Reliability and validity of the executive function and occupational routines scale (EFORTS).

Frisch et al. (2014) built a new rating scale called EFORTS. It asks parents how well kids aged 3 to 10 handle everyday tasks that need executive control.

The team checked if the scale hangs together and if its scores line up with the well-known BRIEF-P.

EFORTS showed good internal consistency and matched the BRIEF-P, so it appears to be a valid quick map of how EF problems show up at home and school.

Whiteside et al. (2022) later used the BRIEF-2 in children with developmental delay and found that parent-rated EF explained most of the variance in challenging behavior. Their work extends EFORTS by showing the same EF-to-behavior link holds in kids with ID, not just the general 3-10 group.

Myers et al. (2018) also extended the idea. They showed that two EFORTS-like parent scales, metacognition and behavior regulation, predicted adaptive skills and depression symptoms in both autistic and typical late-elementary kids.

Ko et al. (2024) looked at preschoolers with ASD and found EF deficits explained more than half of autism symptom variance. This tight EF-symptom fit in 4- to 6-year-olds lines up with EFORTS even though they used the BRIEF-P instead.

Poppes et al. (2010) tested older EF tools in adults with ID and saw floor effects with one battery. EFORTS can be viewed as a successor that avoids those floor problems by focusing on observable daily routines rather than abstract lab tasks.

You now have a short, free caregiver scale that flags EF trouble spots in real-life routines. Use EFORTS during intake to pick targets like packing a backpack or waiting in line, then track change after intervention without repeating long BRIEF forms.