What can we do in a school setting...?

There tends to be lots of information on how parents can deal with Conduct Disorder, but what can we do in a school setting with students who exhibit conduct disorder? Can school settings change these behaviors without parent participation?
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Hi S.,

You absolutely right ..there's a ton of info on conduct disorder. But few - if any - authors of books that illustrate strategies to use with these children work with these families on a daily basis.

Most of the info is from psychiatrists who know very few cognitive-behavioral methods for dealing with the problem. They are more focused on the medication side of things. They have a lot of theoretical knowledge, but not a lot of man-hours "in the field" (i.e., in the homes of these families).

Can the techniques I illustrate work in the classroom -- even without parental participation? Absolutely.

I would say that 20 to 30% of the eBook purchasers who benefit from this info are teachers. In too many cases, they are seeing the child more than the parent.

To take this a step further, use these strategies on your difficult students. Find the ones that are the most effective. Then share what you know to work with that child's parent. She/he may be very grateful that somebody found "something that works."

I'm not a miracle worker, but I'm sure you will be glad you went the extra mile by investing in these strategies. You will experience a significant reduction in your stress-level as well.

Mark Hutten, M.A.

F*** You!

Thank you for your support,

I do have a question. We have a 15 year old. There is a whole story behind this, but she is difficult to control. I am a pseudo step mom so it makes it worst. I've lived with my boyfriend for 4 years but we are not married, nor do we want to get married, we're fine with our relationship the way it is.

One of our problems is lately she has decided to leave obscene messages for me to find or whoever because she thinks we are reading her journal. This week she left a message stating F*** you in her bed and my house keeping found it and they were appalled. She is going to apologize to the house keeping, but I want her to understand the effect that type of language and obscenity has on people and how it hurts people. I wanted her to write a report on it and have her English teacher grade it. Do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks – T.

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Hi T.,

Having her write a report will probably not hurt anything, but it will not help either. Having kids write reports is just another "traditional" parenting strategy that has little or no effect.

I would use the strategy "When You Want Something From Your Kid" (in the Anger Management chapter of the ebook, online version).

Stay in touch,
Mark