Testimonials

"Most interventions for families with behavior-problem children involve going to a clinic, being given advice, then sending parents home to deal with the problem. But when the parents are in the throes of some trauma they are hard-pressed to recall those sage words of advice. The Coaching Cards are useful precisely because they are at hand when a crisis erupts."

"The Parent Coaching Cards developed by Dr. Richfield provide an excellent teaching tool for parents to help their children learn effective ways of coping with many of life's challenges and frustrations. Often children experience parents as lecturing or nagging as we attempt to discuss important matters with them. However, by using the Cards a dimension of fun and playfulness is added to the teaching process so that children are much more likely to think about and remember important messages. I believe that parents, teachers, and mental health professionals will find the Coaching Cards very useful in assisting youngsters to develop decision-making and problem-solving skills that are necessary for success in life."

Provided by:Richard Lavoie, M.Ed.
Executive Director, Riverview School
Producer,"Understanding Learning Disabilities, The F.A.T. (Frustration - Anxiety-Tension) City Workshop"

"The Parent Coaching Cards by Dr. Steven Richfield provides parents with an invaluable tool to deal effectively with the social skills difficulties that their children experience every day. Many children - particularly those with learning and attentional problems - suffer tremendous rejection and isolation in their schools and neighborhoods. These children are in desperate need of advice, counsel and coaching regarding their day-to-day social behaviors. These kids are simply unaware that it may be their behaviors and reactions that are causing their social skills difficulties with peers.
Dr. Richfield has identified twenty of the 'social traps' in which kids often find themselves. By providing simple advice for dealing with these situations, children are able to avoid these traps and find workable solutions when they become ensnared.
The material is unusually attractive and easy to use. I would recommend Parent Coaching Cards for any parent who is attempting to assist their child in the development of a positive and productive social life."

Provided by:Anthony Attwood, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist specializing in the area of Pervasive Developmental Disorders for 24 years; regarded as one of the leading international experts on Asperger's Syndrome; author of Asperger's Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals; Queensland, Australia "I am very impressed. The material is clear, concise, and attractive to children, parents, and teachers. They are certainly applicable to children with Asperger's Syndrome and I will be recommending them to parents and professionals."

Provided by:Harvey Parker, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist and author ofThe ADD Hyperactivity Workbook for Parents, Teachers, and Kids

"The Parent Coaching Cards system empowers children and teens to find solutions to common, everyday challenges in managing their feelings and behavior. Parents, you wonąt have to give long-winded explanations or lectures anymore. Who listened anyway? Use the Parent Coaching Cards so kids can learn life's valuable lessons for themselves. "

"Parents, educators, and counselors will want to take a close look at Dr. Richfield's Parent Coaching Cards. He has developed a very inviting, and quite intriguing, system to help kids grow into "thinking children." Parent Coaching Cards offer three qualities that set them apart from many of the programs I have evaluated over the past several years: brevity, kid-appeal, and the flexibility to incorporate the cards into most other existing social and emotional skills programs. I have no doubt that in the hands of teachers, guidance counselors, and thoughtful parents, Parent Coaching Cards will make a significant contribution to the social and emotional growth of children. Dr. Richfield's plans for the ongoing website involvement of kids using Parent Coaching Cards will keep his child audience rewarded for their self-monitoring."

provided by: Barbara Ingersoll, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist and noted author of several books on ADHD

"What a great idea! The style is quite kid-friendly, the message on each cards is clear and to the point and the illustrations are eye-catching and engaging. I'd love to give a set of Parent Coaching Cards to every family in my practice!"

provided by: Thom Hartmann
Best- selling and award-winning author of books about ADD, business, spirituality;
Supervises Compuserve's ADD Forum; Psychotherapist

"Steve Richfield's Parent Coaching Cards are what every frazzled parent and frustrated kid need when the hot buttons of family life get pushed - simple solutions for keeping rational thinking in charge while controlling runaway emotions.

ADHD parents and children will benefit from the coaching wisdom on which these handy cards are based. Richfield has spent the last several years doing a lot of listening to his own kids as well as hundreds of ADHD and non-ADHD kids in his full time private practice. Parent Coaching Cards are the easily accessible, kid-friendly result of his efforts. They are a wonderful and fun way to guide all kids toward emotional and social growth."

"Parent Coaching Cards are a wonderful tool that can be used by parents, educators, counselors and children to help ADHD children take control of their own behavior. Most importantly, they focus on the power that each child has within them to use the "thinking side" of their brains to keep an appropriate lid on the "reacting side." This program, unlike others, does not 'do something' to the child, but is an empathic tool for self-control. The pictures are eye-catching and the text easy to read. I would urge all professionals and parents to consider adding Parent Coaching Cards to their arsenal of helping strategies."

Provided by: David Rabiner, Ph.D. clinical psychologist and author of ADHD Research Update

"Parent Coaching Cards provide a clear and *very helpful* way for parents to help their children learn the important life skills they will need to be successful in the important areas of their life. I really believe that you will find this program to be extremely worthwhile - I plan to use it with my own daughters and will certainly recommend it to many of the parents I work with in my own clinical practice."

Provided by: Marie Jackson, Ph.D. counseling psychologist, University Of Georgia

"I think the program is outstanding and can be used in many ways. I can see counselors using them as discussion spinoffs in group guidance. They certainly do touch on the emotional intelligence concepts."

Provided by:Olga Beattie, Manager of Merck's Work/Life Effectiveness Department, Whitehouse Station, NJ
"It's been more than a year since I attended one of your seminars on parenting young children and my family continues to benefit from the coaching you provided. Your straight-forward guidance has enabled me to recognize my "hot buttons" and create an action plan in advance for inactivating those switches. This has enhanced communication with my children and has preserved my sanity. (Dr. Richfield provides "Parent Coaching At Work" Coaching Seminars to Merck Employees on a monthly basis)."

Provided by:Lisa Cross
Howard, South Dakota
mother and mental health counselor
a "Parent Coach" since 1/98

"I have been using Parent Coaching Cards with my 12 year old daughter, and within my work as a counselor of children of all ages. With my daughter, the more she uses them, the more the Cards help her. They also help me understand her and the way she looks at things in her life. The Cards give us words to be able to talk about her concerns with friends, herself, and so on.

As parents, we are not taught how to talk to and handle our kids. Parent Coaching Cards provide an easy to use handbook for dealing with our kids. They are very helpful to me as a parent.

In my work, I use Parent Coaching Cards to teach kids how to talk to their parents and to teach parents how to talk to their kids. A lot of times, kids and parents end up arguing, blaming, and not listening and understanding each other.The Cards are a great starting off point and path to keep communication safe and helpful.

I have also used the Cards with adolescents in groups. Like my daughter, the more we use them in therapy, the more the kids come to accept them and find them helpful. At first, some of the older kids are not too keen on them. But the Cards really grow on them as we discuss how the ideas apply to their lives.The kids end up looking at them differently after they see how much the Cards really speak to their experiences. With one sixth grade girl with ADHD, the Cards were incredibly helpful. She was very sensitive and touchy, constantly comparing herself against another more popular girl in school, and feeling terrible when she found herself not matching up.This other girl teased her and triggered her low self-esteem and other hurt feelings. We started using the Step Into Your Cantaloupe Skin Card as way of discussing how she can stay in control of herself rather than reacting to what this other girl said to her. Every time she felt herself feeling hurt, she grabbed the Card, and she began to see how she was behaving. She had not been able to do that before so I was very impressed by that. She began to grow a thicker skin to protect her from the teasing, just like the Card taught her to.

Now that you're adding illustrations, a coloring book, and more instructions, I'm sure the cards will be even more helpful and interesting to kids. The coloring book is a really good idea, and my daughter thinks so, too. Kids will be able to get more involved with the ideas and learn the skills more quickly."

"I have used Parent Coaching Cards with kids between the ages of 5 and 12, many with social problems. I've found that the cards give them much needed tools to deal with teasing and so on. "Don't Take the Bait" and "Step Into Your Cataloupe Skin" are especially effective in helping them exercise self-control instead of reacting to their peers."

"Both of my children have really benefited from the cards, especially the cooperating one. I've also benefited in that there is less fighting. My kids pick up and read them all the time."