The Annie E. Casey Foundation is perhaps best known for its work helping America's youth.

Lisa Lawson, its president and CEO, has done extensive research into the development of teenagers,

and that is the focus of her book, which she recently discussed with Jeff Bennett, entitled Thrive,

how the science of the adolescent brain helps us imagine a better future for all

children. Lisa Lawson, welcome to the NewsHour. Thank you for having me. In this book Thrive,

you make the case that adolescence is a period of profound brain growth, not a plateau.

What does the latest science tell us about how adolescents develop and what they need the most in terms of support?

Well, adolescence is an amazing period of growth between roughly the ages of 14 to 24.

And in that decade-long journey where young people are growing and developing to be adults,

they are learning so many important skills

that they'll need at the end of that journey. They are learning cognitive skills, how to become

critical thinkers. They're learning judgment skills. They're building their social and emotional

skills. So the science tells us that young people are in need of

opportunities that help them build those skills in rich ways so that they'll be prepared to be

productive adults. And you write that relationships, opportunities, and support are the three

essentials every young person needs. Why are they so foundational

from a brain science perspective? Well, they're important because first, relationships are the ways

that's the context for young people to grow. Although they are in a period where they are

deeply interested in what their peers think about them, they still need the

guidance and support of adults. And so that's why relationship is so important, especially when

young people make mistakes. They need adults to help them process what happened and figure out

how to get back on the right track. They need opportunities because it's in the context of those

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