Attention Deficit, Oppositional Defiant, Apathetic Students: We've Got Your Solutions by Ruth Herman Wells Youth Change

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Attention Deficit, Oppositional Defiant, Apathetic Students: We've Got Your Solutions
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Submitted Wednesday, March 08, 2006
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Come on the road with the "Breakthrough Strategies" Workshop, and get

to listen in on our solutions for all kinds of "kid problems."

Our "Breakthrough Strategies to Teach and Counsel Troubled Youth Workshop"

has been all over the U.S. in the last few months. No matter where we go, we

are hearing that there are more and more deeply disturbed children and youth.

We have been getting a lot of the same questions over and over again. Clearly,

many of you are feeling unprepared to manage the increasingly serious

emotional and social problems you are seeing in your youngsters. We thought

it might help to recap some of our answers to repeat questions. Since it is very

tough to give details in a brief email, we will also suggest follow-up resources

for more in-depth answers.

What can I do to manage ADHD students when they haven't taken their medication?

This question was raised in general sessions this fall in Phoenix and Austin.

Here's a small part of the answer we gave.

Our interventions for ADHD-affected children are designed to work whether or

not the child has taken their medication. You are simply going to substitute structure

for that lack or internal or medicinal control. When you tell an ADHD child who is

behaving unacceptably, to "stop it," the youngster may not be clear what the problem

is, even though it may be obvious to you. It's important to give ADHD-affected

children a picture of both the problem behavior and the goal behavior. Here are some

terms you can use to paint a picture:

*Slow-Rolling Behavior: This conveys a rate of motion that

may be too slow to work well.

*Speed-Racing Behavior: This term conveys a rate of motion

that may be too fast to work well.

*Pace-Setting Behavior: This conveys a rate of motion that

isn't too fast or too slow, but just right.

What medication works with Oppositional Defiant Disorders and Conduct Disorders?

This question generated a lot of discussion at an on-site inservice class sponsored by

the Office of Education in Placerville, California. Hopefully, if you are a youth worker

--and a subscriber to this internet magazine-- you now know the two mental health terms

mentioned in the question. You see lots of these youngsters in your classroom or office,

so it is critical that you know the terms. If you are unsure of the meaning, be sure to

click on the follow-up resources below. As safety issues are a stake here, it's important

to do that. As to the question, there is no medicine that is normally prescribed to rein

in these very hard-to-manage youngsters. Instead, you must use methods tailored to each

of these youngsters. Although both Conduct Disorders and Oppositional-Defiant youth may

use very bad behavior, you have to use different types of methods for each group. If you

use conventional methods with Conduct Disorders, you will find "nothing works." Further,

the specialized methods that work best with C.D.s aren't the best choice for O.D.D. kids.

Here are some very basic Do's and Don'ts for Conduct Disorders only:

* DO use maximum consequences

* DON'T use any relationship-based methods like character ed, values

clarification, empathy-building, making amends, apologies, etc.

* DO provide maximum supervision at all times

* DON'T give second chances

* DO use multiple, varied consequences

* DON'T believe it when C.D.s claim "there's nothing you can do to me"

Follow-up Resources: If you are not really skilled and knowledgeable about C.D. and

O.D.D. youngsters, you put yourself and your other students at great risk. Our site has

a free, basic introduction at our site, link below. Although it offers

a great place to start, this intro is hardly everything you need to know as "all you need

to know" won't fit on a single web page.

What can I do about students who are so perfectionistic that they won't do anything?

Perfectionism can certainly be one reason why kids won't work. This topic is

commonly mentioned in nearly any workshop we teach. In fact, we spend hours

giving solutions just for work refusal. Since we can't fit all those hours here,

we'll offer you one of the strategies that workshop participants say works

particularly well:

Teach perfectionistic students who decline work, the "3 Ps of

Perfectionism", which is the cycle of perfectionism. This may help them

become a bit more in control of the cycle. For example, a girl wants to be

perfect, thus the first 'P', Perfectionism. Doing everything perfect is hard,

so she may put things off, thus the second 'P', Procrastination. Now the

tasks that have been postponed have piled up, and that is overwhelming,

which can cause the third 'P,' Paralysis. The more you can assist your

youngsters to avoid the later stages of the cycle, the better they may

function. In our workshop, we pair this type of intervention with methods

that lessen the perfectionistic child's fear about making mistakes. You may

want to use that combination also as the two approaches together work

better than either separately.

Find hundreds more free solutions all over our huge web site. We can help you locate

the resources you need. Reach us through our web site at http://www.youthchg.com.

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