Smart but Scattered--and Stalled

Richard Guare, PhD, BCBA-D, is a neuropsychologist and board-certified behavior analyst who frequently consults to schools and agencies on attention and executive skills difficulties. He is former Director of the Center for Learning and Attention Disorders at Seacoast Mental Health Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Dr. Guare is coauthor of bestselling books for general readers, including Smart but Scattered, Smart but Scattered Teens, Smart but Scattered--and Stalled (with a focus on emerging adults), and The Smart but Scattered Guide to Success (with a focus on adults). He is also coauthor of The Work-Smart Academic Planner, Revised Edition, and books for professionals including Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents, Third Edition. Colin Guare, BCBA, LBA, is a Rhode Island-based behavior analyst and executive skills coach. He has worked with children, adolescents, and young adults since 2008 in clinical, home, and school settings, and consults for organizations and state agencies on employment coaching programs. Peg Dawson, EdD, is a psychologist who provides professional development training on executive skills for schools and organizations nationally and internationally. She was previously on the staff of the Center for Learning and Attention Disorders at Seacoast Mental Health Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Dr. Dawson is a past president of the New Hampshire Association of School Psychologists, the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), and the International School Psychology Association, and a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from NASP. She is coauthor of bestselling books for general readers, including Smart but Scattered, Smart but Scattered Teens, Smart but Scattered--and Stalled (with a focus on emerging adults), and The Smart but Scattered Guide to Success (with a focus on adults). Dr. Dawson is also coauthor of The Work-Smart Academic Planner, Revised Edition, and books for professionals including Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents, Third Edition.

Prologue: How I Got Stalled
Introduction: The Stepping Stones to Independence
Step 1. Assess the Young Adult’s Skills for Independence: The Executive in the Brain
Step 2. Build a Foundation for Moving Forward: Motivation, Readiness, Respect, and Support
Step 3. Identify a Realistic Direction: The Young Adult’s Interests and Aptitudes
Step 4. Plan How to Help--and Where Not To: Parents’ Executive Skills and Respect for Boundaries
Step 5. Set a Goal: Pull Everything Together and Evaluate Goodness of Fit
Step 6. Make It Official: Use SMART Goals to Plan the Steps and Evaluate Progress
Step 7. Make It Easier: Anticipate Problems and Intervene to Get Things Done
Step 8. Get Creative to Tackle Specific Weaknesses
Step 9. Seek Extra Help If You’re Still Stalled
Step 10. Learn from Your Success
Epilogue
Appendix: Getting Help with Independent Living
Resources