Prepare Your Teen for the Transition to College

Few occasions bring joy to a parent like their kid qualifying for college. You get so hopeful that they will have a bright future. After all, for many, education is the key to success.

But your kids need more than good grades and pocket money to get through college. The transition from high school to college has its challenges. Your kid needs to know how to harmoniously interact with others, as you will not be there to resolve their conflicts and advocate for them.

They require the right “success skills” to successfully complete college and become successful in their chosen careers. Here at The Support for Students Growth Center, in Boca Raton, Florida, we offer several coaching and counseling approaches, both in home and in our office, tailored for the high-school to college transition. They include;

Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills, also known as “success skills”, refer to the attributes that enable us to effectively interact with other people. It is what enables us to read the other person’s emotions and respond accordingly. It is also what enables us to choose the right body language to use when interacting with different people.

In middle and high school, the curriculum teaches them the academic skills.  Many students can pick up on the skills they need to be successful, but not all kids can do this themselves. Productive people need to know how to;

  • Listen actively.
  • Initiate meaningful conversation.
  • Disagree with others in a respectful manner.

Problem Solving

Does your kid know how to find a solution to difficult challenges? In college, they will face many challenges – transitioning between activities, peer pressure, dealing with a noisy roommate, or choosing to ask for help should as they need it. They will need problem-solving skills such as creativity, critical thinking, and decision-making to solve these challenges. Productive people need to know how to;

  • Analyze situations and coming up with possible solutions.
  • Adapting to changes in life.
  • Quick and effective problem-solving.

Conflict Resolution

Just like in middle and high school, your kid will enter into conflicts with other students and teachers while in college. But unlike in high school where conflicts are reported and hopefully resolved by you, the parent, the guidance and counseling of a teacher, in college, your kid will have to resolve the conflicts by themselves. Also, they might have to arbitrate conflicts between other students.

You need your child to have the ability to resolve conflicts. Productive people need to know how to;

  • Advocate for themselves.
  • Come up with options for resolving a conflict.
  • Identify if they are not always on the right side of an argument.
  • Arbitrate a conflict impartially.

How to use body language

During communication, body language does much of the communication. Avoiding direct eye contact during a conversation with an elderly person is regarded as a sign of disrespect, while the same body language when talking to a peer is a sign of shyness. With millennials doing much of the communication behind a screen, it is likely that your kid does not know the importance of body language. Productive people need to know how to;

  • Understand what their body language is communicating.
  • Understand the difference between female and male body language.
  • Make a good first impression with their body language.
  • Interpret the body language of peers.

We are experts in developmental and behavioral changes in children, teens, and young adults. That and the fact that we have a hands-on teaching experience from college and high school makes us experts in transitioning your kid to college.

For more information check out our website or give us a call.

Transitioning services for Young Adults who may have:

  • ADHD
  • Autism Spectrum Disorders
  • Learning Differences
  • Intellectual Disabilities
  • Cognitive or Emotional Disabilities
  • Delayed Maturation in Development
  • and many Physical Disabilities

Our Licensed Professional Counselors and Certified Special Education Teachers are Highly Qualified and ready to Train/Coach your young adult, at your home or at our Boca Raton Center.

Dr. Eric Nach, Ph.D., M.Ed., A.S.D. Cert. Developmental and Behavioral Specialist and Associates

Info@SupportForStudentsGrowthCenter.com    www.SupportForStudentsGrowthCenter.com

For more information about Dr. Nach’s Online Resources and how to enroll in our online lessons, visit our website at: http://drnachonline.com/

Adjusting into the role of adult: Tips on how to get your message through to Others

Communication is a great tool for getting ahead in life. Whether it’s in business, in school, in politics, or even at home, great communication skills will always turn out to be a great asset for you. And this could be why great speakers and orators are very successful. Take for example, former US president Barrack Obama who recently got paid a whopping $400,000 to talk in Wall Street. If you’re having trouble communicating in person, try these tips out and get heard.

See Your Ideas Through to The End

The backbone of every conversation or talk is the idea(s) that you’re trying to convey to your audience. Your message has to have such pillar ideas. And more importantly, you must be able to string your thoughts and words together in a manner that keeps in line with conveying those ideas. Poor speakers often lose their ideas mid-sentence, throwing them into disarray. Have your points well thought out and articulated right to the end in order to avoid that.

Use Examples to Elaborate Your Points

Examples can be the spice to your words and sentences. That is, they’ll help bring out the gist of your argument or ideas. And one idea can help expound and solidify what would have taken you a lot longer to get through. So feel free to use examples often. However, the examples should be in line with your argument, lest you shoot yourself in the foot.

Keep It Simple

The trick to communication, and this should be self-evident, is simplicity. The goal is for other people to understand you. And you have much better chances of doing that when you keep it simple. Forget people who communicate using big words or complex analogies. Keep your ideas and sentences as simple as possible. Even your examples should be simple and basic. When you communicate in a simple manner, you are likely to get through to your audience better. You also won’t strain when talking or explaining ideas.

Be Calm

When you are communicating, the audience takes in everything you do and how you do it. Remember that they have their full attention on you. They even notice what you’re wearing and how your hair is done. Keep their focus trained on your message by being staying calm. The moment you lose your cool, your audience will start to focus on everything else but your message. Yes, they will notice the beads of sweat forming on your forehead or the creases on your brow – but not your message. So keep calm and let your words and ideas have the show, especially if you’re participating in public speaking.

Use The Right Body Language

Communication and body language go hand in hand. When you talk to people, your body language should be reinforcing that message to drive the point home, not the opposite. Even the way you’re seated or standing says a lot about your message. Too much body language also, e.g. a flurry of hand gestures, will confuse your audience. Use selected body movements to complement your words.

These tips may not exhaust every aspect of communication but applying them will significantly improve your engagements and your life as well.

Dr. Eric Nach, Ph.D., M.Ed., A.S.D. Cert. Developmental and Behavioral Specialist and Associates

Info@SupportForStudentsGrowthCenter.com    www.SupportForStudentsGrowthCenter.com

For more information about Dr. Nach’s Online Resources and how to enroll, visit our website at: https://drnachonline.comhttps://drnachonline.com/

Transitioning Training