FPI Attention Disorders Clinic Classes | ADHD Diagnosis & Treatment Services

Life Skills Class

The Life Skills Class is intended to build life skills, one step at a time.

The early part of my clinical research was spent on learning about what was going on “physically” in kids and adults with ADHD. Together with my colleagues Dr. Joel Lubar and Dr. Michael Linden, we learned a lot about the physical causes of ADHD. However, I felt like I was spending all my time focusing on helping people learn how to pay attention without really targeting the big question: What are the values, the traits, the skills that are actually worth our time and attention?

So, we spent a decade or so finding out. We decided that we needed to go “Beyond Attention” and teach essential life skills. We talked to thousands of families, learning what was important. Based on these conversations, we developed a 15 session “Life Skills Program”, and were honored to have our program published by the American Psychological Association in the book: Teaching Life Skills to Children and Teens with ADHD: A Guide for Parents and Counselors.

The Life Skills Class is intended to build life skills, one step at a time. Dr. Monastra guides each class of parents and their child through a 15 step process and hopefully helps kids develop the kinds of social networks that are essential for practicing and developing essential life skills.

Online Parenting Classes

Dr. Vince Monastra serves as the director of the clinic and provides and supervises all evaluation and treatment procedures.

Because so many of our families live a considerable distance from the clinic, we offer a free video-taped version of our 10 session parenting classes.

Based on the award winning book, Parenting Children with ADHD: 10 Lessons that Medicine Cannot teach, Dr. Monastra leads parents through a parenting program that helps them understand the medical causes of ADHD, the educational rights of children with ADHD, effective strategies that motivate children when takeaways and giveaways fail, build confidence, teach emotional control, problem solving skills, and organizational strategies.

Just like at our clinic, Dr. Monastra will teach each lesson, guide parents in “practicing” new techniques, and provide “homework” assignments to establish new skills at home. For parents looking for more indiviudalized guidance for your family from Dr. Monastra, a virtual consultation can be arranged. To request a consultation, click here.

Coaching for College Success

One of the most important, but challenging transitions in life occurs when the student with ADHD leaves home and heads off to college.

The son or daughter of yours, who needed you to wake them up in the morning, feed them, get them to school on time, made sure they recorded their homework assignments, checked with their teacher to make sure homework was actually turned in, and organized the “boring part” of their lives isn’t going to magically develop these skills when they reach college. That’s where we can help.

Our involvement in coaching students often begins in the 11th or 12th grade but it is not uncommon for us to help “put the pieces back together” in a student who is on academic probation after the first year of college. Step one is to make sure that the student’s ability to sustain attention is sufficient.Step two is to look at the student’s academic skills, teach them how to read and listen “with a purpose”, how to use voice recognition and text reading software to help them complete assignments more rapidly, and how to plan, organize and remember to turn in papers.

We also help students identify colleges that provide counselors that will serve as their “administrative assistants”, helping them to be “accountable” for breaking down assignments into parts so that they can complete tasks in a timely manner.