Both practical and sophisticated: A great resource

books:

	• Smart but Scattered: The Revolutionary "Executive Skills" Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential Peg Dawson EdD, Richard Guare Phd The Guilford Press, 2009 - 314 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Both practical and sophisticated: A great resource

I am a child/adolescent psychologist. This book is excellent in terms of helping you identify areas in need of support and providing practical ways to help support kids to be more successful at home and at school. I highly recommend it to parents, teachers, and psychologists. The content is particularly relevant for intermediate elementary grades, middle school, and high school students.

INVALUABLE resource

I bought this about 8 months ago to read for tips on how to help our teenage son, who has high functioning autism,ADD, and anxiety. It has become possibly the best book resource for helping us help him with organization at home and school. I just read a section to him yesterday as we were considering the possibility of increasing his medication--the checklist of questions provided in the book helped us to make our decision.

One thing the book talks about is how OUR own executive weaknesses can exacerbate our kids' struggles. Through reading this section I realized I have HUGE problem in estimating how long things take to accomplish, and how this has affected my life, in creating stress for me, and how this has impacted my being able to help my son, who also has this weakness.

I also appreciate the respectful tone the book has towards the struggles kids have. The authors do not focus on blame, but rather focus on dealing with the problems and solving them

Extremely practical, realistic and hopeful. Two words--BUY IT! You won't be disappointed.

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Smart but Scattered

As a Special Ed. teacher, I found this book to be very helpful. It is user friendly and has easy to use forms. I was originally looking for information as to how to get my students organized with homework and day to day tasks. This book had what I was looking for and some. I recommend it for teachers and parents as well.

marginally helpful

This book provides interesting background, though it excludes so many areas of psychology and neurophysiology. I do like very much the way executive function is broken into the specific areas of skill acquisition. And the real life examples provided to illustrate struggles are excellent. As both a clinician and a parent, I find the solutions offered completely unrealistic for all except the youngest children - maybe 8 and under. It is a very good attempt at tackling this emerging science in comprehensible terms for parents and professionals who work with children. My biggest criticism is on the section regarding organization. If that is your primary concern as a reader, look elsewhere. This section is not correct and very inadequate.

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better for proffesionals in this field

This book becomes interesting after reading moe than half. In the beginning, you feel that you are reading for a psychology class or an exam. I prefer books with concrete and direct suggestions on what to do in a speific situation.
In addition to the problems I already have, I get frustrated flipping back and forth to remind myslef what I read 2 chapters ago. Too much information for a non professional. Didn't have a chnace to implement anything because takes too long to read and the author discourages to implement any techniques beore finishing the book.

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reviews: page 1, 2

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? child might also have trouble coping with disappointment or managing anger. Drs. Peg Dawson and Richard Guare have great news: there?s a lot you can do to help. The latest research in child development shows that many kids who have the brain and heart to succeed lack or lag behind in crucial ?executive skills?--the fundamental habits of mind required for getting organized, staying focused, and controlling impulses and emotions. Learn easy-to-follow steps to identify your child?s strengths and weaknesses, use activities and techniques proven to boost specific skills, and problem-solve daily routines. Small changes can add up to big improvements--this empowering book shows how.

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