I recently finished a group family class at a local school. We had been meeting for 7 weeks, sharing challenges, insights, and successes as we worked on improving their executive functions.
It was a diverse group, ranging in age from nine to seventy. Each session had around 25 people. It was so inspiring to see all the steps that led to concrete changes in their individual and family behavior. Some of the participants were teachers who inspired me with their willingness to change how they teach in order to meet the needs of their students’ brains. There were men sharing how they were using the strategies in the workplace. They were women using the strategies both at work and home. And of course there were students using the strategies to be more successful in school. Most of these students had either learning challenges or ADHD or both.
At the end of the last class, the participants left clutching their Seeing What I Need to Do books— their journal, containing their insights about time and their behavior. They left with a sense of hope for their futures based on their positive experiences over the duration of the Sklar Process™ course.
At the beginning of the final class, I asked them to pause and reflect on how the course had changed them, helped them. I’m going to share some of the adult and student comments to help you understand why I love teaching this course.
Adult Responses:
“I can better help my son by using common tools and language.”
“It’s helped me to be more positive with myself and with my wife and kids. It was a really helpful and practical course. I’m glad my wife dragged me here.”
“I feel as a family we all now use our time more wisely. Personally, I feel I have more control of my time versus the other way around.”
“I have more patience with my boys, a better perspective on their brain’s ability. There’s a lot less yelling and a lot more planning.”
Students Responses:
“I really like this class. I think it was fun and it was a great idea to draw.”
Six students wrote something along the lines of this one: “I feel more confident I learned to work better at school.”
One little girl wrote, “I now feel more confident, more powerful in my own heart.”
“It has helped a lot with getting organized.”
“It makes me feel like I control my time and how I use it. This was a 6th grader
“I feel more secure.”
“Feel more organized, not afraid to ask questions.”
“I feel more relaxed. I can plan my day. It helps turning in projects and homework on time.”
“I understand time. I feel more in control.” This was written by a 3rd grader with ADHD.
“I feel good and prepared for my future. I can get better grades on projects.”
“It helps me be able to get my homework done in a reasonable amount of time.”
It’s reading comments like those that encourages me to keep spreading the word about the value of Seeing My Time. It really does make a difference by improving executive functioning skills.
