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 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. Helpful worksheets and forms can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. Small changes can add up to big improvements--this empowering book shows how. See also the authors' Smart but Scattered Teens and their self-help guide for adults. Plus, an academic planner for middle and high school students and related titles for professionals.
Teach some of the most important skills your students will ever need! Executive function skills—including self-regulation, focus, planning, and time-management—are essential to student success, but they must be taught and practiced. This unique guidebook provides a flexible seven-step model, incorporating UDL principles and the use of metacognition, for making executive-function training part of your classroom routine at any grade level. Features include: Descriptions of each skill and its impact on learning Examples of instructional steps to assist students as they set goals and work to achieve success. Strategies coded by competency and age/grade level Authentic snapshots and “think about” sections Templates for personalized goal-setting, data collection, and success plans Accompanying strategy cards
More than 100,000 school practitioners and teachers (K–12) have benefited from the step-by-step guidelines and practical tools in this influential go-to resource, now revised and expanded with six new chapters. The third edition presents effective ways to assess students' strengths and weaknesses, create supportive instructional environments, and promote specific skills, such as organization, time management, sustained attention, and emotional control. Strategies for individualized and classwide intervention are illustrated with vivid examples and sample scripts. In a large-size format for easy photocopying, the book includes 38 reproducible forms and handouts. Purchasers get access to a webpage where they can download and print the reproducible materials. New to This Edition *Chapter with guidance and caveats for developing individual education programs (IEPs), 504 Plans, and multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS). *Chapters on working with students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder. *Three guest-authored chapters describing exemplary schoolwide applications. *More student centered--provides a template for involving children in intervention decision making. *Fully updated with the latest developments in the field. This book is in The Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools Series, edited by Sandra M. Chafouleas.
With insight and humor, this motivating guide shows how to bring executive functions (EF) to the forefront in K–8 classrooms--without adopting a new curriculum or scripted program. Ideal for professional development, the book includes flexible, practical, research-based ideas for implementation in a variety of classroom contexts. It shares stories from dozens of expert teachers who are integrating explicit EF support across the school day. Provided is a clear approach for talking about EF barriers and strategies as part of instruction, and working as a class to problem-solve, explore, and apply the strategies that feel right for each student. Several reproducible tools can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. This book is in The Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools Series, edited by Sandra M. Chafouleas.
Flexible and Focused: Teaching Executive Function Skills to Individuals with Autism and Attention Disorders is a manual written for individuals who work with learners who struggle with executive function deficits. The manual takes the perspective that executive function skills can be improved through effective intervention, just like any other skills. This how-to manual provides practical strategies for teaching learners to be focused, organized, flexible, and able to effectively manage themselves. Ready-to-use lessons, data sheets, worksheets, and other tools for practitioners, educators, and parents are provided to help them tackle common problems associated with executive function deficits in learners of any diagnosis, ages 5 to adult. The principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA), which form the foundation of this manual, are translated into simple, easy-to-use procedures. Lessons for improving executive function skills in real-life everyday situations are provided in the following areas: Self-awareness Inhibition and impulse control Self-management Attention Organization Problem solving Time management Planning Working memory Emotional self-regulation Flexibility Provides an overview of what constitutes executive function skills Outlines how techniques based on applied behavior analysis can be used to teach skills Presents step-by-step lessons for practitioners, educators, and parents to implement with individuals with executive function deficits Includes data sheets, task analyses, worksheets, and visual aids
Set your child up for success with simple strategies to develop executive function in kids 4 to 12 Parenting a child who struggles with executive function—the skills that help us stay focused, manage our emotions, and plan ahead—can be a challenge, whether or not they have an official ADHD diagnosis. This book is filled with expert advice and actionable strategies that can help your smart but scattered child build the skills they need to thrive both at school and at home. Quick assessment tools—Better understand your child’s level of executive function and learn what motivates them, for stronger communication and connection. Expert advice—Learn how to build confidence and autonomy in your smart but scattered child with research-based guidance for helping them practice self-control, manage time, follow routines, beat procrastination, and more. Common sense explanations—Explore how executive function works in clear, simple language, and then apply what you learned through fun activities like using code words and making memory boards. Build better habits and routines in smart but scattered kids with this comprehensive parent’s guide to executive function.
Cognitive and Working Memory Training assembles an interdisciplinary group of distinguished authors--all experts in the field--who have been testing the efficacy of cognitive and working memory training using a combination of behavioral, neuroimaging, meta-analytic, and computational modelling methods. This edited volume is a defining resource on the practicality and utility of the field of cognitive training research in general, and working memory training in particular. Importantly, one focus of the book is on the notion of transfer--namely, the extent to which cognitive training--be it through music, video-game play, or working memory demanding interventions at school--generalizes to learning and performance measures that were decidedly not part of the training regimen. As most cognitive scientists (and perhaps many casual observers) recognize, the notions of cognitive training and transfer have been widely controversial for many reasons, including disagreement over the reliability of outcomes and consensus on methodological "best practices," and even the ecological validity of laboratory-based tests. This collection does not resolve these debates of course; but its contribution is to address them directly by creating an exchange in a single compendium among scientists who, in separate research publications, do not always reach the same conclusions. The book is organized around comprehensive overview chapters from different disciplinary perspectives--Cognitive Psychology (by Hicks and Engle), Neuroscience (by Kuchinsky and Haarmann), and Development (by Ling and Diamond)--that define major issues, terms, and themes in the field, with a pointed set of challenge questions to which other scientists respond in subsequent chapters. The goal of this volume is to educate. It is designed for students and researchers, and perhaps the armchair psychologist. Crucially, the contributors recognize that it is good for science to persistently confront our understanding of an area: Debate and alternative viewpoints, backed by theory, data, and inferences drawn from the evidence, is what advances scientific knowledge. This book probes established paradigms in cognitive training research, and the long-form of these chapters (not found in scientific journals) allows detailed exploration of the current state of the science. Such breadth intends to invite novel ways of thinking about the nature of cognitive and perceptual plasticity, which may enlighten either new efforts at training, new inferences about prior results, or both.
Accessible and practical, this book helps teachers incorporate executive function processes - such as planning, organizing, prioritizing, and self-checking - into the classroom curriculum. Chapters provide effective strategies for optimizing what Ka "12 students learn by improving how they learn. Noted authority Lynn Meltzer and her research associates present a wealth of easy-to-implement assessment tools, teaching techniques and activities, and planning aids. Featuring numerous whole-class ideas and suggestions, the book also covers the nuts and bolts of differentiating instruction for students with learning or attention difficulties. Case examples illustrate individualized teaching strategies and classroom accommodations. Fifteen reproducibles are included; the large-size format facilitates photocopying and day-to-day reference. This book will be invaluable to classroom teachers and special educators in grades K-12, teacher educators, school psychologists, and neuropsychologists.
A guide for helping students with weak Executive Function skills to learn efficiently and effectively Students with weak Executive Function skills need strong support and specific strategies to help them learn in an efficient manner, demonstrate what they know, and manage the daily demands of school. This book shows teachers how to do exactly that, while also managing the ebb and flow of their broader classroom needs. From the author of the bestselling parenting book Late, Lost, and Unprepared, comes a compilation of the most practical tools and strategies, designed to be equally useful for children with EF problems as well as all other students in the general education classroom. Rooted in solid research and classroom-tested experience, the book is organized to help teachers negotiate the very fluid challenges they face every day; educators will find strategies that improve their classroom "flow" and reduce the stress of struggling to teach students with EF weaknesses. Includes proven strategies for teachers who must address the needs of students with Executive Function deficits Contains information from noted experts Joyce Cooper-Kahn, a child psychologist and Margaret Foster, an educator and learning specialist Offers ways to extend learning and support strategies beyond the classroom The book's reproducible forms and handouts are available for free download This important book offers teachers specific strategies to help students with EF deficits learn in an efficient manner, demonstrate what they know, and manage the daily demands of school.
