I'm reading Smart But Scattered by Dawson and Guere. Iggy's definitely got deficits in executive skills. He has an incredibly hard time following multi-step instructions in order. Being as close as I am to him all day, I see how hard his brain is trying to process, how hard he really is trying, but how the concept of doing A and then B and then C gets incredibly muddled in his head. And forget a multi-step task if there's also a transition or any sort of hurry-up pressure involved! That poor kid's brain just shuts down! I think he'll grow out of this, or at least develop coping skills that work in the long term.
He certainly works very hard at it now. He's helpful, observant, tries to remember "what comes next", but his brain just isn't there yet. He can be so mature, so smart, and so polite that it can sometimes really sneak up on me that his short term memory and executive skills need a lot more time to catch up to the rest of him. It was nice to read in Smart but Scattered that I am doing everything right - giving him enough support so that he doesn't entirely fail, while expecting him to really put forth the effort to at least try new skills.
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One of the lawyers I worked with had executive skills difficulty. He's pretty successful and has found good coping skills, so helping Iggy to develop his own is definitely a great thing to do!
ReplyDeleteI just read chapter 7 of The Myth of Laziness this morning, which discusses organization dysfunctions and difficulty multiple step processes. Maybe take a look at that? I really like how simple his suggestions are in general, and there are sections on complex task management and how to tackle a problem with multiple steps.
ReplyDeleteWow--smart but scattered--I definitely have one of those, too (Milo). He has tons of trouble with multi-step math problems, especially (in Singapore he's adding 2 digit numbers, so the way they teach it he's supposed to add the tens first and then the ones; he nearly always gets distracted somewhere in there and has to start over). I should check that out.
ReplyDeleteG - it's an easy read. I got it at the library.
ReplyDeleteJust slowing things down, taking them in chunks (or rethinking them in list form) seems to really help.
W - You know I love that book. And we do a lot of the things he suggests. Iggy has routines, places to put things, gentle reminders from me, and for some things - I made PECS cards and they serve as lists he can use. The PECS cards were helpful in teaching him how, and in what order, to get dressed/leave the house/bathroom etiquette, etc.
I think the most helpful thing for Iggy is making sure there's enough time for him to figure out what comes next. We don't do a lot of rushing out the door. A lot of the organizational coping will come to him because things are so focused on him and his needs and he doesn't have a million things and a million transitions in a day just sort of thrown at him.