Reaching their potential

Manny Everett
Times Contributor

 

Author and educator Dr. Peg Dawson made a presentation to parents at Sacred Heart Academy (SHA) and Holy Cross Collegiate on Jan. 28.
For the past 19 years she has been in private practice at the Center for Learning and Attention Disorders in Portsmouth, N.H. with Dr. Richard Guare.
She said the most fulfilling aspect of her work is spending time with kids and families.
“In the clinic setting I enjoy much more contact directly with kids and directly with parents,” she says. “I like the puzzle solving. Parents come in and say, ‘Help me figure out my kid.'”
Executive Skills, says Dawson, “refer us to the cognitive processes required to plan, organize, and execute activities. They are the frontal lobe functions that begin to emerge shortly after birth but take two full decades or longer to fully mature.”
Dawson went through the 11 skills in the order that they begin in the brain; response inhibition, working memory, emotional control, flexibility, sustained attention, task initiation, planning and prioritizing, organization, time management, goal-directed persistence and metacognition (problem solving, self-monitoring and self evaluation).
Dawson said youngsters who are disorganized or forgetful, who have difficulty managing their time, staying on task, controlling their feelings all have problems with executive skills.
Things like procrastination are said to peak at mid to late 20s. All of the skills talked about originate in the frontal lobe of the brain and it takes 25 years for that part of the brain to reach full maturation.
Kids who have these difficulties need assistance from their parents, caregivers and teachers to identify where they lag or lack in any of the skills listed.
Dawson stated that “parents need to be their children’s frontal lobes until they are developed.”
Three primary ways to help children include changing their environment to reduce the impact of weak executive skills, teaching those executive skills, and the use of incentives to get children to practice the skills that are harder for them.
“I always enjoy fellow parents coming together to share their stories, experiences and even giggling together,” said parent Candace Warder of the presentation. “I appreciate knowing I’m surrounded by other caring parents who have questions. I am thankful for SHA for bringing leading knowledgeable speakers in for parents. I am looking forward to reading Peg Dawson’s books.”
Dawson was the keynote speaker at the semester break and professional development day for the staff and teachers of the two schools. She was able to delve deeper into what executive skills means and what actions teachers could take to help their students be the best they could be.
“Peg Dawson presented us with great insights about executive functioning skills that affect the lives of all students across all ages and abilities,” said parent, teacher and chair of SHA parent council Darcee Evans. “She shared practical and everyday examples and gave recommendations that we could implement in our classroom the very next day.”
Dawson’s has written and co-authored many books on the subject including Smart but Scattered, and Smart but Scattered for Teens. For more information about Dawson and her work, visit her website (smartbutscatteredkids.com).