No More Meltdowns: Positive Strategies For Dealing With

Description: It could happen anywhere: at the grocery store, at a restaurant, at school, or at home. Meltdowns are stressful for both child and adult, but Dr. Baker can help! Author of the award-winning Social Skills Picture Book series, Dr. Jed Baker offers parents and teachers strategies for preventing and managing meltdowns. Over twenty years of experience working with children on the autism spectrum combined with his personal experiences raising his own children have yielded time-tested strategies and results! Dr. Baker offers an easy-to-follow, four-step model that will improve your everyday relationships with the children in your life, including managing your own emotions by adjusting your expectations, learning strategies to calm a meltdown in the moment, understanding why a meltdown occurs, and creating plans to prevent future meltdowns.

Helpful chapters include:

Meltdowns: When rewards and punishments are not enough
What are meltdowns made of?
Accepting and appreciating our children
De-escalating a meltdown
Understanding why repeat problems occur
Creating a prevention plan
And more!
Review: This is a reminder that no one is perfect. Each child is different, and what works for one child may not work for the next child. He also gives practical, common-sense advice." - Washington Times Herald

"Jed Baker, in this excellent book, gives us the tools to deal with and prevent out-of-control behavior. Wisely, he leads us grown-ups to understand how to change our own behavior in order to help our children change theirs."-Carol Stock Kranowitz "Author of best-seller The Out-of-Sync Child"

Contents:

Foreword
Introduction
THE PROBLEM
Chapter 1: Meltdowns: When rewards and punishments are not enough
What is a meltdown?
The usual parenting advice: start with rules and consequences
The limits of discipline: when rewards and punishments no longer work
But aren't meltdowns just manipulative behavior?
Can we really expect no more meltdowns?
An overview of the four-step model for reducing meltdowns
Chapter 2: What are meltdowns made of?
Fight, flight or freeze response
Temperament
Difficulties with abstract thinking and perspective taking
Inflexibility
An explosive combination
THE SOLUTION
Chapter 3: Accepting and appreciating our children
Controlling our own frustration
Building competence
Avoiding learned helplessness
The 80/20 rule
Anticipating frustration as part of learning
When to avoid power struggles
Chapter 4: De-escalating a meltdown
How to de-escalate a meltdown
Distractions
When too much distraction can make things worse
Helping children find their own distractions and calming strategies
Steps for creating self-calming strategies
Chapter 5: Understanding why repeat problems occur
Understanding the triggers
The ABCs of behavior: Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence
Getting the ABCs: Interviews and observations
Seeing the pattern
Chapter 6: Creating a prevention plan
The components of a good prevention plan
A prevention plan for Kevin
The four types of meltdown situations
Plans for the Four Types of Meltdown Situations
Chapter 7: Demands
Do your schoolwork
Try it, it's delicious
Hurry up, the bus is coming
Clean up
Let's go to the party
Chapter 8: Waiting
Just wait
You can't always get what you want
Okay, time to stop playing
Chapter 9: Threats to self-image
Winning isn't everything
It's okay to make mistakes
But names will never hurt you
Chapter 10: Unmet wishes for attention
I can't play with you now
Don't be jealous
Time to go to bed
Chapter 11: Closing thoughts: Finding your own way
Prevention plan form
References
Author Biography: Having earned his MA and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Albany, Dr. Jed Baker is a behavioral consultant for several New Jersey school districts where, nearly two decades ago, he organized a group to help children with social communication problems. That group expanded and ultimately became the Social Skills Training Project under Dr. Baker's directorship. Dr. Baker also presents lectures all over the world on social skills training, and is on the board of directors of the Asperger's Syndrome Education Network, Inc. (ASPEN). His work has been featured on ABC News and Nightline.