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By Jodi Sleeper-Triplett
Jodi Sleeper-Triplett is a pioneer in coaching young people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD), having spent nearly 35 years successfully doing it. The empathic tone of her debut book, Empowering Youth with ADHD, reflects her experience as a coach and her affinity for tweens, teens, and young adults. “It is incredibly important, when supporting these young people, that we remember to meet each individual where he or she is,” she writes, “and not to make assumptions about how mature, advanced, or skilled the individual should be, given his or her particular chronological age.”
Sleeper-Triplett identifies coaches, parents, and professionals as uniquely positioned to help youth with ADD/ADHD to discover their potential, so that they become their “best selves.” She outlines the nuts and bolts of motivating them, and includes anecdotes -- brief case histories of her clients -- that bring her advice to life.
The book hits its stride when describing the fundamentals of coaching, interviewing parents, managing a coaching business, and identifying obstacles and challenges to coaching. By staying true to her craft, Sleeper-Triplett demystifies a burgeoning field, clarifying what all readers can do to help youth with ADD/ADHD have a successful, fulfilling life.
Reviewed by Susan J. Schwartz, M.A., Ed., senior director of the Learning and Diagnostics Center at Child Mind Institute.
