Explosive Child Chapter Summary

Reading The Explosive Child by Ross W. Greene and Superparenting for ADD by Edward M. Hallowell and Peter S. Jensen has shed some light on teaching students with different challenges and abilities. As Greene puts it, “kids do well if they can” (2010). This statement is something we as educators should keep in mind when working with students who exhibit behavioral challenges or may be displaying signs of ADD. Greene tells us that if our students had the capability of dealing with the challenges set before them adaptively, they would do so. Children do not enjoy the struggles, arguments, and other negative consequences of their maladaptive behavior any more than the parents and teachers do. They are just lacking the skills necessary to deal with …show more content…
Using a system such as a sticker chart to earn rewards will not teach the child the skills they need and that is why they have been unsuccessful so far. He urges parents to use the Assessment of Lagging Skills and Unsolved Problems (ALSUP) to determine which skills their child has trouble with and what “unsolved problems” arise from the lack of this skill. Once you have determined the skills that your child needs to work on, you can use Greene’s Plan B collaborative problem solving model. Plan B requires that the adult follows a three step process: the empathy step, define the problem, and the invitation. In the empathy step, the adult asks the child to describe “what’s up” with a certain problematic situation. Greene provides suggestions to help get the child talking. In the define the problem step the adult shares their concerns about the situation. Lastly, the adult invites the child to suggest a mutually agreeable solution to the problem. The adult can help the child come up with a solution, but the solution must be realistic and address the concerns of