I love what the dyslexic and ADHD genius Thomas Edison said when asked by a reporter how it felt to have failed 10,000 times at developing the light bulb. Edison calmly replied, “Well, so far, I’ve found 10,000 ways it doesn’t work.” On October 22, 1879, he experienced success: a light bulb that lasted 40 hours. Edison continued to improve this design and by November 4, 1879, he filed for U.S. patent 223,898 (granted on January 27, 1880) for an electric lamp using “a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected to patina contact wires.”

Throughout his life, Edison was a tremendously determined problem-solver.  He was awarded 1,368 patents during his lifetime: many of his inventions were designed to solve problems. Edison was also a tenacious goal achiever: he once said, “I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work.”

The underlying requirement for success as is the ability to solve problems in real life with others.  To truly understand and fully utilize these skills, it is important to develop a structured sequential approach to problem-solving.    In this article, Dr. Davenport outlines a structured approach to solving problems for children, teens, and families.