Understanding Your Child's Puzzling Behavior
A Guide for Parents of Children with Behavioral, Social, and Learning Challenges
- 2008 INDIES Finalist
- Finalist, Parenting (Adult Nonfiction)
“Misbehaving 4-year-old may have a disorder,” headlines an advice column in a major metro newspaper (“Ask Amy,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 10-22-07).
Almost daily, children’s behavioral problems are in the news and the parents’ complaint is often the same: something is not quite right with my child. These puzzling behaviors can take many forms—social isolation, disruptive behavior, failure to learn, excitability, inability to follow directions… What’s a parent to do? Curtis, a clinical psychologist and director of Lifespan Psychological Services in Washington state, asks parents to take an involved, detailed inventory of their child before seeking professional help.
Curtis shows parents through a step-by-step procedure how to clarify and document concerns. Included are several pages of reproducible worksheets: problem-tracking sheets, time line/stressors, causal factors, and more. These worksheets will help parents not only discover possible causes for behavioral problems, but also aid in the choice of professional help. Clearly, this is a no-easy-answers approach, and Curtis insists parents must profile the child before blindly choosing professionals and starting behavior-altering drugs.
An excellent bibliography, organized by topic, includes books and Web sites, as well as a glossary of terms. Lifespan’s publishing goal is to provide self-help resources for parents and professionals, and this book fills that need without advertising its own services. Understanding Your Child’s Puzzling Behavior is an excellent book for parents and caregivers.
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
