Lost at School by Ross W. Greene Read Free Book Online Page A

perceives that kids are laughing at him. When Cody hits, he is deprived of recess or removed from an activity. These punishments cause him to scream, cry, and threaten, prompting visits to the principal’s office. His teacher has tried talking with Cody about the hitting, but these conversations aren’t terribly productive. “He won’t talk,” says Cody’s teacher. “When I try talking with him, he either denies that there’s a problem, or shrugs, or walks away.” Lately, she’s noticed that Cody has burst out crying in some situations in which he might previously have lashed out physically, but the hitting continues to be a major area of concern. Her most pressing concerns are “How do I talk to Cody about the hitting when he refuses to discuss it?” and “What do I do to keep the other kids safe?”
    Academically, Cody is an average student with no apparent learning disabilities. He impresses with his excellent knowledge of the constellations and of reptiles. Socially, he can be quite friendly and engaging, but kids tend to stay away from him for fear of being hit.
    In an effort to better understand the why of Cody’s hitting, his teacher completed the ALSUP and endorsed many items. She prioritized the following lagging skills:
     
• Difficulty considering a range of solutions to a problem
• Difficulty managing emotional response to frustration so as to think rationally (separation of affect)
• Difficulty shifting from original idea or solution and adapting to changes in plan or new rules
     
    Cody’s teacher also identified the unsolved problems ( who, what, where, and when ) that were prompting his hitting:
     
• Disagreements with classmates
• Feeling left out
• Feeling that he is being laughed at
    Kelvin
    Kelvin is a ten-year-old fourth grader who was retained in the first grade because of “immaturity” and academic difficulties. Cognitive testing in his second year of first grade documented below-average verbal skills, well-below-average nonverbal skills, and well-below-average processing speed. Recent testing has shown that Kelvin is still well below grade level in all academic skill areas.
    Because of his academic and behavioral challenges, Kelvin has, for the past three years, been placed in a self-contained special education classroom that includes one teacher, an aide, and six other students. The classroom operates on a point and level system, whereby each student receives privileges for adhering to behavioral expectations (such as staying on task, completing assignments, and using appropriate language) and loses privileges when these expectations are not met. Kelvin continues to have trouble maintaining a high level, and the loss of points or his level often precipitates major challenging episodes, including screaming, swearing, and destruction of property. On some occasions Kelvin has had to be physically restrained. Otherwise, Kelvin is usually in a pretty good mood.
    Kelvin’s teachers report that most of his difficulties occur when they are trying to help him with difficult academic tasks (“He just won’t let us help him,” says his teacher) and in transitioning from one activity to another. “He always wants the current activity to continue,” she says. “If he’s playing a board game during choice time with one of his classmates, he wants it to go on forever. We can’t let him play board games the whole day.”
    Kelvin also has difficulty handling uncertainty and ambiguity. For example, if he asks, “Can we play Uno today during choice time?” and his teacher responds, “We might be able to do that today,” the word “might” frustrates him and he will demand a more definitive answer. Phrases such as “in a while” and “we have to stop the game soon” are confusing for him as well.
    Kelvin’s teachers are concerned about his screaming, swearing, destruction of property, difficulty ending one activity and moving on to another, difficulty staying on task, and