Treating Adult ADHD: Help Smart but Scattered Clients Strengthen Executive Skills & Daily Functioning

Credit

Program Information

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

Speaker

Margaret Dawson, EdD, NCSP Related seminars and products

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Peg Dawson, EdD, NCSP, is a school psychologist and for over 20 years has worked at the Center for Learning and Attention Disorders in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where she specializes in the assessment of children and adults with learning and attention disorders. She is co-author of the best-selling books on executive dysfunction, Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents: 2nd Edition (Guilford, 2010), Smart but Scattered (Guilford, 2009) and Smart but Scattered Teens (Guilford, 2013).

Peg is a past editor of Communiqué, the newsletter of the National Association of School Psychologists, and has published numerous articles and book chapters on a variety of topics, including retention, ability grouping, reading disorders, attention disorders, the sleep problems of adolescents, the use of interviews in the assessment process and homework.

Peg has many years of organizational experience at the state, national and international levels and served in many capacities, including president of the New Hampshire Association of School Psychologists, the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) and the International School Psychology Association. She has also participated in many of NASP’s leadership initiatives, including the Futures Conference and development of both the second and third Blueprint for the Training and Practice of School Psychology. She is the 2006 recipient of NASP’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Peg received her doctorate in school/child clinical psychology from the University of Virginia.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Margaret (Peg) Dawson receives a speaking honorarium, book royalties, and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. Peg Dawson is a published author and receives royalties. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Margaret (Peg) Dawson has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Alternate Dates

Additional Info

Program Information

For live CE credit, you must watch the live webcast in its entirety at its scheduled time and complete the CE quiz and evaluation within one week. You will have access for 90 days after the program for review.

Please note: There will be a 70-minute lunch and two 15-minute breaks; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Lunch and break times will be announced by the speaker and at their discretion. A more detailed schedule is available upon request.

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Objectives

1. Outline the key role executive skills play in understanding adults with ADHD.
2. Compare and contrast assessment tools to determine clients’ profiles of executive skill strengths and weaknesses.
3. Recommend the best way for client’s to restructure their environment to reduce the impact of weak executive skills.
4. Design a realistic change plan that enables ADHD clients to improve executive skills in situations and settings they identify as problematic.
5. Discuss effective strategies ADHD clients can use to cope with executive skill challenges in the workplace, the home and in relationships.
6. Identify tools to enhance 12 executive skill domains.

Outline

Unlocking the Executive in the Adult Brain

• How the brain’s “control center” governs executive skills
• The impact of ADHD on frontal lobe functioning
• How effective behavior change revolves around executive skills

Must-Have Assessment Tools

• Executive skills questionnaire
• Workplace assessment tools
• Home management tools
• Rating scales

The Relationship Between Executive Skills and ADHD

• Executive skills profiles of ADHD adults
• Foundational ADHD skills vs advanced skills
• The impact of ADHD on behavior
• Effect of mismatched profiles on relationships
• When one partner has ADHD

Proven Strategies to Support Executive Skill Development and Behavior Change

• Environmental modifications to adapt new behaviors
• How to set realistic goals with clear action plans
• The ideal length of time for practice sessions
• Essential components for making lasting change
• Cognitive rehearsal strategies to overcome roadblocks
• Evidence-based strategies to avoid procrastination and increase focus

Putting Together an Effective Client-Centered Executive Skills Intervention Plan

• In the Workplace
  • 12 executive skills that impact productivity and behavior change
  • Make a SMART goal
  • Use a deadline
  • Make a plan
  • The importance of clear start dates
  • Technology to support behavior change
• In the Home
  • Logical ways to share the work load
  • Understand the start point
  • Start small, build incrementally
  • Practice, practice, practice
  • Use visible reminders
  • Motivators
• In Relationships
  • How different profiles signal tension points in relationships
  • Keys to resolve conflicts arising from executive skill differences
  • The liberal use of humor, patience, forgiveness, negotiation
  • Use self-talk to motivate, problem solve, and persist
  • The power of positivity

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Psychotherapists
• Therapists
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Speech-Language Pathologists
• Case Managers
• Nurses
• Occupational Therapists
• Occupational Therapy Assistants