Smart but Scattered

Take the time
and
fill out the
questionnaires
….BE
TRUTHFUL!!
Presentation based on
“Smart but Scattered”
by Peg Dawson &
Richard Guare

1. Complete Questionnaire
2. Introductions
3. Introduce Shannon & Matt
4. ADHD and Executive Function
5. Defining Executive Skills
6. Strategies

 Brain-based skills that are required in order for
humans to execute, or perform tasks.
 These skills develop gradually and at different
points of life.
 By high school, children must be able to function
with a reasonable degree of independence.
 According to research, the source of many
cognitive and behavioral difficulties is due to
deficits in executive skills.

 There is a consensus that ADHD/ADD is
fundamentally a disorder of executive skills.
 It is important to keep in mind that children
do vary in the development of Executive
Skills and that a lack of these skills don’t
necessarily qualify them for a diagnosis of
ADHD/ADD.

 The skills are organized:
Developmentally – the order in which they
develop.
Functionally – what they help the child to do.

Skill Definition Example
Response Inhibition Capacity to think before
you act.
Hitting or kicking
beyond a reasonable
age.
Working Memory Ability to hold info in
memory to perform
complex tasks.
Remembering
different
expectations of
teachers.
Emotional Control Ability to manage emotions
to achieve goals.
Managing anxiety
during a test.
Sustained Attention Capacity to maintain
attention in spite of
distractibility.
Cleaning their room
or 30 mins. of
sustained work
Task Initiation Ability to begin projects in
a timely fashion
A teen not waiting to
the last minute to get
a project done.
Planning/Prioritization Ability to create a
“roadmap” to reach a goal,
decide what is important to
focus on.
Plan a project based
on deadlines.

Skill Definition Example
Organization Ability to create a system
of keeping track of
information or materials.
Bringing home what they
need for homework.
Time Management Capacity to estimate how
much time one has and stay
within deadlines.
Understanding their weekly
schedule and expectations .
Goal-directed
Persistence
Capacity to have a goal,
follow through on its
completion.
A first grades can complete
an assignment in order to
go to recess.
Flexibility Ability to revise plans and
change them accordingly or
adapt to changing
conditions.
A child can learn to accept
an alternative restaurant
when their favorite is not
an option.
Metacognition Ability to stand back, self-
monitor and self-evaluate.
Self and peer editing an
essay or double check a
math problem or complete
chores to standard.

 Questionnaires to give you an idea of
executive skills strengths and weaknesses.

 When a child has an executive skills weakness, pay attention to
the child’s emotional and behavioral responses.
 Consider that if a child is avoiding a task, he/she might not be
able to do it.
 Think about the Executive Skills that the task requires and think
about whether the child possesses the skills.
 Is something in the environment making it difficult for the child
to complete the task? (distractions, lack of structure, etc.)
 If the child has previously been successful completing the task,
figure out what made the child succeed.

1. Teach/Coach, don’t assume
2. Consider the child’s developmental level
3. Children aren’t “scattered” on purpose
4. Modify tasks to match the child’s capacity to
exert effort
5. Use incentives
6. Provide just enough support for the child to be
successful
7. Keep supports and supervision in place until
child achieves success
8. Fade supervision and support gradually, never
abruptly

 Example: stealing,
texting and driving,
stop talking during an
assembly, can wait their
turn to talk to you, can
say no to a fun activity-
stick to your
commitments
 Delay gratification
 Use visual incentives
 Prepare your child in
advance
 Cue your child before the
enter a situation

 Examples: you remember you
have homework on the
weekend, know your
schedule, remembering
multi-step
 Make eye contact
 Keep external distractions
to a minimum
 Use written reminders
 Rehearse with the child
what you expect them to
remember
 Help the child think about
ways that can help them to
remember
 Consider using a reward

 Examples:
appropriate crying
 Regulate their
environment
 Prepare child by talking
about what they can
expect and what they can
do if they feel
overwhelmed
 Give them coping
strategies
 Read stories
 Work with a counselor or
therapist if child does not
seem to respond well to
any of these strategies

 Examples: facebook,
age +2, homework 15
mins per grade
 Provide supervision
 Make increasing attention
a gradual process
 Use visual depiction of
elapsed time
 Make the task interesting
into a challenge, game, or
contest
 Use incentive systems
 Offer praise for staying
on-task

 Examples: getting
started on task after
instructions
 Reinforce prompt
 Provide visual cues to
remind child to begin the
task
 Break overwhelming tasks
into smaller, more
manageable pieces
 Have child make a plan of
how or when the task will
get done
 Give child ownership over
the process

 Examples: fun vs.
responsibility
 Create plans for your
child when young
 Involve your child as
much as possible in the
planning process
 Use things the child
wants as a jumping-off
point for teaching
planning
 Prompt prioritizing by
asking your child what
needs to get done first

 Examples: lost
papers, library
books, keys
 Put a system in place
 Supervise child
 Involve your child as
much as possible
 You may need to
change your
expectations

 Examples: allotting
time for projects,
being late
 Maintain a predictable
daily routine in your
family
 Talk to children about
how long it takes to do
things
 Plan an activity for a
weekend vacation day
that involves several
steps
 Clocks, Clocks,
Everywhere

 Examples: changes in
schedules
 Walk children through
anxiety-producing
situations
 Use social stories to
address situations where
the child is predictably
inflexible
 Help your child come up
with a default strategy for
handling situations where
inflexibility causes the
most problems
 Give children choices

 Examples: resilience,
follow through
 Start very early, beginning
with very brief tasks
where the goal is within
sight
 Begin with goals that child
wants to work on or have
set for themselves
(building a Lego structure
or a puzzle)
 Give the child something
to look forward to
 Gradually build up time
needed to reach goals
 Remind child what he/she
is working towards

 Examples:
understanding how to
put the steps
together
 Provide specific praise
 Teach child how to
evaluate their own
performance
 Have child identify what
finished product looks like
 Teach a set of questions
children can ask
themselves when
confronted with problem
situations

Prioritization and Planning Tool
Executive Function Definitions and
Strategy Sheets
http://bit.ly/TgnEFj

Smart but Scattered

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked (9)

Similar to Smart but Scattered (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

Smart but Scattered