I think the caution is to be careful of treating EF skills like one thing.
Good point. Also: my hunch is some of these are easier to manage than others. Physical organization, for instance. There are many external ways to encourage this--most adults figure out systems that work for them, overall.
The one I related most to is "sustained attention." I've never figured out how to prevent myself from daydreaming and checking out when I'm not engaged. I've always marveled at folks who can listen and take notes on boring, repetitive materials. Not me...I go into my "happy place." Ha! Pretty sure my son is the same way...I've always said he has a "very active internal life."
I do think that this might be an "outside-in" process for people who struggle in many of these areas. i.e., developing and managing external structure might be the place to start flexing these muscles--maybe the skills are transferable?
Even my son, who is woefully weak in many of these areas, doesn't appear to have deficits in all of them. He also has a strong WM (for facts and information, not necessarily instructions), and doesn't usually have much difficulty managing emotions. However--I think he internalizes his emotions and that causes its own set of issues.
As for physical structure: I *know* I function a lot better in every single one of these areas if my surroundings are peaceful, uncluttered, and organized. And when all my ducks are in a row. Maintaining that level of structure is very difficult, though.
