Testimonials

“I am in a unique position as I am not only an educator of students with disabilities, I am also the mother of a child with a learning disability. My daughter, Brigid, is a Junior in High School. She struggled for years. She is a hard worker, a sweet girl, who wants to succeed, but she just couldn’t seem to put it all together. We had many tearful evenings and frustrating conversations as she would do what she could all day, come home, begin her homework, and melt down…not sure if this is your experience, but believe me when I tell you it is terribly heartbreaking and disheartening, not to mention downright annoying!

I had worked with Natalie, a school psychologist, when I taught in the district, and last fall we became aware that she had started Life Success for Teens. Brigid went in for an introductory appointment and we signed up for a few sessions. We began to see progress almost immediately and Brigid has been working with Natalie since then. This has changed her (and our family’s) life! Brigid previously was barely making a C average. She tried to be organized but couldn’t quite make it work. Her study skills were shaky at best and there were many days that she needed to stay home for her “mental health.” With Natalie, she set up a schedule – when to snack, relax, and what subjects or assignments to focus on first. Every week they review her grades and decide if there is something different she should be doing to get better. They talk about what is working and what needs to be improved. Natalie helped Brigid decide which classes would be best for her and one of the things they are working on now is where to go for college and what exactly Brigid will want to major in. Working with Natalie has been a game changer for our family!

Brigid now has a high B average and is on top of her schoolwork. Always an independent young lady, she is becoming more confident and optimistic. She rarely misses school. Recently, I had a day off and her school was in session. I asked if she would like to stay home with me and she was appalled! She said she’d rather go in and not have to make up the extra assignments! She did, however, want me to pick her up so she didn’t have to ride the bus….”

Alice, Mother of Brigid, High School Junior

“I had not heard of academic life coaching and was definitely not sure if my daughter would find it helpful. I wanted to try something that would give my daughter a connection to her academic performance beyond myself. As a parent, we need to teach our kids so much. Nothing reinforces positive behavior and performance more than a non-bias, trusted adviser. My daughter’s coach from Life Success for Teens (Alison) has become that for my daughter.

Alison has become a confidant and teacher to Maggie. She feels so great and supported after each session. From a parent perspective, it allows me to connect with my daughter on her academic performance in a more positive, less judgmental way. I’m thrilled with the relationship and positive changes that connect Maggie to her ownership of her academic performance. It’s more than grades. It’s taking ownership for results and making the best choices for life.

The benefits from Life Success for Teens go beyond a high GPA. I cannot say enough about the maturity that my daughter has gained from this program.”

Gina Ward, Mother of Maggie

“I searched for an academic life coach for my child when she was about to begin her senior year of high school. She had suffered from a great deal of stress over the past few years, trying to manage a challenging academic schedule and “find her way” socially. She was in traditional “talk” therapy, which she found helpful, but given that she was beginning another busy year of AP courses and facing the college application process, I was interested in finding someone to provide her with the practical skills she needed to reach her academic and life goals. I also was hopeful that coaching could complement the work she was doing with her counselors and therapists.

Having a coach has been beneficial because she has a person she trusts to provide her with advice and guidance, rather than having it come from her parents (and the natural sort of adolescent resistance that entails).

Working with an academic life coach has been a very positive experience and we have observed tangible results in our child’s ability to be better organized and create systems that work for her. The weekly reports were especially helpful, as was the ability to provide insight from the parental perspective without intruding upon the primary relationship between the student and coach.”

Carla, Mother of High School Senior

“Before hearing about academic life coaching, I had no idea such a thing existed. Once I learned about the benefits of coaching, I realized it was just what my daughter Maya needed! She wanted to be a good student, but she needed support with executive function skills like organization, keeping up with assignments, and time management. I knew she would benefit from small group or individual coaching that was NOT coming from her parents.

Working with an academic life coach has been wonderfully beneficial for Maya and has increased her confidence. I love that she feels like she has another grown-up in her corner, and that now she can take the initiative to do things like email her teachers on her own. The skills that Maya has learned will be applicable throughout her entire life. Thank you for all that you have done for Maya!”

Brian & Jen, Parents of Maya

“Natalie helped, planned and encouraged her so it was not just me nagging her. She was another set of ears to listen and help her through situations. I think somethings she talk to Natalie about that maybe she didn’t talk to me about. When she was struggling with her mental health this year Natalie was a lifesaver a literally! She was there for me also to bounce off ideas struggles etc.

Absolutely I think our lives are all so busy that it helps to have another person involved with your child that has their best interest in mind. For my child it help her with planning or her week and when she had big projects: how to break it down, applying for colleges, and just overall mental health.

It was such a positive experience. Natalie became more like a family friend than a life coach!”

“My teenager had a not-so-great experience as a middle schooler with an executive functioning coach and was really against the idea. She was sure that any coach we hired would tell her to get a planner and color code her folders and not help her with the issues she really needed help with like staying motivated, figuring out how to get started, and studying efficiently.

I see my daughter stepping up to take responsibility for things that she didn’t before and knowing that someone has her back. And there are things that Natalie teaches her that never occurred to me think about — how to manage an email inbox, for example. I didn’t realize that part of the reason why she wasn’t getting homework in was because she was missing messages from teachers. Here inbox was overwhelming. Natalie taught her how to manage that.

Aside from everything that my daughter is learning, it’s also really nice as a parent to have someone in your corner — especially someone who has helped so many nuerodiverse kids. It’s hard to know what’s normal and what’s outside the bounds and how to react sometimes. Natalie helps balance that. Recently, my daughter got several late assignment notices from a teacher. Instead of automatically going into hyper parenting mode to figure out what was going on at school and what my kid had forgotten, I had a quick email exchange with Natalie and we worked out a plan to make sure my daughter was in the drivers seat on addressing the problem. It’s allowed me to step back and my daughter to step forward.”