The Self-Driven Child

Classes - Adult / Special Interest -

Adult Classes Winter/Spring 2025

Helping Students Achieve Success with Less Stress

Everyone who works with kids is concerned about the escalating levels of anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems in children and teens. And for every child or adolescent who is crippled by anxiety or underperforming because of stress, there is another failing to thrive for lack of true intrinsic motivation. In this talk, Dr. Stixrud and Mr. Johnson will discuss a crucial link between high stress and low motivation, namely a low sense of control, which causes people of all ages to feel helpless, hopeless, and/or overwhelmed. They will explain the enormous benefits that children, teens, and young adults gain when they experience a healthy sense of control over their own lives, including better physical and mental health, stronger self-motivation, higher academic achievement, and greater career success. They will then discuss several ways that parents and educators can help to foster a sense of control (also known as autonomy or agency) in young people. Many of the ideas to be presented are discussed in Dr. Stixrud and Mr. Johnson’s nationally bestselling first book, The Self-Driven Child.

This program is made possible through funding by the Partners for Healthy Kids grant. This presentation will be recorded and shared via email to all registrants following the event.

Dr. Stixrud and Mr. Johnson are the authors of The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives, which is published in 19 countries and 18 languages and has sold a million copies worldwide. They are also the authors of What Do You Say? How To Talk With Kids To Build Motivation, Stress Tolerance, and a Happy Home, and, coming in March 2025, The Seven Principles for Raising a Self-Driven Child: A Workbook. Their work has been featured in media outlets such as NPR, CNN, MSNBC, ABC News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Times of London, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News and World Report, Time Magazine, Scientific American, Business Week, Barron's, New York Magazine, Seventeen, and Vogue.

Instructors

Ned Johnson

Ned Johnson is president and “tutor-geek” of PrepMatters, an educational company providing academic tutoring and standardized test preparation. A battle-tested veteran of test prep, stress regulation and optimizing student performance, Ned has spent roughly 50,000 one-on-one hours helping students conquer an alphabet of standardized tests, learn to manage their anxiety, and develop their own motivation to succeed. Ned is also the host of The Self-Driven Child podcast.

William R. Stixrud, Ph.D

William R. Stixrud, Ph.D., is a clinical neuropsychologist and founder of The Stixrud Group, as well as a faculty member at Children’s National Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine. He is also a long-time practitioner of Transcendental Meditation, and he plays in the rock band Close Enough.

January 2025