Six Super Skills for Executive Functioning: Tools to Help Teens Improve Focus, Stay Organized, and Reach Their Goals

by Lara Honos-Webb PhD, Neil D. Brown LCSW (Foreword by)

Overview

6 SUPER SKILLS to help teens stay focused and reach their goals!

Do you sometimes have trouble paying attention in school? Do you lose track of time and deadlines? Do you often feel “scattered” or unorganized? You’re not alone. All teens need a little extra help staying focused—in school and in life. This is especially true if you have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, sensory processing disorders, a mood disorder, or have experienced traumatic brain injury. The good news is that there are skills you can learn to help you stay on track.

In this friendly guide, psychologist and ADHD expert Lara Honos-Webb offers six powerful “super skills” to help you pay attention, increase productivity, and get organized so you can achieve your goals and live your best life. These skills include:

• Focusing on the positive
• Goal setting
• Chunking: breaking big goals down into small manageable chunks
• Motivational enhancement
• Emotional regulation: dealing with “big” feelings
• Managing attention 

 

Once you learn and practice these skills, you’ll feel empowered to conquer any task—no matter how big. So, why not start learning them today?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684035335
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	10/01/2020
Series:	Instant Help Solutions Series
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	266,898
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Lara Honos-Webb, PhD, is a worldwide attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) expert, and offers ADHD coaching. She is a clinical psychologist, and author of The Gift of ADHD, The Gift of ADHD Activity Book, The Gift of Adult ADD, The ADHD Workbook for Teens, and Listening to Depression. She has also published more than twenty-five scholarly articles. Learn more about her work at www.addisagift.com.


Neil D. Brown, LCSW, is author of Ending The Parent-Teen Control Battle and host of the Healthy Family Connections Podcast. Brown is a therapist, speaker, trainer, and behavioral health consultant. Learn more about his work at www.neildbrown.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Goal Getting 9

Chapter 2 Finding Gifts 29

Chapter 3 Setting Goals 47

Chapter 4 Chunking 67

Chapter 5 Boosting Motivation 83

Chapter 6 Managing Mood 105

Chapter 7 Finding Focus 123

Chapter 8 Super Skills: The Mind Builder's Guide to Your Brain 141

References and Resources 153

Interviews

Honos-Webb resides in the Greater San Francisco Bay area.
 

Editorial Reviews

Another informative and inspiring book by Lara Honos-Webb. This book is full of action-oriented tools that guide teenagers to learn the skills they need to stay focused, set goals, manage stress, stop negative thinking habits, and ultimately chart a course of positive thinking. Lara writes with compassion, acceptance, and optimism—as she encourages teenagers to shift their mind-set, and move to a place of self-empowerment.”
—Robin Goldstein, PhD, instructor of child and adolescent psychology at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)

Robin Goldstein

As a person with ADHD, I wish I had this book as a teenager. Lara Honos-Webb combines real science and real talk to help us understand our minds and achieve our goals. Most importantly, this book provides a road map for self-discovery—helping teens tune into their gifts, identify their strengths, and build confidence along the way.”
—Margaux Joffe, founder of Kaleidoscope Society for women with ADHD, and corporate social responsibility leader

Margaux Joffe

Lara Honos-Webb has created a beautiful guide to self-mastery for youth who are struggling with executive function challenges that is accessible and straightforward . Backed by the latest research, it is chock- full of helpful tips to create positive shifts in mind-set that will empower any youth who practices these skills. This is definitely on my list of favorites to share with the neurodiverse kids I work with, and their parents.”
—Shawn V. Giammattei, PhD, professor of clinical psychology at Alliant International University, and founder and director of the Gender Health Training Institute and Quest Family Therapy

 

Shawn V. Giammattei

A great continuation of BRAIN HACKS. Lara Honos-Webb is the best specialist in executive functions for all inhabitants of the neurodiversity planet: neurotypicals and neurodivergents. In these times of ‘electronality,’ where virtuality re-signifies our life, we must relearn how to develop each mind into the gift that it must become. 6 Super Skills for Executive Functioning teaches us how.”
—Ernesto Reaño, psychologist, linguist, and author of The Return to the Village

Ernesto Reaño

While reading Lara Honos-Webb’s clear and encouraging guide, my thoughts turned to the many people who go through life never believing in their own competence. She wants each teen to know that their minds can practice and grow important skills they might believe are impossible. She offers not only hope, but reassurance that they can build self-discipline and discover its gift—the freedom to choose.”
—Margaret Robinson Rutherford, PhD, clinical psychologist, and author of Perfectly Hidden Depression

Margaret Robinson Rutherford

‘How can I envision, set, and achieve my goals in life?’ Lara Honos-Webb breaks down this question for teens and young adults in a simple, step-by-step manner that is easy to follow for any reader. This book teaches big dreamers how to think S.M.A.R.T, deal with life’s challenges, and achieve ambitions with grit.”
—Grace Friedman, advocate, speaker, founder of www.addyteen.com, and coauthor of Winning with ADHD

Grace Friedman

Lara Honos-Webb has done it again. With 6 Super Skills for Executive Functioning, she has created a road map for teens and their parents to improve executive function and motivation to change related maladaptive habits—and to do so in a positive (re)frame. Her deep knowledge and experience working successfully with teens who have executive function issues is demonstrated in each suggestion she offers.”
—Robin S. Rosenberg, PhD, ABPP, CEO and founder of Live in Their World; adjunct clinical faculty at University of California, San Francisco; and coauthor of Abnormal Psychology and Introducing Psychology

Robin S. Rosenberg

Teenagers need to be able to set and achieve goals, but their executive functioning often isn’t fully developed. Drawing on the latest neuroscience, Lara Honos-Webb provides a road map for mastering these skills—which will set up teens for success not only in high school, but throughout their lives.”
—Daniel H. Pink, author of When and Drive

Daniel H. Pink

Once again, Lara Honos-Webb has brilliantly put together an actionable and inspiring book for those with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)—this time written to teens. The ‘super skills’ she shares in this book, synthesized through years of her own clinical research, are transformative tools that will be a true gift to each reader who applies them. The book’s content is well researched and peppered with illustrative stories to make it an enjoyable and accessible read.”
—Mary Illions Wilde, MD, integrative pediatrician, and owner of Imagine Pediatrics Behavioral Health and Wellness

Mary Illions Wilde

A great continuation of BRAIN HACKS. Lara Honos-Webb is the best specialist in executive functions for all inhabitants of the neurodiversity planet: neurotypicals and neurodivergents. In these times of ‘electronality,’ where virtuality re-signifies our life, we must relearn how to develop each mind into the gift that it must become. 6 Super Skills for Executive Functioning teaches us how.”
—Ernesto Reaño, psychologist, linguist, and author of The Return to the Village

Ernesto Reaño

11/01/2020

Gr 9 Up—Executive functioning enables individuals to plan life goals and carry them to fruition. Clinical psychologist Honos-Webb provides a clear and stimulating guide for teens to sharpen their ability to control their thoughts and actions. The six super skills discussed in the text are finding gifts, setting goals, chunking, boosting motivation, managing moods, and finding focus. Each chapter is organized into small segments, which allows readers to easily digest the information. Honos-Webb uses research to explain the skills and then offers real-world examples of high school students applying these skills to their everyday lives. Each chapter stresses the importance of positive self-talk, using technology to help achieve goals, and using these tools instead of drugs or alcohol to alleviate stress; examples of how this can be done are also included. Readers are encouraged to keep a journal to document their feelings. In this respect, this title is similar to Mariam Gates's teen self-help yoga and meditation book, This Moment Is Your Life. Both guides show teens how to manage stress in healthy ways and ask readers to journal their progress. These super skills are relevant in today's off-center world. All teens can find helpful tips and advice within the pages of this work. VERDICT Honos-Webb weaves science and relatable examples into her narrative without talking down to her audience. The subject matter will appeal to both teens and adults. Recommended for public and high school libraries.—Jeni Tahaney, Summit H.S., Manfield, TX

School Library Journal

2020-09-01
A positive, affirming guide for teens on setting and achieving goals.

Executive function—the neurological ability to focus, plan, think flexibly, regulate emotions, and control impulses—is often a struggle for a rapidly maturing adolescent brain, especially for those with certain neurodivergent conditions such as anxiety, ADHD, and autism. The approach taken here is similar to that of many other self-help titles addressing organization, motivation, or effective study habits, with heavy emphases on list-making, journaling, inspirational case studies, and positive reframing. However, setting these “brain hacks” within the context of executive function and the titular superskills (finding gifts, setting goals, chunking, boosting motivation, managing mood, and finding focus) may help some readers connect. The text, addressed directly to readers, is upbeat and informal without being excessively chatty, weakened only by some dated pop-culture references and one unfortunate ableist slur. While peppered with affirming aphorisms, the text makes an effort to explain the underlying psychological mechanisms and the supporting research, which does lend some gravitas; but the relentless breezy cheerleading occasionally borders on the facile. The concluding bibliography is a list of works cited and consulted rather than pointers to additional helpful resources and organizations.

A solid addition to the genre; the angle of approach may spark some interest. (Nonfiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews