Smart but Scattered Adults: How to Work with Clients to Strengthen Executive Skills
Presenter(s)
Dr. Peg Dawson
May 4 & 11, 2024 from 9 am – Noon. Online via Zoom. Even highly motivated clients with ADHD struggle to follow through on the changes they need to make in their lives to improve their physical or emotional well-being. They know they need to change, they know what they need to do to change, they may even be able to take a step or two toward making those changes—and then they plateau or give up. What’s getting in the way is not their unwillingness or resistance to change, but weak executive skills. Executive skills are underlying brain processes that help people manage their everyday lives, get things done, control their emotions, and help them manage obstacles that interfere with productivity and behavior change. Experts on ADHD now recognize that deficits in executive functioning lie at the root of this disorder. The frontal lobes, where executive skills are managed, don’t reach full maturation in typical adults until the middle of the third decade of life; in individuals with ADHD, a developmental lag slows down the process still further. As a result, many adults with ADHD fail to finish college, hold down a job or progress in a career, and struggle to maintain satisfactory relationships with friends and family. Failure and the recognition that they are working well below their potential erode self-confidence, eat away at self-esteem, and may lead to other mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. This seminar, led by one of the authors of some of the most popular and well-regarded books on the topic, including The Smart but Scattered Guide to Success, will share cutting edge neuroscience on executive functioning and will provide practical strategies clinicians can use with ADHD clients to help them work around or overcome the obstacles presented by weak executive skills. Armed with the knowledge gained in this seminar, participants will be able to help their clients assess their own executive skill strengths and weaknesses and create
As a result of attending this seminar participants will be able to: Outline the key role executive skills play in understanding adults with ADHD. Compare and contrast assessment tools to determine clients’ profiles of executive skill strengths and weaknesses. Direct clients on the best way to restructure their environment to reduce the impact of weak executive skills. Build a realistic change plan that enables ADHD clients to improve executive skills in situations and settings they identify as problematic. Discuss effective strategies ADHD clients can use to cope with executive skill challenges in the workplace, the home and in relationships. Identify tools to enhance 12 executive skill domains.
Participants will receive a certificate of completion. Who should attend? Occupational Therapists, Psychologists, ADHD and Executive Coaches, Psychotherapists, Mental Health Professionals, Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, Case Managers, Vocational Counselors. Attendance results in better learning outcomes. Provision of a recording is only at the discretion of SAOT. NOTE – Recordings will not be provided except where a registrant has made a request in advance. Recordings will only be provided in the event of an extenuating circumstance – personal illness, personal injury or family emergency. When granted, a recording will be available for seven days.