sparkmygenius.com

• 30Aug

  Adult Brain Training Software Makes the New York Times

  ADHD, ADD, neuroplasticity 1 Comment

  The New York Times noted that with companies making millions of dollars on brain-building digital toys like Baby Einstein, it was inevitable that “Grandpa Einstein” software was next.

  “Calisthenics for the Older Mind, on the Home Computer” goes on to explain several new brain fitness programs aimed at aging consumers.

  Article here.

  How effective are these programs? The Times quotes Timothy Salthouse, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia: “The scientific evidence for those commercial products is still very weak. Manufacturers and companies have jumped into this without doing the research to prove that their products enhance cognitive function or delay mental decline.”

  I agree that many companies are jumping on the brain training bandwagon before thoroughly researching the success of their programs, but there is scientific research on the effectiveness of computerized cognitive training (click here).

  Even Dr. Salthouse agrees that you can teach an old brain new tricks and that “recent research in neuroplasticity — the brain’s ability to change in response to information and new activities — shows that brain cells and neural pathways continue to develop throughout life.”

  At Sparks of Genius (www.sparksofgenius.com) adults work with a Personal Trainer and a combination of software programs to improve memory, processing speed, listening and executive function skills. In addition, we identify, ignite and nurture the many ways they are smart – their sparks of genius.

  Research shows that mentally stimulating activities – novel and complex stimuli- are health-promoting for the brain.
  Unfortunately, translating this research into specific mental workouts to postpone cognitive decline may be far from easy.”

  The article notes that Dr. Marc Agronin, a geriatric psychiatrist has started to use one of the new programs at the new “brain gym” at the Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged.
  He is offering the software “as an option to people like a couple who came to him last month, frustrated by memory problems that the wife had suffered since having surgery the previous year. A few months ago, Dr. Agronin said, he would have had nothing to offer them.

  “But now I could say to the husband, ‘Take this home, put it on the computer and get your wife started,’ ” he said. “Part of having hope is having tangible therapies you can bring to people…I do want to see more data, but I’m not waiting for that.”

  At Sparks of Genius we are using this new technology to help people now. It is not easy to optimize and individualize these computerized cognitive training programs, and it’s more challenging if you just buy the software and adopt a one size fits all approach. As the article states, “translating this research into specific mental workouts to postpone cognitive decline may be far from easy.”

  What makes Sparks of Genius special is that we customize a brain fitness progress for each client using a combination of software products rather than one particular product. And we don’t just send people out with software. Our personal trainers monitor and fine tune their program. They motivate them and devise strategies that work.

  We don’t just work on deficits. At Sparks of Genius we celebrate who our clients are, helping them to access and maximize their creative potential using the multiple intelligences.

  Optimistically, the new software will keep on improving and scientific research will show us under what conditions and with what populations it is effective. In the meantime, we are using the latest in technological advances to help people now.

  –Rohn Kessler, Ed. D.

• 28Aug

  A Parents’ Dilemma: Where to send my child to School?

  ADHD, ADD, aspergers, homework, learning disability, parenting, school, social skills, stress, teacher No Comments

  Is my child going to the right school?

  Deciding this seemingly simple question can be agonizing for parents. Not only are some schools “objectively” better (lower teacher student ratios, more enrichment programs, etc) but one kind of child could fail in the same school where a different child would thrive. It happened to Albert Einstein. He hated school in Munich because of its rote memorization and constant drills. He prospered at a Swiss school where they taught visual thinking. The things that he learned there enabled him to be……well, Albert Einstein. Visual thinking enabled him to create experiments in his head. Einstein was probably a visual learner and this school played to his strength, enabling him to develop his spark of genius.

  There are some things to look for when you are school shopping and these criteria can be helpful in assessing whether your child’s needs are being met in his present academic environment.

  First of all, what are the strengths of your child’s school? Do they foster independence or provide adequate structure? In an extreme example, a bright motivated student like Einstein might benefit from a Montessori type open classroom with resources for him to explore his own interests and to progress at his own pace.

  But this type of approach could leave an autistic child staring at the lights. For these children, one of the most successful approaches is called Applied Behavioral Analysis, with constant repetition, positive reinforcement and prompting. Additionally a child with attention issues can be overwhelmed if too much is happening in the classroom.

  It’s also important to assess how much individual instruction is available. An introverted, introspective child who could get lost in the shuffle or for a child with attention problems who needs more redirection can really benefit from customized attention.

  Then you need to know your child’s strengths. Is there a match? Does this school stimulate your child’s spark of genius? It can be helpful to ask the school who would be a successful learner there.

  Of course, your child’s teachers make a difference here too. Sometimes a child will do poorly one year and really come around the next because the teacher understands what the child needs to succeed. Parents and teachers are the most important part of any child’s learning team, and it’s important that they work together. Find out the best way to communicate with your child’s teacher and stay abreast of what’s happening in the classroom.

  Now I am thinking about this at the beginning of school here in Florida and I don’t want parents to second guess themselves and wonder if they made the right school decision. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that we can learn something from every experience. Remember that Einstein was at the “wrong” school in the beginning, but maybe memorizing equations gave him the building blocks he needed for revolutionizing physics.

  Remember that finding the right education for your child is a process. Any steps that you take to ensuring a better fit between your child, the teacher and the school will benefit your child’s sparks of genius.

  By Ninah Kessler, LCSW
  Life Coach

• 22Aug

  Kid’s Back to School, Mom? Here’s Your Friendly Reminder for Today

  Uncategorized 1 Comment

  It’s the first day of school, the yellow school bus, the car, the minivan, and the lines. It’s the first week of school, the yellow school bus, the car, the minivan, the lines and the homework. It’s the first month of school, the yellow school bus, the car, the minivan, the lines the homework and the extra-curricular activities.

  Recently we learned in Crazy Busy, a book by Dr. Edward Hallowell (http://sparkmygenius.com/?cat=22), that ours is a world where parents are overstretched, overbooked and about to snap.

  We see incredible mothers at Sparks of Genius, totally dedicated to their children’s well- being. It’s very inspiring. But most of these mothers can do a better job of taking care of themselves.

  Mothers and their children benefit from some de-stressing technologies we use it in our business, Sparks of Genius www.sparksofgenius.com.

  Two programs come to mind.

  One is the emWave® PC Stress Relief System, which will helps parents transform stress and anxiety into vibrant positive energy. You can learn more here.

  The other is Journey to the Wild Divine, a unique biofeedback adventure game for mind and body which creates a healthy and beautiful experience of peace and relaxation.

  These computer programs teach us how to shift from a negative emotional state to a positive one. Negative emotions, just like frantic multi-taking, shut down the frontal lobes of your brain and cause stress, disorganization and poor decision-making.

  In a CrazyBusy world, the #1 rule is to make sure you do what matters most to you. Here’s Dr. Hallowell’s complete list:
  1. Make sure you do what matters most to you. Don’t get sidetracked.
  2. Create a positive emotional environment where you are.
  3. Find your unique rhythm
  4. Invest your time wisely
  5. Don’t waste time screensucking (computer, TV, video games, blackberry, etc.)
  6. Identify and control gemmelsmerch — any force that distracts you from what you ought to be doing, such as telephones, cell phones, TV, radio, email, and, my favorite “the seemingly uncontrollable wanderings of your mind.”
  7. Delegate what you don’t like or are not good at if at all possible
  8. Slow down
  9. Give one task your full attention and stop ineffective multitasking
  10. Play

  But for CrazyBusy mothers with kids in school, I’d like to keep the list but change the order:
  1. Create a positive emotional environment where you are.
  2. Make sure you do what matters most to you. Don’t get sidetracked.
  3. Delegate what you don’t like or are not good at if at all possible
  4. Slow down
  5. Play
  6. Find your unique rhythm
  7. Invest your time wisely
  8. Give one task your full attention and stop ineffective multitasking
  9. Identify and control gemmelsmerch — any force that distracts you from what you ought to be doing, such as telephones, cell phones, TV, radio, email, and, my favorite “the seemingly uncontrollable wanderings of your mind.”
  10. Don’t waste time screensucking (computer, TV, video games, blackberry, etc.)

  Don’t like this order or some items on this list? Excellent! Take a few from this list and make your own.

  In fact, cut the list in half and focus on one item. What’s yours? Remember to make sure that you do what matters most to you.
  Mental exercises alone do not influence our actions, so make a radical positive change in one attitude and each day increase the number of positive actions in the #1 area on your list.

  They needn’t be “big” acts. In fact many small acts are much more effective than one “big” act! Be sure to do them with high energy, full focus and real enthusiasm. That way, your improvement will become a habit. Eventually the habit will internalize and become a part of you.

  –Dr. Rohn Kessler

• 20Aug

  Food for thought?

  parenting, school, teacher No Comments

  In many counties around the U.S. school districts are offering free breakfasts to students under the theory that if you’re hungry then you aren’t at your best. They’re hoping to see an increase in grades and standardized test scores, especially in poor schools where students are often short on good scores and good meals. Will it work? I am sure it will, to some degree.

  What I find so interesting is the extreme nature of the comments about these programs. Holy cow! People are angry about providing breakfast!

  Here’s a sample (from here).

  “And this is yet ANOTHER reason why I, as a teacher, have just moved to another county!”

  “I, as a taxpayer am fed up with the PBC school board and their reckless squandering of my tax $$. If people want to have kids THEY should be forced to provide for them.” (Ed: There is definitely squandering…but not on this program!)

  “Stop all FREE food programs (maybe we should teach the kids that there is no such thing as a FREE lunch, or anything else)”

  “How scary is is that we allow the same people that bring us the IRS, DMV, and Social Security to TEACH OUR KIDS?!?!?!?” (Ed: Good point…it is scary!)

  “Why should I as a taxpayer subsidize free breakfast for all?”

  “The qualification for free breakfast/lunch is $26k for a family of four. Really, consider living on that w/2 children, or as a single parent w/3 children, and I would assume we have a parent who possibly leaves home before the children have breakfast. Judge not, that ye be not judged. Be grateful these children are being fed a nutritious breakfast, for they are probably in need.”

  What do you think? Leave us a comment!

  -Allen Dobkin

• 14Aug

  Pulitzer Prize Winner with Aspergers

  aspergers, intelligence, learning disability, parenting, social skills No Comments

  My friend’s son has Aspergers and wants to be a singer. The problem is it’s hard not to cringe when he sings. It is very soulful and when I listen to him I wonder if he isn’t into some kind of more evolved singing and the rest of us just can’t get it. I’m reminded of an old Twilight Zone for those less aged than I am, it was a popular science fiction show in the fifties) In this episode a woman is horribly deformed and has plastic surgery after plastic surgery. We await the results of the most recent attempt. The camera cuts to the woman in bandages, then pans away and we hear the pitying voices of the doctors bemoaning the surgery as a failure. The camera focuses on the woman who is drop dead gorgeous – played by a popular model of the time. It is then that we realize that we haven’t seen the faces of anyone, and that the doctors all look like pigs. I wonder if this isn’t a lot like living with Aspergers.

  Tonight on NPR I heard an interview with Tim Page, a Pulitzer Prize winning music critic for the Washington Post with Aspergers. Robert Siegel was interviewing him because he had written a description of what it was like to grow up with Aspergers in the New Yorker Magazine. He called the article “Parallel Play”. He felt that the Aspergers led to a lifetime of “restless isolation” because he couldn’t connect with others in “normal” ways.

  He said Aspergers was “a different way of processing information.” He was “obsessed with detail, with music and with old photographs. Throughout his life he has possessed an extraordinary memory for facts and data. However, he was oblivious to most social things and had to read Emily Post to learn how other people related to each other. Although he was praised for thinking outside of the box, he admitted that he often couldn’t even find the box.

  “Aspergers is something that you never get over, but you learn to live with it.”

  Tim Page has lived well and is an inspiration to others.

  To hear a podcast of this story please go to:
  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12750745

  Ninah Kessler, LCSW
  Life Coach

• 13Aug

  Adventures in Teaching A.D.D.

  ADHD, ADD, aspergers, social skills, teacher No Comments

  This morning I’m off for my first day as a teacher at an all-ADD private school. Students won’t be arriving until next Wednesday, but I am excited about the opportunity to work with them in a group as large as 15. That is 5-10 times more high-need students than I’m used to. I’m sure it will prove exciting. You can count on me to share my experiences and insights with you as the school year progresses.

  One way this school has impressed me is the way that they handle academic goals as opposed to developing social skills. In my experience, parents will happily spend tens of thousands of dollars (if they can afford it) in order to remodel their kid’s report card, but the moment you tell them that this will help their child build social skills and make friends, the pocketbook goes under lock and key.

  As students are processed for attendance at this school, the administration goes into detail with the parents about what the parents ultimately want for their child. Inevitably, the answer ends up revolving around independence, happiness and friends. This frees us up to work on those vital areas that ultimately decide the child’s fate.

  If you are working with a challenged population of children, remember that a child can flunk out of high school and still become the founder and CEO of a major company. But even with straight A’s, a child with inadequate social skills won’t even be able to work as a janitor. Make sure you teach appropriately.

  Good luck!
  Allen Dobkin

• 08Aug

  Taking the work out of Homework

  ADHD, ADD, aspergers, homework, learning disability, parenting, school No Comments

  The days are getting shorter. School is starting. Homework is coming. Arguments about homework generate anger and frustration for parents and children. It’s easy to understand the child’s perspective. They’re in school all day and then they are free – BUT WAIT – there is homework to do. As parents we know that homework not only gives the kids an opportunity to practice what they have learned in school but also teaches skills like organization and setting priorities that are essential in the “real” world. Not to mention the scholastic consequences of incomplete assignments

  So how can we make it a little easier this year?

  How much homework is too much?

  Your child, especially a young child, shouldn’t be spending his life on homework. There needs to be a balance. The experts agree that a kindergartener or second grader shouldn’t be spending more than about 20 minutes a day on homework, and even older elementary school kids benefit most from spending an hour at most. After 4th grade, it is important that your child practice math, because since math builds on itself, deficits here can mushroom. When your child is in middle school more homework is appropriate.

  If your young child is routinely spending hours completing his work, something needs to be done.

  Simple Steps can help

  There are some very basic things that we can do to make homework easier. You have probably thought of them but may not have gotten to implement them. Some simple steps from pediatrics.about.com include:

  • Provide your child with a quiet, well lit place to do homework with materials such as pens and a dictionary available.
  • Establish a set time for doing homework, not right before bedtime. Think about using a weekday morning or afternoon for working on big projects, especially those that involve working with others.
  • Help your child figure out what is easy homework and what is hard homework. Encourage your child to do the hard homework first when he is most alert.

  How much should I help my child with homework?

  We all know that it is your child’s homework not yours. You want to give your child as much independence as you possibly can but if the child is floundering, you don’t want him to sink.

  Even if your child is doing ok, it’s good to acknowledge him when he is doing his work and to reward any accomplishments. “Johnny, I like the way that you’re concentrating on your math problems.” “Wow, Helen, you worked really hard on your science project. Let’s celebrate with a trip to the park.” As important as acknowledgment and rewards are when your child is doing well, they are ESSENTIAL when your child is struggling

  When your child is struggling.

  If you child is spending 3 hours on 6 math problems or can’t organize his thoughts to write and essay (see our blog on how to write an essay), then you know there is a problem, and you need to find ways to intervene without taking over.

  For example, if difficulty paying attention is the problem with the math, you can cut a whole in a piece of paper so your child only sees one math problem at a time. This is a very low tech solution, but some of the new technology can also be helpful. For example, there is a program called Inspiration (which Dr Rohn used to help teachers teach science) which maps out your thoughts. Once your child’s thoughts are mapped out, it’s much easier for him to write that essay. If writing itself is a problem, your child may benefit from typing his assignments on the computer.

  You want to be available for your child, especially when they are having a hard time, because you don’t want them to get so frustrated that they don’t do their homework and then they fall behind in school.

  When is the help you do too much? Remember that interference is when you do what the child could do by himself. Additional suggestions can be found at about.com or here.

  My child says he finished his homework

  Some children who are frustrated with homework will just tell their parents “I already did my homework” or “I don’t have any homework tonight.” In the old days the main way a parent could verify this statement was to work with the teacher to create a homework pad where the teachers would write down the child’s assignments. You could also call a friend.

  While there is nothing wrong with this approach, today many teachers will post homework on a web site or will email assignments to parents.

  When you need a professional

  If there is a problem the first person to go to is your child’s teacher. It is important that parents and teachers can work together on this. The teacher may be able to make accommodations for the child. For example, the teacher may allow you to cut assignments short when the child is having an especially difficult time. If the child does not complete assignments because he can’t write, the teacher may allow you to write down your child’s answers. That relationship with the teacher apprises you of what’s going on, so you don’t get a big surprise at report card time.

  The teacher might recommend a tutor, and there are many good ones out there. Sometimes the difficulty doing homework may reflect a deeper problem. For example, if your child just cannot focus or pay attention that could be the issue. Please take the free 39 point learning assessment at our website (SparksofGenius.com) to see if an attention or focusing issue is the problem.

  Make sure the homework is in the backpack

  My friend would sit down with her son night after night and go over his homework. Then he would forget to put it in his backpack and get an incomplete. She finally helped him organize his backpack and checked to make sure the assignment was there. It must have worked, because now he is going off to college to major in computers. He is a smart kid, just disorganized.

  I hope that this makes homework a little easier. If you are frustrated, remember that you are not alone. Another friend of mine thought that having a child was like having a very intense cat. Boy was she wrong. Every problem has a solution, but that doesn’t mean that finding the solution doesn’t require some work. Hang in there and have a great school year.

  By Ninah Kessler, LCSW
  Life Coach

• 07Aug

  Want Your Children to be Smarter in School This Year?

  Sparks of Genius, homework, intelligence, learning disability, parenting, school, teacher No Comments

  Tell them to Think of Their Brain as a Muscle

  Research shows that students do better in school when they are told they can get smarter by training their brains to get stronger— like a muscle.

  Article here.

  Does your child see intelligence as something fixed or something expandable?

  Students who think intelligence is fixed become preoccupied with whether they look smart or dumb. They also tend to avoid difficult tasks. |Not good!

  But students who believe they can develop and expand intelligence usually like being challenged. They try harder, are more persistent and worry about making mistakes and looking dumb. This is good.

  In one experiment of 12 year old students with similar math achievement scores, those with a fixed mindset did worse in math than those who were taught that the brain is a muscle. And, the gap between the two groups widened over the years.

  Carol Dweck, a psychologist and researcher at Stanford University said:

  “We taught them that the brain forms new connections every time they applied themselves and learned,” she explained. “It gave them a new model of how their minds worked, and how they had control of their brains and could make it work better. The idea is to free them from the tyranny of fear of looking dumb. The name of the game is learning.”

  Students need to understand that their intellectual potential is not fixed. So do parents and educators.

  Some games that exercise the brain to get stronger can be found here.

  Moreover, there are many ways to be smart that are undervalued in school and at home—so-called multiple intelligences.

  Students at Sparks of Genius learn that their brain forms new connections when they work hard to learn and learn. They also learn how to take full responsibility for learning buy controlling their mind and their brain to work better.

  Sparks of Genius personal trainers use a high tech (software) high touch (character development) formula to help students train their brain for success

  We identify, ignite and nurture many intelligences. It’s a great way to increase student achievement.

  To learn more about your child’s learning potential

  fill out the FREE 39-Point Learning Assessment now. http://sparksofgenius.com/screens.html.

  Dr. Rohn Kessler

• 06Aug

  What’s wrong with teachers?

  ADHD, ADD, homework, parenting, school, teacher 1 Comment

  In my opinion, there is a real problem when the need for teachers to feel like they are the master of their domain is more important than the mission of preparing students for academic and real life. Here is a perfect example.

  Mr. Lampros’s introduction to the high school’s academic standards proved a fitting preamble to a disastrous year. It reached its low point in late June, when Arts and Technology’s principal, Anne Geiger, overruled Mr. Lampros and passed a senior whom he had failed in a required math course.

  That student, Indira Fernandez, had missed dozens of class sessions and failed to turn in numerous homework assignments, according to Mr. Lampros’s meticulous records, which he provided to The New York Times. She had not even shown up to take the final exam. She did, however, attend the senior prom.

  Through the intercession of Ms. Geiger, Miss Fernandez was permitted to retake the final after receiving two days of personal tutoring from another math teacher. Even though her score of 66 still left her with a failing grade for the course as a whole by Mr. Lampros’s calculations, Ms. Geiger gave the student a passing mark, which allowed her to graduate.

  So here we have a student who missed many classes, didn’t do (hardly) any homework, and of course the teacher gave the student a failing grade. The teacher quit because the principal changed the grade to a passing grade, following all the correct procedures, allowing the student to graduate.

  There are three things that stand out to me as a problem:

  First, the student passed the final exam with a 66. Not an academic whiz-kid, certainly, but she demonstrated that she had mastered the material. Or was the final exam a poor measure of mastery? Or are grades less about mastering the material and more about following the rules: completing classwork and homework, obeying school and disciplinary rules? In my view, the grades should reflect the students’ mastery of the material.

  Second, I think the administrator’s priorities were spot-on correct. Protecting the teacher’s ego is nowhere near as important as seeing that the student is graded appropriately. It is a math class. Who cares if homework was completed or that her attendance record was swiss cheese? She demonstrated mastery of the skills required to pass. Failing her in spite of that mastery is unfair and probably reflects a disparity in the backgrounds of teacher (white) and student (latino). In this case, the student would not have graduated without this passing grade. So what is more important: making sure nobody hurts the teacher’s feelings or refusing to graduate a student despite her mastery of the material?

  Third, the attitude of entitlement (“I set the grading policy for this class”) that teachers have is, according to my anecdotal experience, pandemic. Many teachers, probably because of the bureaucratic nature of public schools, have become bureaucrats themselves, more concerned with protecting their work conditions, benefits, power over their classrooms than they are with helping students. I don’t think it is a matter of character: anyone under rotten circumstances will lose their sense of mission, eventually. The sad part is that the teacher in this case is so young (judging by his photo) that it wasn’t a slow ride down.

  I was horrified to hear the story of a student who earned college credit for a high school class that he failed.

  It is easy to forget that the decisions a teacher makes can easily throw a student’s life off course. I am reminded of a recent conversation with a talented, hard-working, intelligent and experienced teacher who happens to be a friend I respect. I was horrified to hear her story of a student in her Advanced Placement (AP) science class who earned an F every quarter because he would not study or complete homework but then scored a 4 on the AP exam. That is sufficient to earn him college credit, but not high school! Do you hear the flushing sound? That’s his scholarship opportunities going down the toilet due to an F on his record and the hit to his GPA. That is so wrong.

  The point here is that parents cannot simply trust teachers and administrators to do the right thing by your child. You have to be involved. You have to watch. You have to look for signs of trouble. And you have to speak loudly, so that you’ll be heard over the whining.

  Good luck!
  Allen Dobkin

• 03Aug

  7 Tips For Better Organization

  cognitive decline, mTBI, memory No Comments

  Remember

  Transformation beats improvement

  A little Light get rid of a whole lot of darkness

  We can all do better than we think we can!

  Forgetful?

  Material must be attended to before it is possible to program it into your memory. Some ways to help you remember or cue yourself are: For a word or name try to go through the alphabet. Sometimes this will bring back the name or word you are looking for. To remember an event: try recalling all the events surrounding it.Try to remember it through someone else’s eyes. Try reversing the order of what happened. Think about the less important things like what someone was saying or wearing. Think about where you were when the situation you need to remember occurred. Often the scenery will cue another part of your brain to remember the missing piece and this will trigger your memory. Try to put yourself in the same mental, emotional atmosphere, this aids recall.

  Lose things?

  Find a special place for each object you don’t want to misplace. Always put them back in that same place. Have a list of where you put things so if you forget you can check the list. Say aloud where you are putting something and rehearse it in your mind. For some people it helps to visualize or take a mental snapshot of where you are putting something. Don’t take anything, particularly documents, anywhere where you do not need them. If you lose keys etc., attach them to yourself.

  How to remember instructions!

  Write them down or record them. Picture yourself doing each step of the task. Repeat instructions aloud and restate them to the giver of the instructions.

  Solutions for following verbal instructions

  Write it down! People in the CIA and even the president write things down. Buy a small digital recorder and record the instructions. If neither of these options is available say it aloud three times in your head. Repeat it back to the person giving instructions to affirm you have heard correctly

  I get sidetracked.

  Finish one task before embarking on the next, use a checklist and check it off so you know when it is time to move forward. It is okay to ask others nicely to let you finish what you were saying or doing so that you can give your full attention to them once you have completed your current task.

  Hints to avoid foot in mouth syndrome!

  Train yourself to watch for other people’s reactions. Your communication might be provoking tension. This is a good time to ask yourself if the trouble you are about to receive is worth the expense. Try changing the topic. There is no crime in not telling all or saying you feel this is not the right time for you to talk about it. Be calm. A soft answer turns away wrath.

  I get distracted.

  Chart your course before you start and assign the amount of time you are going to spend on the task at one sitting. Work in a noise free atmosphere when possible. Do one thing and finish it before you move to the next task.. Think of how to reward yourself for finishing. Start small to build success.

  When things go wrong…Don’t go with them!

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