Robbie Ashworth, M.A.

A reading and learning specialist, Robbie has worked with students with learning disabilities and/or ADHD since 1998.  He joined the Marshall University Medical HELP Center in the summer of 2010.  He particularly enjoys helping students to identify concrete goals and teaching them strategies to modify their behavior in order to meet these goals and to create positive change in their daily life.  He has seen countless times that with the right focus, dedication, and discipline that students can create and sustain these as permanent changes in their lives.  He works with a wide variety of people from high school students and first-time college freshmen to medical students, physicians, and other professionals seeking to improve their academic skill sets.

Robbie has a Master of Arts degree in English with an emphasis on education and learning theory. Originally from Elkview, WV, Robbie has lived in Lexington, KY and Seattle, WA. He and his partner currently live in Huntington with their six dogs and three cats.

Dr. Barbara Guyer: 

Dr. Barbara Guyer is the founder and Director Emeritus of the HELP Center, and she founded the Medical HELP Center in 1986 with the vision of helping medical students and physicians with learning disabilities and/or ADHD succeed academically.  She received a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from VCU, a master’s degree from Ohio State University in Educational Administration, a master’s degree from Marshall University in School Psychology, and a doctorate from the University of Virginia in Learning Disabilities and Educational Administration. She has 37 years’ experience in teaching at the college level and 7 years’ experience in teaching at the public schools.  She has also been an elementary and a secondary principal in Columbus, OH.  She has written five books, including The Pretenders: Gifted People with Learning Problems, which includes two chapters about physicians who have learning disabilities/ADHD:  Eric and Greta, and ADHD: Achieving Success in School and in Life. Both are available on Amazon.

Barbara currently works with participants in Medical HELP in the areas of improving self-esteem and eliminating negative self-talk.  She meets with the group three hours per week, and then dedicates her afternoons to one-on-one meetings. She believes that while the program’s emphasis on a academic improvement is crucial, addressing self-concept is an invaluable for helping students realize their full potential upon leaving the program.