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10th out of 46 books
—
15 voters
Smart but Scattered: The Revolutionary "Executive Skills" Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential
There's nothing more frustrating than watching your bright, talented son or daughter struggle with everyday tasks like finishing homework, putting away toys, or following instructions at school. Your "smart but scattered" 4- to 13-year-old might also have trouble coping with disappointment or managing anger. Drs. Peg Dawson and Richard Guare have great news: there's a lot...more
Hardcover, 314 pages
Published
January 1st 2009
by The Guilford Press
(first published November 24th 2008)
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In Smart but Scattered, authors Peg Dawson, EdD, and Richard Guare, PhD, define executive skills, their development trajectory, methods for teaching them, and provide assessments for your children and yourself to see which skills are strengths and which are weaknesses. They bring over 30 years experience to the writing of this book and it shows on every page.
I liked the assessments, the skills definitions, and the routines for improving skills. Alsio of great use are the hints and tips on how to...more
I liked the assessments, the skills definitions, and the routines for improving skills. Alsio of great use are the hints and tips on how to...more
Some really good advice and strategies for helping kids deal with executive skill deficiencies. I copied a number of logs and charts to help me in my quest to organize my "smart but scattered" children. The problem with the book was that there was so much information on so many different issues that it often became overwhelming to try and sort everything out...especially when each of your kids' needs are different. There was a lot of "we will cover this more in Chapter X" and "please refer back...more
I would recommend this book for all parents. The scope is much broader than the title and blurb imply. The book covers ages 4-14 and covers many different situations, such as behavior during play dates, getting along with siblings, overcoming anxieties, getting dressed independently, time management for long-term projects, and many more. The strategies are not just for children with an attention deficit.
I already owned the Audible version of this book, but I purchased the softcover version too f...more
I already owned the Audible version of this book, but I purchased the softcover version too f...more
Got this book to help my son with his organizational skills. The best part of the book for me was that the author broke apart the executive functioning skills into deeper categories; time management, working memory, emotional control, these were just a few of them. There were checklists to determine which of the categories you (or your child) were weakest or strongest for you.
It seemed that my son had 3 categories that were the weakest: I plan on working on those more.
Some of the ideas and strat...more
It seemed that my son had 3 categories that were the weakest: I plan on working on those more.
Some of the ideas and strat...more
I initially thought this book would be helpful in parenting kids with ADHD but it is really an excellent resource for parents of typically developing children as well as those with deficits in their executive functioning skills. I really should buy it as a reference. After reading it I finally understood something our psychologist had tried to explain to me previously - that attention and emotional regulation are linked. You use the same part of the brain for each of these skills so when you wor...more
Feb 15, 2012
Jenny
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
parents of most kids, but especially those who are "scattered" or emotionally sensitive
I didn't actually finish reading through all the techniques and examples at the end of the book, but I did read most of them. I'm going to call this one finished and use it as a reference as I need to.
This book really opened my eyes about how to deal with my daughter, who is NOT ADHD. I realized that I had been setting unrealistic expectations for her. Unfortunately, we have similar weaknesses, which makes me a sometimes ineffective coach. However, even realizing that has helped us find coping a...more
This book really opened my eyes about how to deal with my daughter, who is NOT ADHD. I realized that I had been setting unrealistic expectations for her. Unfortunately, we have similar weaknesses, which makes me a sometimes ineffective coach. However, even realizing that has helped us find coping a...more
How is it that all the good parenting books have to point out all that dysfunctional with the parents first!!??!! After I fix all my executive function weakness maybe I can be a more perfect parent-bah hahaha. Actually it's pretty good, lots of examples and strategies, helps break down the different exec functions and how they help and hinder and how to strengthen the weak ones.
Lots of good information about the different types of executive skills and how to help kids strengthen and improve upon them. The book includes a few questionnaires to identify in which skills your child has weaknesses. An entire chapter is devoted to each executive skill, with sample strategies to help with common needs (procrastinating with homework or chores, having tantrums in response to changed plans, inability to keep bedroom clean, etc).
I haven't tried any of the strategies, so I have no...more
I haven't tried any of the strategies, so I have no...more
Nothing Revolutionary unless this is the first book you've ever read about how to help children with executive skills. Personally think that this book does a disservice to the deeper needs of a child that may be the cause of the scattered behavior. This book is focused on organizing a behavior modification plan.
I finally understand executive functioning, how it's different from ADHD, and how my kids and I each have different Ex.Func. strengths and weaknesses. It has great strategies on how to communicate and motivate kids with certain E.F. issues. I'm debating buying it as a perpetual reference guide.
Looks at school and life skills in a scientific way. Great tool for evaluating self in the executive skills strength and weaknesses. Honest examples of home and school situations and the connections between the two settings in relation to a child's executive skills strengths and weaknesses.
Excellent book that gives you concrete skills on how to help your child (or yourself) deal with ongoing organizational issues. Handy test at the beginning to help you figure out the specific areas in which your child needs help. A positive book with good hands on advice.
At what point do you take something off your "currently reading" list and mark it "read"? I finally decided to after not picking this up for over a year! My pediatrician highly recommended it, but it wasn't as helpful to me as I'd hoped.
I'm pretty organized and logical myself, but *I* felt scattered as I read this book. Don't get me wrong, it has a lot of great elements. I just think many of us parents with ADHD kids already feel pretty overwhelmed with the daily issues we have to deal with. A b...more
I'm pretty organized and logical myself, but *I* felt scattered as I read this book. Don't get me wrong, it has a lot of great elements. I just think many of us parents with ADHD kids already feel pretty overwhelmed with the daily issues we have to deal with. A b...more
Identifies what executive function deficits look like in a very realistic context, then provides very specific strategies for parents to use to build executive function in their children. Easy to follow.
Great book for every parent and teacher of a kid who marches to a different drummer. I related to the student vignettes and appreciate the common-sense approach to helping kids take responsibility and grow.
Crazy interesting. I read it in an effort to raise a perfect child, but spent most of the book obsessively analyzing myself and my shortcomings.
Jun 28, 2011
Chocoholic
is currently reading it
Hoping to add some skills to our tool box to help our daughter. I'll let you know how it turns out!
This is an accessibe and practical manual for parents dealing with ADHD. The quiz that helps you compare your own executive style to that of your child is especially informative as it gives you insight to the areas of most conflict and misunderstanding. There are concrete plans for shoring up skills in all areas, nice reproducibles and advice on seeking outside help when it's needed. I read a library copy, but will likely purchase one as a household reference.
interesting book for parents who are facing the challenge of raising a child with special needs.
The new buzzword/term in special education is "executive function." This book does a good job explaining it and how to deal with it with kids ages 0-12 years old.
Fairly common sense. Use lists to help kids stay organized.
Useful information, but more oriented towards younger kids, while I'm looking for strategies for a teen.
Very good. A bit lengthy in part but the information is all very very good.mwould recommend with any child who seems to have trouble with executive skills
This is a great book on helping children learn and develop life skills. The authors simply label 11 skills parent need to help their children develop and they provide strategies to help parents help their kids. In an age where every mis behavior is some kind of disorder, this book offers good insight into addressing these behaviors and correcting them. I would recomment this book to all parents or parents to be.
Excellent ideas for parents in helping kids with a variety of executive functioning skills. Suggestions and resources are sound and usable. Highly recommended
Lots of good strategies for helping kids with executive skills. Not easy, but good ideas!
My favorite parts were the clearly laid out plans for how to tackle certain behaviors. Very good book.
Excellent book with great ideas. Great for therapists, teachers and parents.
Very good descriptions of my daughter's behavior. A great explanation as to why she and I seem to clash so much (opposite strengths and weaknesses). Now the hard part: putting it into practice.
I stumbled across this and bought it after the descriptions fit my non-ADHD oldest son. It's clearly written with lots of examples. It also has specific strategies to try to help kids strengthen their executive skills. I haven't been applying the strategies long enough to know if they work, but I feel optimistic about it.
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Nov 30, 2012 08:30am