Reddit reviews Smart but Scattered: The Revolutionary "Executive Skills" Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential
We found 9 Reddit comments about Smart but Scattered: The Revolutionary "Executive Skills" Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Smart but Scattered The Revolutionary Executive Skills Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential
I don't have a lot of advice, but just wanted to pop in to recommend a book called Smart but Scattered, which gives you a very clear, methodical approach to supporting and scaffolding executive function skills in kids. I've found it a really useful insight into my son (and myself!). Good luck!
We have a 7 year old daughter who is very similar. We had this book recommended to us. https://www.amazon.com/Smart-but-Scattered-Revolutionary-Executive/dp/1593854455
Honestly, we haven't read it yet so I can't give you a first-hand review, but you literally used both of these words in your title, so it clearly has your son in mind...
Absolutely:
Living With Intensity: Understanding the Sensitivity, Excitability, and the Emotional Development of Gifted Children, Adolescents and Adults
Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students: Helping Kids Cope with Explosive Feelings
Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger's, Depression, and Other Disorders
If your daughter also exhibits anxiety symptoms (mine sure does, and it's often tied in to giftedness because their little heads can think of things they're not emotionally ready to handle) there's also:
Freeing Your Child from Anxiety
Helping Your Anxious Child: A Step-by-Step Guide for Parents
And for executive function deficits, there's:
Coaching Students with Executive Skills Deficits
Smart but Scattered: The Revolutionary "Executive Skills" Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential
How about The Explosive Child by Ross Greene? Focuses on the Collaborative Problem Solving approach (see also www.thinkkids.org), which views temper tantrums as a delay in the development of emotion regulation skills and works on building those skills. Jed Baker's No More Meltdowns is another great option with some similar ideas.
For general parenting -- including dealing with tantrums -- I love How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Faber and Mazlish. Dawson and Guare's Smart But Scattered helps with executive functioning skills-development of all types (emotional regulation is an executive function; others include things like organization and planning).
Oh, and I haven't made it all the way through it yet, but The Whole Brain Child has some good ideas on how to talk about distress tolerance with kids, e.g., "surfing the emotional waves."
Check out the book Smart But Scattered. It's directed towards those with ADHD, but focuses on the same executive function skills and really helps to assess which skills are affected most and offers practical suggestions on how to scaffold those weaknesses for greater success.
Unstuck and on target
https://www.amazon.com/Unstuck-Target-Executive-Curriculum-Flexibility/dp/1598572032
Smart but scattered
https://www.amazon.com/Smart-but-Scattered-Revolutionary-Executive/dp/1593854455
Flexible and focused (written by Adele Najowski, a behavior analyst)
https://www.amazon.com/Flexible-Focused-Individuals-Specialties-Behavioral/dp/0128098333
This is a copy paste of an email I've sent a couple of friends. My child has dyslexia and I found these resources useful. The Amazon links are not affiliate links or anything, just links to the books. The first two books were especially intersting and useful, and will apply even as an adult!
Dyslexic Advantage - by Brock and Fernette Eide
Overcoming Dyslexia - by Sally Shaywitz - the first part of the book is the most interesting - it's the science of dyslexia - the second is strategies for teaching/learning
Some other books:
I read them all - at least mostly - but I can't separate the info in my memory to remember which was best at what
Some good websites:
While this book is for parents with kids it has a lot of great info on exec skills and functioning, migh be helpful.
http://www.amazon.com/Smart-but-Scattered-Revolutionary-Executive/dp/1593854455/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420913265&sr=1-1&keywords=smart+but+scattered
There is this one too
http://www.amazon.com/Smart-but-Scattered-Teens-Executive/dp/1609182294/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y
So preferential seating (sitting them in the front) may help. There are two books I would recommend looking at. I think its good to look at a book on ADHD for kids because it will put it in language they can understand and it will put it in language you can explain to them. Which is helpful. The first is The Survival Guide for Kids with ADHD
If you have kids with executive functioning problems (constantly lose stuff, can't organize stuff, forget to turn in homework, etc), I'd suggest getting Smart but Scattered