Larissa Samuelson

A child with ADHD, for example, often struggles more with some executive function processes, including response inhibition.

It's an umbrella term for a set of processes that help you basically regulate and control your behaviour appropriately in a context, says Larissa Samuelson, a psychologist who researches cognitive development and early word learning at the UK's University of East Anglia.

Executive function, which is still developing in young children, helps preschoolers and kindergartners with everyday tasks like sitting in circle time and listening to a book read aloud, Samuelson says.

Then, when they go outside for recess, it helps them abide by a whole different set of rules.