Problem: The student appears to do the first thing that comes to mind; has difficulty delaying gratification; appears to act without thinking.

Please review the list of possible explanations to the problem. Click on a possibility to learn about relevant observations and experiments to further determine the source of the problem. There are 4 categories: General Medical, Cognitive/Self-Regulatory, Behavioral, Social-Emotional

Click on "MORE" after any of these possible explanations to view suggestions for exploring that possible explanation.

General Medical Possibilities:

Medical Possibility #1: Medication side effect: Some students may think and act impulsively as a side effect of medication. MORE...

Medical Possibility #2: Chronic pain: Some students may think and act impulsively as a result of chronic pain. MORE...

Medical Possibility #3: Fatigue, hunger, general nutrition: Some students may think and act impulsively as a result of fatigue, hunger, or poor nutrition. MORE...

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Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibilities:

Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibility #1: Isolated deficit: Some students may think and act impulsively as a direct result of frontal lobe injury. (See Tutorial on Inhibition Impairment). MORE...

Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibility #2: Attentional impairment: Some students may think and act impulsively as a result of difficulty attending (See Tutorial on Attention). MORE...

Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibility #3: Weak orientation to task: Some students may think and act impulsively as a result of uncertainty regarding what is required of them. (See Tutorials on Language Comprehension; Organization.) MORE...

Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibility #4: General self-regulation impairment: Some students may think and act impulsively as a result of general difficulty with self-regulation. (See Tutorials on Self-Regulation, Self-Awareness, Organization, Planning, Inhibition, Initiation, Problem Solving.) MORE...

Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibility #5: Memory/retrieval impairment: Some students may think and act impulsively as a result of difficulty with memory/retrieval (See Tutorials on Retrieval; Word Retrieval) MORE...

Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibility #6: Organizational impairment: Some students may think and act impulsively as a result of organizational impairment. (See Tutorial on Organization.) MORE...

Cognitive/Self-Regulatory Possibility #7: Sensory integration impairment: Some students may think and act impulsively as result of sensory over-stimulation or sensory under-stimulation. MORE...

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Behavioral Possibilities:

Behavioral Possibility #1: Oppositionality: Some students may think and act impulsively as a result of oppositional behavior (See Tutorials on Oppositional Behavior; Behavior Management: Prevention Strategies) MORE...

Behavioral Possibility #2: Attention seeking: Some students may think and act impulsively as a way to seek adult and/or peer attention. (See Tutorials on Attention Seeking; Behavior Management: Prevention Strategies; Behavior Management: Contingency Management) MORE...

Behavioral Possibility #3: Task avoidance: Some students may think and act impulsively as a way to avoid specific tasks. (See Tutorials on Task Avoidance; Behavior Management: Prevention Strategies; Behavior Management: Contingency Management.) MORE...

Behavioral Possibility #4: Control: Some students may think and act impulsively as a way of exercising control. (See Tutorials on Control-Oriented Behavior; Behavior Management: Prevention Strategies; Behavior Management: Contingency Management.) MORE...

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Social-Emotional Possibilities

Social-Emotional Possibility #1: Anxiety: Some students may think and act impulsively as a result of anxiety. (See Tutorial on Anxiety.) MORE...

Social-Emotional Possibility #2: Frustration: Some students may think and act impulsively as a result of feeling frustrated. (See Tutorial on Frustration.) MORE...

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