The most important first step toward helping a challenging student is to understand his challenges. At Think:Kids, we have a certain perspective on how challenging kids come to be challenging, and it’s a little different – actually, a lot different – than what you may have previously thought or been taught.

Challenging kids lack important thinking skills. Researchers have learned a lot about children’s brains over the last 30 years, and a lot of that research suggests that challenging kids came up on the short end of the stick when it comes to certain cognitive skills…for example, flexibility, frustration tolerance, and problem solving (and a bunch more). So in the same way that some students may lack skills related to developing proficiency in math, or reading, or spelling, or writing (these students are often referred to as having learning disabilities), other students lack skills related to developing proficiency in handling life’s social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. These students can be thought of as having a learning disability as well…just a different kind of learning disability involving different kinds of skills. Why are these students crying, screaming, swearing, hitting, scratching, bullying, or disrupting your classroom? Because they don’t have the skills to handle life’s challenges more proficiently.

No, this isn’t the conventional wisdom on challenging kids. What’s the conventional wisdom? That challenging kids are behaving inappropriately because they aren’t motivated, are seeking attention, are testing limits, are manipulating you, or are “getting away with it at home.” And, based on the conventional wisdom, most school discipline programs are configured to give students the incentive to do well through application of consequences. But we think there is good reason to question the conventional wisdom. Data suggest that those students who access the school discipline program the most benefit from the school discipline program the least. That’s because consequences don’t teach challenging kids the skills they lack.

At Think:Kids, we know if challenging students could do well, they would do well. They don’t need more motivation. They need something else from us. What exactly do they need? They need an alternative approach to teach them the skills they lack in increments they can handle. Sound familiar? It’s what you are probably quite accustomed to doing on a daily basis when it comes to other children in your school who have traditional learning disabilities. We’re going to help you apply that same understanding and approach to the children in your school who are lacking the skills to handle life's challenges.