Parent Testimonial About Seth Perler’s Program

Hi, my name is Adriana, and I’m the mom of three boys, two of whom are in middle school.

I found Seth at the beginning of 2017. At the time, I was really struggling with my oldest son, who was 13 years old. We were in our second year of middle school, and things just weren’t going well. We were dealing with D’s and F’s, diminished self-confidence, and a lot of frustration.

The hard part was that this is a smart kid. He doesn’t have an IEP, a 504 plan, or any diagnosis of any kind. But when I heard Seth on a podcast, everything he described sounded exactly like my son. I knew I needed to start following this guy.

Fast forward to the end of the school year. My son was failing one of his classes and was going to have to attend summer school. I was desperate.

I was trying to do what Seth was teaching, but I needed more help. Seth, being the smart guy he is, seemed to know that many of us were struggling. He sent an email inviting families to work with him and have a “Hail Mary” moment.

I signed up immediately.

I knew I needed his help.

In just a half-hour, we came up with a plan to help my son avoid failing the class and avoid summer school. And it totally worked.

No joke—we pulled it off during the last week of school.

I was so grateful.

Learning More Than Just a Rescue Strategy

What I learned from that experience was that I needed tools in my back pocket to help us get through the final year of middle school.

So when Seth opened enrollment for his course in the fall, my son and I signed up.

One of the things that impressed me most was how well Seth could relate to my son.

Before we joined the class, I showed my son Seth’s video about “The Dip.”

My son immediately said:

“That is totally me. That’s exactly me. I do really well for a little while, then I fall off the edge, and I struggle to climb back out.”

The class was wonderful because it taught him the skills he needed.

What Wasn’t Working Before

Before this, I wasn’t showing up for my son in the way he needed me to.

I was using all the traditional approaches:

• Positive reinforcement

• Consequences

• Reward charts

• Constant attempts to motivate him

None of it was working.

Instead, he was receiving messages that he would never be successful, that he was lazy, and that something was wrong with him.

That was never the message I wanted to send.

I love my son. I think he’s amazing. I believe he can do incredible things with his life.

But he wasn’t getting that message from school, and he wasn’t really getting it from me either.

Even though I was saying encouraging things, my actions communicated frustration. And he was frustrated too.

What Changed

Through Seth’s class, we learned how to completely change the way we communicated.

We also implemented some very simple systems to help him stay organized and stay on top of things.

Fast forward to the end of the school year:

I’m now seeing mostly A’s and a few B’s.

What a difference.

I get emotional talking about it because he’s a completely different kid now.

He’s confident.

And Seth helped us get there.

The Amazing Part

The amazing thing is that we’re not even using everything Seth taught us.

We’re probably only applying a fraction of it.

I know we could do even more.

But the things we have implemented have produced incredible results.

What My Son Had to Say

I tried to convince my son to appear in this video with me, but he wasn’t interested.

However, we’ve been practicing gratitude as a family, and he agreed to write a note.

For parents wondering what their child might think about the course, here’s what my 13-year-old wrote:

“Thank you for helping me become more organized.

I’m going to keep things simple. That is actually one of the things I learned—to keep organization simple.

Another thing I learned was to overestimate how long my work will take so that I don’t procrastinate.

Third, ditch those three-ring binders.

All of this has helped me stay organized and do well in school.”

Looking Ahead

I know we can still improve.

Maybe during the second semester we’ll focus more on the planner system and help him get that fully in place so that high school becomes an even better experience.

But I am absolutely thrilled with the results we’ve seen so far.

I’m so glad I have Seth as a resource.

School is no longer a constant battle in our home.

I don’t worry about it the way I used to.

The Benefits Extended to My Other Son

In fact, I realized that I had neglected my second middle-school-aged son a little bit.

One day I noticed that his binder was exploding with papers.

The old me would have panicked.

Instead, we simply used the strategies Seth teaches.

We cleaned it out, got everything back on track, and it’s working for him too.

These Are Life Skills

What my boys are learning isn’t just about school.

They’re learning how to:

• Recognize when there’s a problem

• Find a system that works

• Apply that system consistently

• Adapt when needed

These are life skills.

I’m so glad they’re learning them now so they can grow into happy, successful adults.

It’s not just about getting better grades.

It’s about learning skills they’ll use for the rest of their lives.

I couldn’t have done it without Seth, and I will forever be on Team Seth.

I hope this helps you in your decision about whether to move forward and work with him.