How to help your child make and keep friends

Small children between the ages of 3 and 6 often find it easy to make friends. Past this age, it gets harder for some children to make friends. This is because elementary school kids start being more self-aware. Common interests, social class, and family background dictate whether your child is “acceptable” to a certain clique or to be friends with other kids. This is especially true in the school environment. A parent then ends up worried sick seeing the child come home from school disappointed and in low spirits because she/he does not have any friends.

As a parent or guardian, seeing your child happy is paramount. However, many parents do not know how to help in such a situation. She/he cannot fix and force a friendship. However, these techniques work in helping your child make friends.

1. Understand the situation

Getting a deeper understanding of why your child has no friends will give you a broader insight on how best to help. Some elementary school kids may need help in developing their social skills. Natural shyness is normal for children. For some, it may be worse especially if the family has a trend of moving homes. Children whose family is always on the move often don’t get to know other kids in school or in the neighborhood long enough to form a solid friendship. With a better understanding of such a situation, you can know how best to help.

2. Create a wonderful friendship between the two of you first

Being your child’s close friend creates trust and good rapport. Your child will feel freer to talk to you and give you further information on why she/he is having trouble making friends. Friendships create an atmosphere to bond. When bonding, you as the parent have a role to play by listening. Being keen to your child’s story of how his/her day went will tell you more on what the problem seems to be. Nonverbal cues will also help you pick up things your child is perhaps not telling you.

3. Nurture your child’s social skills

Creating play dates, and practicing to say hello are some of the baby steps parents can take in boosting their child’s social skills. Shy children feel most comfortable at home. Small play dates at home with you will put the child at ease after a lonely day in school. It gives the child a break as she/he tries to work it out on their own.

4. Expose them to social scenarios

If you have just moved to a new neighborhood, introducing yourself to the next-door neighbor is one way to go. If you’re lucky, your neighbor might have a child too. As the grown-ups develop a friendship, it trickles down to the children too. Also, make it a habit to take your child to public parks where she/he plays among other kids. It won’t take long before the child finds common ground (the fun) with the other kids.

5. Involve the teachers and coaches

Filling the teacher in on what your child is going through in school (having no friends) will help. Teachers spend a lot of time with children in school. They know how best to handle and encourage friendships in school, even if your child is extremely shy. In fact, they are better trained at how to encourage children’s development. So get them involved.  There may be another child in the class having the same problem.  Perhaps the teacher could encourage a friendship.

6. Get professional help

If your child is not developing the skills to be able to initiate conversations or maintain a friendship, don’t just wait for them to “grow out of it”, they might not, get professional help. It is a reality that some children lack the skills commonly known as the “hidden curriculum”. The “hidden curriculum” skills manifest themselves as the intuitive way we just figure out how to perform in social situations, often by observing and mimicking others. If your child does not pick up on the skills their siblings or peers do pick up on they may need professional help. Don’t wait, the earlier the better.

At the Support for Students Growth Center in Boca Raton, Florida we offer many social, behavioral, academic, and developmental services for children, teens, young adults and their families including 11 different social skills groups weekly for young people ages 4 well into adulthood. Call us, we may be able to help.

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: http://drnachonline.com/

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/

How to become effective at Public Speaking

Public speaking has become a major requirement practically in every career you can think of. Many people rate speaking in public as their greatest fear. Watching pastors, politicians and motivational speakers going about their business may make you think that only those born with the gift of public speaking can be so eloquent and confident. However, all great public speakers gifted or not, had to train to be so effective. The learning does not stop but it is a lifelong exercise at learning new methods and building on your delivery to be more effective. To start you off, here are the essential principles of public speaking that will help you be confident and effective whenever speaking to a group.

1. Stop Trying to be a Great Speaker While on Stage

When you get an opportunity to give a speech or presentation, stop trying to come of great as it will put too much pressure on you which will show. Focus on speaking and not on the audience in front of you and proceed as you would in a conversation. Talk directly to the audience and when you are relaxed and at a comfortable pace you will give a great speech.

2. Do Not Focus on the Mistakes You Make in a Speech

Most of the time you will not be reading word for word so you will be the only one who notices the mistakes more than anyone else. Unless the mistake was grave changing the content of your speech or offensive, do not stop to apologize. Carry on as you would in a natural conversation. The audience are not there to listen to a perfect person but a real human being with interesting content. Fretting over a slip can harm your chances of great delivery.

3. Have Regular Practice

There is no perfect public speaker. However, with practice you can be an effective public speaker. The idea is to have the message understood by the audience without tiring them but rather having them enjoy the whole delivery session. You will need to practice alone and with people in different circumstances in order to perfect the handling of different audiences and building your confidence.

4. Make it Personal and Descriptive

Audiences react better to communication that is personalized and drawn or related to personal experiences. Whenever you can put a face to your presentation, use it. Tell stories and even more effective give it a personal touch. There is much to draw from other people’s stories of triumph and tragedy as well as humorous little anecdotes which can liven up your speech.

5. Always Leave the Audience Anticipating for More

You want your audience to be hanging on to your every word but you can easily lose them with a long winding speech. With public speaking less is more and you do not have to use all the time allocated to you. Get your content into the major points. Talk about them clearly and briefly and even allow yourself to restate some statements. Pace yourself well so that when you are done the audience still anticipates more.

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

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

Info@SupportForStudentsGrowthCenter.com    www.SupportForStudentsGrowthCenter.com

Empowering Struggling Learners with The Success Skills Needed to Be Able To Maintain A Job

Everyone needs success skills if they are to maintain a job.  People with learning challenges do not acquire skills as easily as other people, but, can be great employees. With the right training, patience, and practice they can master the success skills needed in any workplace.

Why is it important to empower struggling learners with success skills to maintain a job?

There is no specified method or set syllabus of learning success skills. We acquire them naturally through interacting with others. The assumption that kids and young adults naturally learn success skills is the reason such lessons are not included in the education curriculum.

Unfortunately, due to the different physical and cognitive deficiencies in many young people, they may not learn these skills as naturally as the others. Therefore, they may experience lots of difficulties transitioning from the school set up to the workplace.

Remember, people with various disabilities face a very high unemployment rate compared to their peers without a disability. Therefore, it is important to empower them with these skills. The earlier they start learning these skills the better because it might take longer for them to master them.

Help your child with learning challenges build success skills

Parents and guardians are in the best position to help children and young adults with challenges to acquire success skills. Because you know your child’s strengths and weaknesses, you know which skills to build on, and which skills the child already has. Also, this understanding can help come up with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that addresses the success skills your child needs to acquire.

To help your child you need to plan an effective life skill learning program. You need to know what to teach and how to deliver it in a way that your child will understand. You can use Dr. Nach’s Online Resources’s innovative lessons to do just that. Our life skills lessons are relevant, engaging, and full of perspective such that the learners can apply what they learn in the real world.

Success skills people with learning challenges require before joining the workforce

Your child will one day become an adult. At that age, he will need to take care of him(her)self, which involves getting a job. And for them to maintain that job, they need the following success skills;

• Communication skills– this is the most crucial success skill in a workplace. Work on the non-verbal communication and make sure child can read and write if possible. Also, teach them the importance of listening, and speaking in ways others understand.
• Lifelong learning skills– learning does not stop after getting a job. So, encourage your child to be willing to learn new things, and encourage them to be flexible to adapt to change.
• Decision-making skills – when faced with a problem, observe how your child responds and comes up with a solution. Encourage them to make decisions instead of seeking help from an authority.
• Interpersonal skills– these skills include self-advocating and influencing others, conflict resolution, and team building. All these skills are required to effectively interact with others in a workplace.

Please note that learning and acquiring success skills requires lots of practice, especially for people with learning challenges. Our transitioning, success skills, and executive functioning programs and counseling/coaching services can help an uncertain future, much more positive.

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

5458 Town Center Rd, Suite 7, Boca Raton, FL 33486                 561-990-7305

Info@SupportForStudentsGrowthCenter.com    www.SupportForStudentsGrowthCenter.com