thoughts on the book "the explosive child"

Good morning, I am new to this site but have read a few of the other posts and feel like I'm in the right place, I have a 9 year old boy who was FINALLY diagnosed with ADHD/conduct disorder . It has been a long road travelled and I know it will be a longer road ahead. I was recommended to read the explosive child to try to avoid some of the issues that we have been facing. Have any of you read this book and put the technique into use? And how effective do you think plan a,b or c are?

Thanks for your time.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
I'm one of the people who recommend that book. There are two reasons for reading it:

1) It provides a very different perspective on differently-wired kids. I found it really challenged MY assumptions about what my child was capable of, and the reasons behind the behavior. It includes a great list of potential issues... most of which I'd never even thought about.

2) It provides an approach to working with these kids.

The formalized approach doesn't work for all of us - for some, it really works, others have used bits of it, others found it wasn't for them.

But the shift in mindset, to me, is priceless.

Most people believe that kids do well when they want to.
This author believes kids do well when they can. And... I've come to believe that he is, for the most part, correct. (I won't say it applies to kids with SA issues... that's a different ball of wax!)
 

HMBgal

Well-Known Member
It changed everything for us. My grandson's kindergarten recommended to us and we make sure there are copies available for anyone that works with him. "If they could do good, they would" changed our perspective and it has really helped. We didn't use the whole book verbatim because grandson was a little too young, and not everything fit, but we adapted according to his level and needs.
:smile:
 

TiredSoul

Warrior Mom since 2007
I agree with what IC wrote 100%!! Great book for changing my thoughts. Kids do well if they CAN. The concept is they have lagging skills which is why they are not able to behave appropriately. The solution is to teach the lagging skills by engaging in collaborative problem solving (CPS). That's where is gets hard for us. There is a great website you can look at for more info: http://www.livesinthebalance.org/.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
It's a wonderful survival guide. Will it change your child? I don't know. But it will give your family peace. No family wants to be fighting a differently wired kid all the time and they are tricky to parent. Unlike typically wired kids they don't see to "get" or be intimidated by authority and are immune to the normal consequences. I think it's a wonderful book.
 
L

Liahona

Guest
It really helped me to be able to tackle a few problems at a time instead of being overwhelmed with everything all at once.
 
Top