Empowering Underachievers : How to Guide Failing Kids (8-18) to Personal Excellence (Paperback)

by Peter A. Spevak Ph.D. (Author), Maryann Karinch (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In Empowering Underachievers, Dr. Spevak equips parents and teachers with the information and processes they need to engage underachievers in a transformation to become self-motivated, responsible and happy individuals. He uses easily illustrated and applied concepts he has developed, such as the Motivational Circle™, to explain how and why underachievers get stuck in emotional development and what they need to move forward. To help you increase your knowledge, gain reassurance, and apply the information, he uses examples from actual clients to illustrate how real kids manifested their problem and what they did to change. Some families have kept in touch with him through the years, so a decade or more later, he knows that the changes can last through college and launching a career.

Empowering Underachievers is written for parents, educators and anyone else who wants to be a catalyst for changing an underachiever. This book, written without psychological jargon or an academic tone, defines underachievers and their subtypes. It explains what influences motivation and why it is important to motivate an underachiever. It emphasizes the role of emotions and emotional development in motivation. There is also discussion of the interactions of attention deficit and other disorders. The second part of the book focuses on solving the problem. Approaches and effective tips to motivation are discussed as well as how to motivate each type of underachiever. This book is designed to enhance your understanding and effectiveness when dealing with your unmotivated student. There is practical problem-solving advice regarding what to do, but there is also enough theory so that you can understand the problem and use the information to generalize to the many different situations you will encounter. As individuals, each underachiever is unique, but, after more than 20 years as a psychologist, Dr. Spevak recognizes the similarities and patterns they present. All is not hopeless. Most parents of underachievers are frustrated because they have unsuccessfully tried a variety of things to motivate their underachiever. Dr. Spevak understands this frustration and explains why often-tried approaches don't work. But more importantly, he explains what can work. Readers will feel the sincerity and deep commitment Dr. Spevak brings to his work --- work that really began when he made his own transformation from a defiant underachiever in high school to a U.S. Marine and, finally, a clinical psychologist.

From the Author
An interesting thing started happening several years ago. I began getting calls from around the country wanting advice on how to motivate underachievers. The calls were coming from parents, educators, and even journalists. But why were they calling me. My small regional practice, though it specializes in motivating underachievers, certainly wasn’t promoting itself nationally. So I investigated and what I found was saddening, but also hopeful. Underachievement is a big problem that crosses geographic, social and economic lines. Many people are struggling with the problem but most don’t know where to turn. The tension, the stress, the frustration and the worry associated with underachievers are heavy weights. That’s the sad part. The hopeful part is that these individuals kept looking and trying to resolve their problems. They didn’t give up. They knew there had to be an answer for them. They wanted help. Most who called me had heard about me from a friend or they or someone they knew attended a lecture or workshop I had presented. They often said, “You understand my kid.” But because these people did not live in my geographic area, I couldn’t see them one on one and they needed more than a phone conversation could give. Those conversations became the incentive for this book.

Empowering Underachievers is just that: empowering them. That is the key to their change. Their internal motivation must be empowered so that they ultimately take charge. However, they need the insight and emotional tools to get the job done. That is where you, as a dedicated parent, educator or concerned other, can help. You can be the spark that ignites the flame. That is what empowerment is all about.

Peter A. Spevak, Ph.D.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 234 pages
• Publisher: New Horizon Press; 1st edition (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882821954
• ISBN-13: 978-0882821955
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #648,310 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Empowering Underachievers Report, October 5, 2000

By	G. M. Kuspa (Anaconda, Mt. USA) - See all my reviews

Great Book, Finally someone explained why all the other motivational approaches didn't work. I tried rewards, punishment, tutoring, homework sheets and organizing systems. I even gave my son a number of books to read. Nothing worked. Now I know why. I was focusing on the wrong concerns. Empowering Underachievers gave me new insights and tools. I strongly recommend this book.

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read...Lots of practical suggestions, October 25, 2002

By	Robert C. McCullough (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

I read, reread and reread this book. The description was uncanny...did the authors know my teenage son? The book is a great read. There is lots of down-to-earth discussion without much of the usual psychological jargon found in psychology books. My son was driving us nuts! His attitude essentially was "So what." I feel that I now know why my son is underachieving and why HE has to be "empowered" to take charge of his life. Beyond the "why," the book (about half of it) gives practical suggestions that will assist the underachiever towards maturity and attitude change. One of the authors is a former US Marine who from personal experience has great empathy for underachievers...he used to be one! Read the excerpts...buy the book. Also, the authors have a web site that has additional articles and resources. This book presents a philosophy that teaches you a whole new way to help your underachiever change that attitude that is going to hurt their life and is adding worry to your life. Did you notice that I liked the book?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Help your underacheiver - read this book!, October 13, 2006

By	b.bingham - See all my reviews

If your child is smart, but consistently fails to perform in school...
If your child is capable but consistently fails to complete tasks without you getting involved...
If your child is good at heart but consistently tries to shirk responsibility...
This book can help!
Dr Spevak details what is really going on (bad attitude due to emotional immaturity) and how to get your kid unstuck. The usual methods (rewards, punishment, getting involved etc) all dissapoint because they are external to the child and do not motivate him to change. So what will? Empowering him! When the child realizes he has choices, the capability to choose well, and the opportunity to succeed, he begins to make better choices instead of "disengaging" and relying on defense mechanisms.
I have found the techniques to be very helpful on a practical level - especially "processing comments" (making comments to get your child thinking about his true underlying emotions) and "with-holds" (instead of punishments, deliberately deny the child something he asks for, and link it to a specific act of misbehavior). But just as important is understanding the underacheiver's behavior on the emotional level, the theory behind the techniques - and Dr Spevak explains this very well.