Smart but Scattered

The Revolutionary Executive Skills Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential

By: Peg Dawson EdD, Richard Guare PhD, Colin Guare MS BCBA

Narrated by: Jessica Geffen

All kids occasionally space out, get sidetracked, run out of time, or explode in frustration—but some do it much more often than others. If you have a “smart but scattered” child, take heart. This encouraging guide is grounded in research on the crucial brain-based skills that 4- to 13-year-olds need to get organized, stay focused, and control their impulses and emotions. The expert authors guide you to identify your child's executive strengths and weaknesses, boost skills that are lacking, fix everyday routines that don't work, and reduce everyone's stress. Including new research, new and updated vignettes, and "A Good Place to Start" suggestions for each skill, the revised and updated second edition features a new chapter on technology and a greatly expanded school chapter. Helpful practical tools can be downloaded and printed.

See also the authors' Smart but Scattered Teens, Smart but Scattered—and Stalled (with a focus on emerging adults), and The Smart but Scattered Guide to Success (with a focus on adults).

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2025 The Guilford Press (P)2026 The Guilford Press

Critic reviews

"I have read countless books on executive skills, but this one truly stands out. It has helped me both as an educator and parent. The authors clearly understand the challenges kids face and offer guidance without making parents feel like they’ve done something wrong. With such a wide range of approaches, there’s no doubt that every reader will discover something that works for them. This is a book I know I'll return to again and again when new challenges arise."—Stephanie O., Glen Gardner, New Jersey

"As both a teacher and parent, I am grateful that this book came my way! The real-life examples make the strategies easily applicable to the school and home scenarios that I see day in and day out. This book has helped me better understand my students' and my own children’s strengths and weaknesses, which allows me to adjust my support to their specific needs. I have lost count of the 'ah-ha' moments this book has given me. It is exciting to see children's academic and personal growth as I put what I’ve learned into practice!"—Beth Kuschel, Teacher, First Lutheran Church and School, Elkhorn, Wisconsin

"As a pediatric neuropsychologist, I have recommended Smart but Scattered to hundreds—if not thousands—of parents. I didn’t think it was possible to improve on a classic, but the authors have done just that! With deep insight and empathy, the book provides abundant ideas and activities to increase executive function skills. Information about technology—a distraction for most 'scattered' kids—is a wonderful addition to the second edition. I love this book."—Ellen Braaten, PhD, author of Bright Kids Who Can't Keep Up

I Needed Principles, Not Scripts

I really wanted to like this book because the topic is so important, but it just wasn’t the right fit for me.

The authors clearly put an incredible amount of thought into it, and I can see how the detailed strategies and step-by-step plans could be very helpful for some parents. However, I found the level of detail overwhelming. It felt like there was a specific plan for every possible scenario an ADHD child might encounter, and instead of feeling empowered, I felt bogged down.

What I was hoping for was more of a discussion about the common behavioral and executive functioning challenges that children with ADHD face, along with a broader framework for understanding and responding to those challenges. I would have appreciated guidance on why certain behaviors happen, general principles for handling them, and practical tips for supporting kids with executive functioning difficulties, rather than so many highly specific scripts and action plans.

If you enjoy comprehensive, detailed parenting manuals, this book may be exactly what you’re looking for. But if you’re hoping for a higher-level overview with flexible strategies that you can adapt to your own child, you may find it a bit too exhaustive.

Audio Book Not The Best

I'm listening to the audiobook and finding it difficult to get through. The narrator's voice isn't a great fit for me, and the content feels more drawn out than I expected. I was hoping for more direct, actionable information. The book itself may be stronger in print, where it would be easier to skim and absorb the key points, but the audiobook hasn't held my attention.