Organizational Skills Training for Children with ADHD

Richard Gallagher, PhD, is Associate Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and of Psychiatry at New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Center. He is also Director of Special Projects at the Institute for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity and Behavior Disorders at the Child Study Center of Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital of New York at NYU Langone. Dr. Gallagher is a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist who has been treating and evaluating children since the 1980s. He is coauthor of Organizational Skills Training for Children with ADHD: An Empirically Supported Treatment (for mental health professionals) and The Organized Child: An Effective Program to Maximize Your Kid's Potential--in School and in Life (for parents). Dr. Gallagher codeveloped (with Howard B. Abikoff) the Organizational Skills Training Program and codirected the research that serves as the basis for both books.Howard B. Abikoff, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Center. Previously, he was the Pevaroff Cohn Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Professor of Psychiatry at NYU and Director of the Institute for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity and Behavior Disorders at the Child Study Center of Hassenfeld Children's Hospital of new York at NYU Langone. For more than 40 years, his work has centered on the development and evaluation of assessment measures and treatments for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Dr. Abikoff has published over 165 papers, chapters, and reviews, and serves on the editorial boards of numerous psychology and psychiatry journals. With Richard Gallagher, Dr. Abikoff coauthored the research manual on which this book is based, as well as the Children's Organizational Skills Scale.Elana G. Spira, PhD, is Clinical Assistant Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Child Study Center of Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital of New York at New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Center. She is coauthor of Organizational Skills Training for Children with ADHD: An Empirically Supported Treatment (for mental health professionals) and The Organized Child: An Effective Program to Maximize Your Kid's Potential--in School and in Life (for parents), and participated in developing and testing the Organizational Skills Training Program. Dr. Spira specializes in evidence-based assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with ADHD and behavior disorders, and currently sees patients through the NYU Child Study Center’s home- and school-based services in Westchester and Lower Rockland County, New York. She is Director of Research and Evaluation at Westchester Jewish Community Services, a leading social service agency in Westchester County, New York, and Adjunct Lecturer at the NYU Silver School of Social Work.

"If you're interested in helping kids with ADHD battle some of their biggest hurdles--planning, organization, and time management--this book is a 'must read.' This humane, evidence-based, structured yet flexible program is the best argument yet against the claim that there's no validated way to intervene directly with children with ADHD. The book sets a new standard for the field. It enables the clinician to provide essential help for children and families desperately in need of sound treatment."--Stephen P. Hinshaw, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley"It's here! Practitioners who work with children with ADHD have been eagerly awaiting the publication of this treatment manual by leading clinician-researchers. Demonstrated effective in rigorous research, this intervention is the first to comprehensively address the organizational difficulties that are common and impairing among children with ADHD. Well written, detailed, and thorough, this is a uniquely valuable contribution to the treatment literature."--Mary V. Solanto, PhD, Department of Pediatrics and Department of Psychiatry, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell"This book provides a complete manual for a new nonpharmacological intervention that guides parents and teachers to work together. Unlike almost every other method for addressing organizational problems in ADHD, this one has been tested in a strong study and the results have passed rigorous peer review. This approach is a gift to children with ADHD and their families from some of the world's top experts."--Benjamin B. Lahey, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago"A timely, important resource. This complete manual includes detailed session scripts and activities, dozens of helpful handouts and checklists that also can be accessed online, and clear guidelines for troubleshooting inevitable treatment challenges. Gallagher, Abikoff, and Spira are to be especially commended for their focus on giving children with ADHD the ongoing support needed to use newly acquired skills on their own."--George J. DuPaul, PhD, Department of Education and Human Services, Lehigh University"This wonderfully practical book focuses on the everyday organizational challenges that kids with ADHD face at home and in school. The authors provide step-by-step guidance for implementing a skills-training program that has been proven to make a real difference for children and families. This approach represents an important advance in the development of targeted interventions to help address key areas of functional impairment in ADHD."--Edmund Sonuga-Barke, PhD, School of Psychology, University of Southampton, United Kingdom"Commonly used ADHD treatments such as medication and parent management training have only a minimal impact on children's organizational skills. Based on a decade of high-quality research, this is the first evidence-based guide for treating organizational skills deficits in this population. Professionals learn how to implement the intervention in collaboration with children, parents, and teachers. Application of this approach will surely improve the lives of children with ADHD."--Jeffrey M. Halperin, PhD, Department of Psychology, Queens College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York-This is a well-done, well-researched, well-documented, and carefully detailed manualized approach….The plan presented has been empirically validated and clinicians can generalize many of the modules to non-ADHD children who may have similar weaknesses in any of these areas. Any graduate mental health program interested in programs for children with ADHD or OST deficits would certainly wish to include this book in their curriculum.--Child and Family Behavior Therapy, 10/1/2015

• I. Introduction to the Organizational Skills Training Program1. The Need for Organizational Skills Training for Children with ADHD2. The OST Program and Guidelines for Assessment3. A Guide to Teacher ContactsII. Session-By-Session GuidelinesSession 1. Introduction: Parent and Child OrientationSession 2. Introduction: Using Social Learning Strategies to Motivate Skills Building (for Parents Only)Session 3. Tracking Assignments: Implementing Behavior Management Procedures and Getting It All DownSession 4. Tracking Assignments: The Daily Assignment Record and the Assignment and Test CalendarSession 5. Managing Materials: Managing Papers for SchoolSession 6. Managing Materials: Review of Routines for Tracking Assignments and Managing PapersSession 7. Managing Materials: Introducing a Backpack ChecklistSession 8. Managing Materials: “Other Stuff†and Other BagsSession 9. Managing Materials: Getting Work Areas Ready to GoSession 10. Time Management: Understanding Time and CalendarsSession 11. Time Management: Time Tracking for HomeworkSession 11a (Optional). Time Management: Instruction in Telling Time and Calculating the Passage of TimeSession 12. Time Management: Time-Planning Conferences at Home and SchoolSession 13. Time Management: Time Planning for Longer-Term Assignments and Avoiding DistractionsSession 14. Time Management: Time Planning for Regular RoutinesSession 15. Task Planning: Introduction to Task PlanningSession 16. Task Planning: Next Steps--Managing Materials and TimeSession 17. Task Planning: Fitting the Steps into the ScheduleSession 18. Task Planning: Planning for Long-Term ProjectsSession 19. Task Planning: Checking It Out and Planning for GraduationSession 20. Program Summary: Personalized Commercial and GraduationIII. Forms and HandoutsTherapist FormsParent and Child HandoutsTeacher Forms