When the Labels Don't Fit -
A New Approach to Raising a Challenging Child
 
Barbara Probst is a licensed clinical social worker specializing in "difficult" or "different" children and their families. She teaches at Fordham University's Graduate School of Social Service and gives presentations to parent and professional organizations throughout the country. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications including the Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, Journal of Teaching in Social Work, Families in Society, Journal of Therapeutic Schools and Programs, and the Twice-Exceptional Newsletter.
 
In her new book, WHEN THE LABELS DON'T FIT: A New Approach to Raising a Challenging Child, Barbara proposes a radical new perspective: instead of viewing unusual or puzzling behavior as a symptom of an underlying disorder, we need to view it as exactly what it is: the extreme or out-of-context expression of a trait like perfectionism, intensity, or curiosity. Barbara Probst has devised an easy method for profiling children's behavior and more than 60 strategies for dealing with specific kinds of behavior. (www.whenthelabelsdontfit.com).
 
Topics include:

• With 1 in 5 American children meeting the current criteria for having an 'emotional disorder' what's happening to our concept of "normal"?
   
  
• Why it's important for parents to consider temperament when they're dealing with real-life situations?
   
  
• How to get to the real source of difficult behavior
   
  
• Why many problems stem from conflict between temperament and environment, not from temperament itself
   
  
• What often seems like a "problem" can actually be the seed of a child's potential for authenticity and fulfillment