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

difficulty using appropriate language. To achieve a better understanding of his difficulties and to target specific skills and unsolved problems for intervention, they completed the ALSUP. They found the ALSUP to be a useful discussion tool for helping them shift away from motivational explanations for Kelvin’s difficulties, and identified the following lagging skills:
     
• Difficulty handling transitions and shifting from one mind-set or task to another (shifting cognitive set)
• Difficulty considering the likely outcomes or consequences of actions (impulsive)
• Difficulty handling unpredictability, ambiguity, uncertainty, novelty; and difficulty seeing the “grays”/concrete, literal, black-and-white thinking
     
    They also identified the following unsolved problems:
     
• Losing points or his level
• Moving from choice time to an academic activity
• Receiving help for his academic challenges
    Elena
    Elena is a thirteen-year-old seventh grader who is several years below grade level in almost all academic areas and is completing very little work, but it is her behavior that concerns her teachers the most. Elena has to be reminded numerous times to get started on academic assignments and, after several reminders, responds defiantly with comments like “Shut up,” “This is stupid,” and “I hate this … why do I needto do this?” When she’s partnered with a classmate she especially dislikes, she’ll refuse to do any work. If she doesn’t understand an assignment, she won’t ask for help and won’t attempt the assignment. Several times a month, Elena comes into class, puts her head on her desk, and goes to sleep. She’s received numerous detentions for refusing to remove her iPod headphones and for skipping class.
    Her teachers have a variety of hypotheses for why she’s having so much difficulty at school. “Her behaviors are an attempt to get us to give her the attention she doesn’t get at home,” says one of her teachers. Another teacher isn’t so sure. “I think she acts the way she does to push us away because she’s so certain we’re going to reject her.” Interestingly, some of Elena’s teachers never see her defiant side. “She’s fine for me,” says one. “You just can’t get into power struggles with her.” Yet another teacher feels strongly that Elena’s academic difficulties are the root cause of her behavior problems: “If we could just get her caught up academically—if she’d let us—then all this stuff that’s related to her poor self-esteem would improve.” Some of Elena’s teachers have become very discouraged about the prospects of helping her. Says one, “I’ve tried talking with her about her difficulties and about what she needs to do to turn things around. But you put all that time into helping her, and the next day she’s back behaving the same way she did the day before. I’m starting to think she’s a lost cause.”
    The four teachers in Elena’s learning community met to discuss her ongoing difficulties and completed the ALSUP in an attempt to better understand the factors setting the stage for her challenging behavior. They homed in on several key lagging skills that they felt were coming into play:
     
• Difficulty adapting to changes in routine
• Difficulty shifting from an original idea or solution
• Difficulty considering the consequences of her actions and inhibiting her impulses
• Difficulty appreciating how her behavior is affecting other people
     
    They identified the following high-priority unsolved problems:
     
• Being partnered with a classmate she doesn’t like
• Being reminded to get started on academic assignments
• Being pushed to complete academic assignments
• Being prompted to adhere to elements of the school discipline code
    Rodney
    When describing Rodney, a sixteen-year-old tenth grader, the first thing his teachers mention is his charisma and popularity. They also describe him as a capable, albeit