Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents: A Practical Guide to Assessment and Intervention

Many tens of thousands of school practitioners and teachers (K–12) have benefited from the step-by-step guidelines and practical tools in this influential go-to resource, now revised and expanded with six new chapters. The third edition presents effective ways to assess students' strengths and weaknesses, create supportive instructional environments, and promote specific skills, such as organization, time management, sustained attention, and emotional control. Strategies for individualized and classwide intervention are illustrated with vivid examples and sample scripts. In a large-size format with lay-flat binding for easy photocopying, the book includes 35 reproducible forms and handouts. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials.

New to This Edition

• Chapter with guidance and caveats for developing Individual Education Programs (IEPs), 504 Plans, and multitiered systems of support (MTSS).
• Chapters on working with students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder.
• Three guest-authored chapters describing exemplary schoolwide applications.
• More student centered--provides a template for involving children in intervention decision making.
• Fully updated with the latest developments in the field.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables

• I. Basic Principles of Assessment and Intervention

1. Overview of Executive Skills
2. Assessing Executive Skills
3. Linking Assessment to Intervention
4. Providing a Continuum of Services to Address the Needs of Students with Weak Executive Skills
5. Interventions to Promote Executive Skills
• II. Interventions for Specific Problem Situations and Specific Executive Skills
6. Specific Teaching Routines to Promote Executive Skill Development
7. Interventions for Specific Executive Skills Domains
8. Strategies and Guidelines for Managing Executive Skills in Children with ADHD
9. Executive Skills in Autism, with Colin Guare
10. Coaching Students with Executive Skills Deficits
11. Planning for Transitions
• III. Whole-School Applications
12. Implementation and Accessibility of Executive Skills, Mara Berzins & Nicola Daykin
13. EFS 2 The Rescue Pedagogy, Laurie Faith
14. Building an Executive Functioning Culture in the Classroom: How a Small Group of Teachers Changed a School, Timothy McElroy

Appendix. Reproducible Forms

References

Index

"The book represents a welcome step forward in designing and implementing interventions and supports to promote executive function at home and in the classroom. Dawson and Guare integrate up-to-date theory with interventions that take a real-world, problem-solving approach to the full spectrum of executive difficulties, from inhibitory control and emotional regulation to initiation, working memory, planning, and organization. An essential 'how-to' manual."
- Peter K. Isquith, PhD, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Dartmouth Medical School

"As a school psychologist, I am always looking for resources that take the latest research and translate it into everyday practice. Dawson and Guare provide practical, specific, and easy-to-use guidelines for intervening with students at every tier of the RTI process. From assessment to intervention to progress monitoring, the book is packed with clear routines and tools to use in consulting with teachers, parents, and administrators. It also has a wealth of information about how to intervene with whole classes, small groups, and individual students. My copy of the first edition is well worn, and I can already tell the second edition will be as well, because of its practical and easily reproducible materials."
- Rebecca Branstetter, PhD, school psychologist, Oakland Unified School District, California

"This is a rich and practical resource for all those working with children, including educators, therapists, and psychologists. Dawson and Guare demystify the complex and often confusing construct of executive function, citing its neurological basis, but also providing practical insights about how executive dysfunction affects the lives of students of all ages and ability levels. Notably, Dawson and Guare address executive functions from a developmental perspective, acknowledging the dynamic interaction between brain development and the ever-changing societal demands placed on children. The second edition also addresses the issue of primary prevention of executive function problems. Readers will especially appreciate the case examples and recommendations for intervention in the classroom, home, and in therapeutic and coaching settings, as well as the many intervention guides provided in the appendices."
- E. Mark Mahone, PhD, ABPP, Director, Neuropsychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine