"I thought the second edition was wonderful, but am blown away by the third edition. It contains systematic methods, case studies, and checklists for enhancing executive skills of children from early childhood through adolescence. The book emphasizes an essential multi-tiered continuum of prevention and supports for students with and without disabilities. Updated and expanded chapters on assessment, instruction, and intervention integrate how-to procedures with current research advances. Notable new chapters focus on children with autism and ADHD; several chapters written by teachers apply executive skill concepts to whole-school approaches. This is the most comprehensive and useful resource about executive skills available. It is indispensable as a text for university courses and a resource for education and mental health professionals.”—Patti L. Harrison, PhD, School Psychology Program (Emeritus), University of Alabama "Outstanding! An invaluable resource for school psychologists, with practical strategies that can be put into action today. This easy-to-read book delivers interventions for executive function difficulties in children—and even ideas for IEP goals. The third edition moves the field forward by focusing on giving students ownership of interventions and involving them in implementation. The clinician will appreciate being able to quickly find ideas for addressing common tasks that students struggle with, like writing a paper."—Julia L. Carrell, PhD, NCSP, school psychologist, Mead School District, Washington "This is an essential read for all educators, from the novice teacher to the seasoned veteran. Dawson and Guare provide a fresh lens through which to assess student performance, curriculum design, implementation, and interventions. The prior edition completely changed our conversations with students, parents, and other educators. We have a concrete, value-free common language to identify student strengths and weaknesses that we use to work toward a shared goal of success. The third edition details the process that elementary and secondary teachers are currently using to integrate research-based theory into their daily classroom routines. It includes examples (and resource materials!) showing how to build an executive functioning culture in your classroom and school."—Molly J. Flatley, MEd, Special Education Department Chair, Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia "This is a very welcome third edition of an excellent book that already has a proven track record in schools. Particularly welcome are the new chapters that provide inspiring examples of whole-school approaches as well as the clear guidance for team-based identification, assessment, and targeted support for individual children with underdeveloped executive skills. A 'must read."—Janet Muscutt, MEd, MSc, DEdPsych, CPsychol, FBPS, consultant educational psychologist, Manchester, United Kingdom; Secretary, International School Psychology Association "In the third edition of their widely acclaimed book, Dawson and Guare bring their substantial expertise to bear on the pressing question: 'What can we do to enhance executive skills in all students, and, in particular, to help students with self-regulatory difficulties?' The book reviews assessment strategies and offers a wealth of global and specific accommodations and direct interventions, including language appropriate for clinical reports and IEP and 504 Plans. It helpfully discusses when executive function is a primary problem, such as in children with ADHD, when it is a secondary concern to other disabilities, such as in children with autism spectrum disorder, and when it is a weakness but not a disability per se. The new chapters by teachers demonstrate how an everyday model of self-regulation can be incorporated into the classroom."—Peter K. Isquith, PhD, Senior Attending Psychologist, Boston Children’s Hospital; Instructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School "I appreciate the numerous tools in this volume, including strategies, informal assessments, case studies, and scenarios. Teacher candidates, practicing educators, and specialists could all benefit from the book's many well-illustrated ideas for assessment and intervention. I love the new discussion of designing student-centered interventions—we need more educators to hear about this approach and implement it!"—Erin K. Washburn, PhD, Department of Teaching, Learning, and Educational Leadership, Binghamton University, State University of New York "An excellent update to an already useful book that balances research on executive function with practical application. The third edition emphasizes the importance of students’ ownership in the development of their executive skills, and provides school/classroom practices to support students in K–12 general education classrooms as well as special populations. I recommend this book to all educators who desire a clear understanding of executive function's role in classroom instruction and intervention."—Kathleen Kryza, MA, educational consultant/coach and coauthor of Transformative Teaching "This book offers educators practical instructional suggestions for students who struggle with executive skills. The teaching practices go beyond basic planning, time management, and other skills typically associated with executive function—specific routines are presented for applying these skills to academic tasks such as taking notes and writing a paper, which is especially helpful for classroom teachers. In the third edition, the new chapter that provides suggestions for obtaining school services through 504 Plans or special education, including wording for IEPs, is particularly useful."—Joan Sedita, MEd, Founder, Keys to Literacy
Reviewer: Jay P. Goldsmith, MD (Tulane University School of Medicine)
Description: This 90-page paperback, written primarily for school psychologists and other educational professionals, describes the normal and abnormal development of high level cognitive functions called "executive skills." This is part of a series of practical interventions for older children and adolescents with emotional, behavioral, or school based functional problems.
Purpose: The purpose is to describe problems involving the achievement of executive skills of children and adolescents, notably the abnormalities seen in children with traumatic brain injuries and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These are worthy objectives since a significant number of our children suffer from these problems and are often managed pharmacologically by pediatricians, special education teachers, and parents without significant insight as to the roots of these abnormalities and potential nonpharmacologic interventions. This brief book, which is relatively easy to read and understand, meets these objectives even for lay people.
Audience: The book is written primarily for school psychologists and other educational professionals such as social workers, guidance counselors, and special educators. However, it is written in such a way as to appeal also to pediatric neurologists, general pediatricians, and child development specialists. Although it may be somewhat difficult reading, the educated parent with a child with ADHD might also find this book informative.
Features: It is divided into seven chapters that deal with defining and assessing executive skills in children. The third chapter links assessment to interventions and the final four chapters deal extensively with different types of nonpharmacologic interventions which may help these children. An excellent appendix includes interviews for parents, teachers, and students regarding the assessment of executive skills and different types of planning and checklist sheets that may be used as part of intervention strategies. The intervention chapters for individual children (rather than classroom-wide interventions) are particularly well written and may be extremely helpful to educators as well as parents.
Assessment: This is a short book with a strong message especially for those parents and educators who deal with children who have difficulties in achieving executive skills. It is clear, concise, and easy to understand. I am not aware of any comparable book that can be used as a practical guide for parents and educators and that approaches this entire problem without a reliance on pharmacology.
