Smart but Scattered Teens: The "Executive Skills" Program for Helping Teens Reach Their Potential

by Richard Guare, Peg Dawson, Colin Guare

"I told you, I'll do it later."
"I forgot to turn in the stupid application."
"Could you drive me to school? I missed the bus again."
"I can't walk the dog--I have too much homework!" If you're the parent of a "smart but scattered" teen, trying to help him or her grow into a self-sufficient, responsible adult may feel like a never-ending battle. Now you have an alternative to micromanaging, cajoling, or ineffective punishments. This positive guide provides a science-based program for promoting teens' independence by building their executive skills--the fundamental brain-based abilities needed to get organized, stay focused, and control impulses and emotions. Executive skills experts Drs. Richard Guare and Peg Dawson are joined by Colin Guare, a young adult who has successfully faced these issues himself. Learn step-by-step strategies to help your teen live up to his or her potential now and in the future--while making your relationship stronger. Helpful worksheets and forms can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

See also the authors' Smart but Scattered (with a focus on 4- to 13-year-olds) and their self-help guide for adults. Plus, Work-Smart Academic Write It Down, Get It Done, designed for middle and high school students to use in conjunction with coaching, and related titles for professionals.

Winner (Third Place)--American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award, Consumer Health Category

 

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Education, Adhd, Self Help, Psychology, Teaching

293 pages, Paperback

First published December 17, 2012

About the author

RICHARD GUARE, PH.D., (Rye, NH) is a neuropsychologist and the Director of the Center for Learning and Attention Disorders.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has become my bible for executive functioning coaching. It's readable and helpful, and I like that most of the questionnaires have a parent and student version. It's the perfect book for teachers and parents who want to help teens get themselves together. I appreciated the focus on neurological development and the reminder that while it's easy for us adults to look at teens in frustration and think, "Just freaking DO it already!", kids at this age literally don't have the brain capacity to complete EF tasks at our level. It was a humbling reminder to be patient and empathetic with my students. Kids do well when they can, and this book is an empowering resource for guiding them through what they're not able to do on their own.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read for parents of smart but scattered teens! Many helpful ideas were provided along with checklists parents can use. While many of the ideas seem obvious, the presentation and order of least to greatest parental involvement strategies are shared.

[Joyce Yattoni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and easy read about how to help teens who have executive functioning deficits.

[Kim Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second time I have tried to read this and I was only able to get 1/3 of the way through this book. I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. It was very slow and laborious for me to read. I already knew most of the information from my undergrad degree in psychology. I didn't really find any new ideas or help for dealing with my child's behavior. This book was recommended by a therapist for use with ADHD related behavior. I think it would be more helpful if I didn't already have a solid background in behavioral psychology.

[Tanja · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 *

It took me a long time to finish it but it hat to do nothing with the book it self.

Nothing revolutionary but very helpful.

[Michael Loveless · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to read Smart but Scattered Teens because I am a teacher whose students often have executive skills weaknesses. I thought this book would provide me with helpful strategies for the classroom. I was disappointed to find that the book is clearly aimed at parents, and many of the strategies described are not applicable to a classroom setting. I would however recommend the book to parents whose kids struggle with organization and follow-through. One of the best things about the book is that the authors have included a questionnaire in several of the chapters to help identify the specific deficits kids might have. I also thought the book had a lot of simple ideas that parents of "normal" kids could use to help them develop executive skills. There was also a helpful chapter at the end of the book about how a teacher might coach kids struggling with a lack of these skills. The authors have also written some related books to help smart and scattered grade school kids, how to coach kids to improve their academic achievement, and how kids can organize themselves. Although this book wasn't quite what I was looking for, it did give me a few ideas and point me in a helpful direction.

[Jostalady · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t have a teen, but I feel like I do. This applied nicely to my 12 year old! I listened to it and I feel I will make better use of this by downloading the assessments or getting my hands on a print copy. This is the first time I have heard the term executive function, but hello this is everything I have been trying to help my household do better! I am surrounded by people with a very different executive skills profile than me and I had no way to recognize what was happening, describe or explain it, let alone take steps to improve it. I needed this series!

[Amy Neftzger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very useful nonfiction book for anyone with teenagers who appear unmotivated. The book describes "executive skills" – which aren't skills that executives use, but rather a set of higher self management skills that are needed in order to be successful. What's so useful about this book is that it defines the different types of executive skills t help parents identify which ones their teens have or lack, and the book provides guidance to parents on how to assist teens in developing these skills. It's important to note that the authors encourage parents to assist teens but to also allow them room to fail because failure is one of life's best teachers.

[Mariah Dawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started this book over a year ago. I picked it up again to try to glean what I could out of it, but I can’t bring myself to finish it. I was looking for something like “here are some creative ideas and resources to use to help you in these areas.” But what this is is a lot of babble: what to say, how to say it, examples for the public schooled teen, etc. If you already live a relationship-focused lifestyle with your teen, the babble isn’t helpful.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was exactly what I needed! I feel like the author came into our home, observed us and wrote a book about us. It was a bit dry and repetitive in parts, but has given me some good resources to help our whole family.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trying to implement--

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an “easy read” - it flowed well in a conversational manner with useful feedback quotes from teens. Some of the approaches seemed like common sense (but it was still good to see them laid out), and other issues seem more surmountable after having read the “plans” to overcome. Definitely recommend for parents of teens whether you’re sure they’re having executive functioning issues or not!

[Maggie Swider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly one of the best parenting books I’ve read. Practical advice for helping teens with execution functioning skills.

[Mallory Kellogg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read. Easy to understand. Not sure if this will work on my son, but it did give me some tools to try.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as a teacher hoping for strategies I could use in my classroom. This book is geared more toward parents, but I have added their coaching book to my to-read list.

[Jennifer Sakash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive, with clear and applicable suggestions.

[Conor Schoeneberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smart But Scattered Teens is a constructive book that explains how to increase your teen’s executive skills (a set of skills people need in order to “execute” jobs and solve problems). This book assists you in identifying your child’s executive skills, then building upon them so that they may achieve success not only in middle or high school, but in college and future jobs.
The authors (Richard Guare, Peg Dawson, and Colin Guare) are unquestionably authors that know a large abundance of information about how the teenage brain develops, and how to effectively improve executive skills. Goodreads user Ali rated it four stars saying “Actually it's pretty good, lots of examples and strategies, helps break down the different exec functions and how they help and hinder and how to strengthen the weak ones.” Although the book is extremely informative, some people (including me), agree that the book gets too confusing at various parts. Xenos from Goodreads said “The problem with the book was that there was so much information on so many different issues that it often became overwhelming to try and sort everything out...especially when each of your kids' needs are different. There was a lot of "we will cover this more in Chapter X" and "please refer back to Chapter Y", which became rather frustrating and bogged me down.” As I stated earlier, the authors know a lot, but I believe they should do something such as make separate books for each executive skill so that the reader may better absorb a majority of the information.
Although this book does not contain a story or plot, there are still themes represented throughout it. Chapters 9-19 all represent a different theme, but one of the key themes, in my opinion, was organization. If you are unorganized, you can easily misplace many things, such as homework assignments, books, money, etc. You can tell that the authors believe organization is beneficial, and a very critical executive skill. “For most of us, the benefits of organizational ability are clear”... “it is important both for us and for our teens to learn some organizational strategies” (Guare, Dawson, Guare, 214).
“Sustained attention is the capacity to keep focusing on a situation in spite of distractions, fatigue,or boredom” (Guare, Dawson, Guare, 188). This is another key element to improving your executive skills. Without sustained attention, you might not finish reports on time (such as this one), remember simple or complicated tasks assigned to you, etc. In the book, the authors provide many examples of how important sustained attention is. “If your teen’s attention is weak, you will hear teacher complaints about the teen being off task and needing directions to be repeated. At home, you’ll see your teen jumping from one task to another, often failing to finish one before moving on to the second. The teen might also seem to look for distractions such as checking Facebook every few minutes or continuously texting and responding to texts. When driving, the teen might wander all over the road and seem unaware of braking distances” (Guare, Dawson, Guare, 188). As you can see, sustained attention is certainly one of the most essential executive skills to have.
I would assuredly recommend this book to any parent that finds their teenager constantly struggling in academics, because the skills you can learn from this book can not only be applied to school, but also to the teenager’s future.

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful

My kids seem to struggle with a lot of executive functioning weaknesses, so this was necessary for us. I liked how the authors seemed to realize that it's not possible just to let the kid flounder until he or she figures it out; most of the time, the kid will dig the heels in and keep floundering rather than admit that he or she doesn't know how to fix it. The tips are super practical and have proven really valuable in my interaction with my son. My daughter needs a lot more work, so we'll see how that goes.

[Crabbygirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

[guessing at the star rating / mining my old FB notes now that they are almost impossible to find]

ok, i didn't read this for pleasure - i needed some help with my scatterbrained 11 yo. and i found alot of good info here. there's a breakdown of 'executive skills' and a quiz for dif aged children and one even for the adults.

it's true you need to know your own strengths and weaknesses before you can help your children - where you can model it, where you'll need external help, and where your hot buttons are (skills you are great at and your child is missing almost entirely!) being aware of it is probably half the battle.

i've implemented some of the checklists and flowcharts they list throughout the book and they have been helpful.

so here's a few good tips:

* breakdown tasks like cleaning a room into many small steps - that way it's itemized and feels easier to manage. plus the child knows when the job is done. b/c cleaning your room can feel like such an open ended task.

* take a photo of hard to keep organized spots when they are clean and neat. post the photo nearby and when asking the child to tidy up, they can refer to the photo when dealing that area (i'm going to do that with the casette / books-on-tape / magazine shelf unit)

* before you complain of a behavior, actually quantify it: take note of how often & when. make a chart or a graph and present your evidence. make a plan to modofy the behaviour and then keep track again. you'll be able to see if the behavior is improving without bringing the bias of frustration into it.

* youngest now has a picture flowchart of his morning routine where he checks off the steps. i've stopped nagging hurry,hurry, and now say: "Where are you in your flowchart?" when he is lolly-gagging between tasks. each reminder is noted on the flowchart where it can be skewed toward a +ve or -ve consequence (my choice, decided in advance)

[Kristin Larson barlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this book to anyone with kids over age 12. I loved it. Mine is full of highlights, folded down pages, and notes. The book starts with a self assessment quiz for your child to take and for you to take. I did it for my child and for myself. My husband also did it for my child. Interestingly, we all had almost the exact same results. It was interesting to see that my son's honest assessment of himself matched how we were seeing him. This is just a jumping off point. This book helped me recognized that there were so many little things that I needed to do differently in order to get the results I desired. Most importantly I found there were some things I needed to change about myself in order to effectively teach my kids. I am not down about it, in fact I laughed through a number of pages as I realized that I teach my kids one thing while doing the exact opposite. The nice thing is that the book doesn't just help you recognize the needs but it really is a program that gives you help in implementing the solutions. If you have kids who are unorganized, late, messy, impulsive or who struggle with any of the life skills you desire them to have, this is a must read!!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has an excellent approach to helping teens learn executive functioning skills. It covers each of the skills separately, and lists a wide range of approaches to building each skill, with specific advice for parents on how to communicate with their teens and how to approach each problem. There were sections that didn't apply to my kids, and a few approaches I thought wouldn't be as successful as they suggested, but after trying a few solutions, I've been stunned at how well they work. Good stuff, if you have a kid who just can't seem to get things done.

[Linda Vituma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grāmata ar testiem un instrukcijām - praktiska. Par svarīgām iemaņām - "getting things done", jeb par prāta "executive skills". Ir vēlme attīstīt šīs iemaņas bērnos, kolēģos un... sevī. Klausoties situācijas, kurās tiek stāstīts par neatttīstītu iemaņu izpausmēm (manā gadījumā impulsu un emociju kontrole), smaids manā sejā bija skumjš, jo neattīstības iemaņas būtiski pazemina dzīves kvalitāti un mazina iespēju un prieku piedzīvot savu spēju un mērķu realizēšanos. Bet te ir plāns. Atliek tik sekot tam.

[Eugenia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book with very practical solutions for teenagers with executive skill issues. I should have read this about 5 years ago, not really relevant for me anymore--but it is really well put together. So many books of this nature are very vague when it comes to actual actions that a parent can take to help their child with these issues, but this one is not vague at all--complete with explanations and checklists and very specific ideas to solve the problems. Highly recommended for any parent whose child has this type of issue.

[AddyF · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a helpful book, written very clinically to help parents assess executive skills weaknesses and then take steps to help their teens grow in those areas. The most helpful section for me was the questionnaires that allowed me to assess my son's and my own executive skills weaknesses. Like a Myers-Briggs or enneagram evaluation, it gave me insight into how my son and I relate to each other and how our weaknesses may combine to create some of the friction we experience.

[Carlene Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of really good ideas but could do with a UK version. Very American as most examples related to driving and car ownership. Young people in the UK can't start driving till 17 and the cost of driving lessons and car ownership is beyond the reach of most young people. This did grate a little. Would make a good group study book for parents/ teenagers.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was helpful. It was written to parents about how to strengthen their teen's executive skills. I was reading it for myself so had to translate how I would implement the strategies presented to the parent. I skipped around a bit but feel slightly more knowledgeable about my own executive skills, and how to strengthen them.

[Djamila · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have any issues with your tween/tween being overwhelmed by school this book is a good place to start. Some of the quizzes where helpful and some of them were a waste of time. It did make Tim and I stop and think about what type of learner our kid was and how we can help him. But it's not a miracle and there are still lots of intense discussion about homework and organization .

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book and read it when my son was a teenager in high school struggling with organization, procrastination, deadlines, and the expectations of school. It is a good resource for parents and others who work with teens, as it helps to explain what executive functioning skills are, and how to help kids access and develop them.

[Scott Wozniak · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book for parents with teens who are behind on their planning/organizing/impulse control skills. It not only explained why they're struggling (and why just letting them struggle alone isn't going to help), but it gave very specific options for how to engage, and even had real teens responses to those options to get a flavor of how it works in real life.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The audio-book I listened to (from the library) did not include the download worksheets referenced throughout the book and I could not find them readily online. I felt like I missed some of the important points in the book without the benefit of the exercises and worksheets referenced. So I plan to pick up the book in order to get a complete understanding.