Peg Dawson

While I consider my organizational and executive functioning skills to be strong, I was interested to read this book for two reasons: 1) One can always improve, and 2) I was looking for ideas to implement for some in my family who could use help in these arenas.

Authors Peg Dawson and Richard Guare have penned several books in the "Smart but Scattered" series, and I believe that this is the first book focusing on adults. They offer an overview of 11 executive skills areas, with a quiz that will help the reader determine his/her strengths and weaknesses. Following the quiz is an in-depth look at strategies to manage and improve each of the 11 skills.

This book offers many solid, practical solutions for people who are ready to make improvements (like any other program, in order to work, the first step is that the person actually wants to change his/her behavior). To that end, this book not as helpful for parents looking to help their children improve executive function skills (to be fair, it doesn't claim to be). If that's what you seek, turn toward the authors' books written specifically for children and teen behavior.

4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Guilford Publications for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.… (more)

If you are a learning support teacher, parent, guidance counselor or otherwise associated with educational enterprises, and you are looking for a good book on executive skills--what they are and how they affect learning and behavior in the classroom, how to assess them in children and adolescents, and how to coach students who struggle with these essential cognitive skills--than this is a book well worth reading. Moreover, its generous menu of solutions and interventions for remedying weaknesses in executive skills are indispensable and therefore well worth trying out with your students or children.… (more)