• The Key to Effective Behavior Management
• Batteries Not Included: Motivating the Reluctant Learner
• A Dozen Strategies that Don't Work with Learning Disabled Kids — and a Dozen that Do

Fall Tutoring at LifeManagement Center!

Individualized Tutoring for all ages and all subjects Mondays & Wednesdays, 3-8 p.m. and Tuesdays & Thursdays, 3 p.m -7 p.m. We have new extended hours to accommodate our older students.

Intensive Reading Reinforcement is designed for the student who is having difficulty with decoding and reading fluency. This program provides a stepby- step phonics-based approach while incorporating all of the techniques necessary to increase reading skills and reading confidence.

MANY ADULTS
(maybe even YOU)
COULD BENEFIT FROM LMC’s COACHING SERVICES!

Do you have difficulty in any of the following areas?
• Staying focused
• Getting organized
• Meeting goals
• Maintaining self-discipline
• Managing time
• Establishing priorities

Schedule a consultation to find out if our Coaching Program is right for you! 843-577-2277

Ten Tips for Adults with ADHD
by Mary Beth Dacey, MAT

1. Make sure you have a proper diagnosis and check for coexisting conditions. Then educate yourself and your family about what ADHD is or isn’t.

2. Get help to design and implement a multi-modal treatment plan that may include medication, counseling and coaching.

3. Work with a coach to set a goal > plan > do > review. Prioritize rather than procrastinate.

4. Look for a career that challenges your strengths not one that accentuates your weaknesses. Do what you’re good at.

5. When it comes to paperwork, use the OHIO principle – “Only Handle It Once”.

6. Delegate jobs that are too tedious for you to a partner or friend in exchange for something that you can give or do for them.

7. Seek counseling when things aren’t going well or during stressful times and transitions.

8. Get on a good exercise program – stick with it.

9. Learn to use a day planner, keep it with you, and refer to it frequently. Plan your work and work the plan.

10. Keep it in perspective and keep a sense of humor.

Tribute to Priscilla Vail

All of us with LifeManagement Center were sad to learn of the passing of National Advisory Board member and longtime friend, Priscilla Vail, MAT. Priscilla was the speaker for LMC’s second annual conference, co-sponsored with Ashley Hall. Priscilla died in July and she will be missed by her friends and admirers here in Charleston.

LMC Welcomes
Dr. Russell A. Barkley to National Advisory Board

LifeManagement Center is pleased to announce Dr. Russell Barkley as the newest addition to its National Advisory Board. Dr. Barkley has recently joined MUSC’s College of Health Professions as a professor in the Research Department. In a highly anticipated and very successful 2002 LMC conference, Dr. Barkley shared his theoretical framework for understanding ADHD with parents, teachers, psychologists and medical practitioners, providing tremendous insight into the nature of the disorder and treatment planning. Dr. Barkley joins the equally notable Dr. Edward Hallowell and Dr. Robert Brooks on our National Advisory Board.

Few would argue that the steps an adolescent takes towards self-sufficiency lay the groundwork for successful adulthood. Middle school years are important because these years set the tone for the high stakes high school years. It would all be simple, if upon a twelfth birthday, all twelve year-olds would automatically organize their time, appreciate a planner and use it, study daily, turn in their tidy work on time and ask to be quizzed before a chapter test and, of course, ask for help from the teacher.

In this wonderful world of birthday-based readiness, middle school teachers and parents would smile, often. Ah, bliss!

Readiness
Unfortunately, readiness is a real concept and not all of our teens are READY to exhibit the type of responsible and mature behavior that identifies an independent learner. To add more thrills to the challenges of this stage, it seems that when parental guidance is most critical, it is the least welcomed.

The Struggle: Well Worth It!
Why do some students move through school with ease? At the risk of simplifying complex behavior, the concept of “good match” is an element in their success. It seems that these students are a good fit for the type of instruction that is prevalent in our schools.

They tend to have good auditory memories; they favor lecture-based formats and they focus well. Some have a great deal of drive, others not. They also have a lot of confidence in themselves as learners because they have not had to deal with poor performance and disappointing school outcomes.

Why do some students struggle? Well, for some it may be a poor match between the way they learn and remember and the way instruction is delivered, for some, it may be immaturity and disinterest and for others,it may be a mild learning disorder or a problem with attention. Teasing out which is which during adolescence is difficult, but with close observation and a strong level of school involvement, a direction usually is identified.

The Direction
Sometimes the solution to poor performance may involve schoolbased resources and at other times, outside skill training resources. The answer may lie in the exploration of study skills training, remediation of poor skills, short-term tutoring and the management of attention issues. The solution always involves a commitment to understanding and developing behavior that will ultimately lead to the ultimate—an independent, confident learner.

What Works?
Research is clear on what is critical to the independent learner’s operating mode, and that is, time-on-task, active reading, memorization techniques, organization and consistency.

Time-on-task: Nothing takes the place of adequate time to read, practice, rehearse and manipulate new material.

Active Reading: This type of reading involves understanding how to prioritize information and how to best manipulate it for study, storage and retrieval. That usually means working with the material in “chunks,” relating it to something meaningful, reformulating it, in addition to talking and thinking about it.

Memorization: Different techniques work for different types of materials,i.e. visualization for concepts, mnemonics for lists and rehearsal for ideas or a combination thereof.

Organization & Consistency: Organization of time and a consistent time and place to work, feed the process.

Finally, nothing is more powerful than parental involvement and nothing increases the likelihood of success better than a strong bond between parent and teen. The confident learner is the adaptable student, one who has the skills to gain, use and transform information, but these skills are not developed instantaneously. The skills have to be identified and practiced. But once these skills are acquired, in whatever imperfect fashion—it is a victory along the road to self-actualization.