the next hour. Executive function allows you to say “okay, I don’t want to sit on this couch, but I will decide to get off the couch and do the thing so that I don’t have a more unpleasant experience later”. Or you’re getting a shot at the doctor’s: you know that the shot is not dangerous, but your instincts do not, and you have to suppress the behavioral urge to recoil from the shot.
A more specifically autistic example would be “there is a tag on my shirt scratching at my back, but I want to focus on this other thing that is important right now”. A non-autistic person has no trouble filtering out that sensation and directing their attention to the task, while many autistic people will find the mild sensation very distracting.
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