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71 reviews for:
Smart But Scattered: The Revolutionary "executive Skills" Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential
Richard Guare, Peg Dawson
3.91 AVERAGE
71 reviews for:
Smart But Scattered: The Revolutionary "executive Skills" Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential
Richard Guare, Peg Dawson
3.91 AVERAGE
This book will give me a good foundation for conversations with parents of children that have ADHD or similar tendencies that make for a challenge in the classroom. Lots of good strategies!
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
informative
Parenting is a project, and you're just not given all the skills you need to do the job. Complicating that? The fact that as those kids get older, they start needing help developing some particularly sophisticated (executive) skills. What's worse? We're not all rocking five-star perfection ourselves in the executive skills department as adults. Also: it's really (REALLY) hard to know sometimes just how well-developed these skills should be at any given time, or how to help coach them to have those skills.
And while I wouldn't go so far as to say that this book changed all of that overnight for me and my kids... It has certainly given me an overflowing toolbox. In the three or so weeks it has taken me to read it, it has helped a lot. It pointed out some new strategies for how to talk to my kids, how to coach them through the moments when they're acting inappropriately, how to rehearse moments to prepare for them (never would have thought of that on my own!), and also when to (as the parent) chill out because a seven year old just isn't going to have that skill I'm apparently expecting.
Oh, and it's helped me see a few of my own short-comings, and how I can work on those skills with my kids.
Cannot recommend enough. I may need to buy a copy.
And while I wouldn't go so far as to say that this book changed all of that overnight for me and my kids... It has certainly given me an overflowing toolbox. In the three or so weeks it has taken me to read it, it has helped a lot. It pointed out some new strategies for how to talk to my kids, how to coach them through the moments when they're acting inappropriately, how to rehearse moments to prepare for them (never would have thought of that on my own!), and also when to (as the parent) chill out because a seven year old just isn't going to have that skill I'm apparently expecting.
Oh, and it's helped me see a few of my own short-comings, and how I can work on those skills with my kids.
Cannot recommend enough. I may need to buy a copy.
OUTSTANDING resource for parents and teachers. I’ve flagged and highlighted this entire book.
While I was definitely not looking for a quick fix (and still am not), this book was impractical for busy parents to fully implement. It had some good ideas and discussion points, but so many of the ideas and plans were not sustainable. And we ended up with a junior high student who had no better executive skills than before, and a dear sweet ADHD girl who is having better luck with Montessori than she did with immersion.
3.5 stars. The first 2/3 were mostly obvious to anyone who has done much research on executive skills. The last 1/3 had good, specific plans and strategies to address specific executive skill weaknesses. The examples were helpful and diverse. I think this book really needs an update, because much of the technology referenced is outdated. A revision that includes ways to use technology for assisting with these skills would be welcome.
Identifies and discusses ways to help kids improve executive skills, like organization. A lot feels like common sense...but only after you read it. You get those lightbulb moments, and ask, "Why didn't I think of that before?!"
It has a lot of information to sift through, and took me some time to wade through, so take what helps and leave what's excess. Good for reference.
It has a lot of information to sift through, and took me some time to wade through, so take what helps and leave what's excess. Good for reference.
medium-paced
A useful book for parents and providers. This is an older book published in 2009 and it would be lovely to have an updated edition.
I've had this book for months, and although I was mostly done with it, I kept hanging on to it in hopes of using some of the more specific and practical strategies. It's probably a book that's better to own than to borrow since it will likely act as more of a reference book for parents of kids with ADHD and executive function issues.
Mainly, I appreciate the way it breaks specific executive skills down into manageable pieces. This is especially helpful if your child struggles in areas where you don't and where you might need to unpack what is common sense to you for someone whose brain is not similarly wired.
Mainly, I appreciate the way it breaks specific executive skills down into manageable pieces. This is especially helpful if your child struggles in areas where you don't and where you might need to unpack what is common sense to you for someone whose brain is not similarly wired.