We thought you might like to peek into our newest book, hot off the press. Here are some terrific ways to motivate students, taken from our brand new, Maximum-Strength Motivation-Makers book (click), which is part of our All the Best Answers for the Worst Kid Problems series. If you work with apathetic youth or children, these motivation-makers can help. However, as good as these interventions are, they are not magic, so do plan to use many motivators over time. The sampling of methods that are included in this issue may be enough to at least get you started.

Stay or Pay

There's a very real cost to dropping out. If you can sufficiently convey that now, perhaps fewer of your students will live that reality later. Here's the reality dropouts may face based on the fact that they'll earn less than half the salary of their peers who finish school. Transcribe the following facts onto the board and discuss:

Stay or Pay: That Means
Half the House
Half the Fun (money for entertainment, etc.)
Half the Possessions
Half the Necessities


Start the Race

Ask your students where they would like to start a race from. Typically, the class members will say "at the start line with everybody else." Point out to your group that students who drop out of school start their race through life at the back, not with everybody else.

Read All About It

Make up tabloid-style newspapers that humorously show what can happen to people who forgo school. For your headline, use text like this: "Rock Star Broke." The newspaper article could discuss how the rock star cried "I can't even balance a checkbook," and how his accountant had discovered that the rock star knew little math, and looted all the earnings. Another example: "Wife Loses Cash Cow" could be the headline. The article could detail how a wife never thought her husband would suddenly die, leaving her unprepared to survive financially and otherwise. Alternatively, have students create the newspapers. Post each newspaper and discuss.

Can You Make It Through a Bad Night Without Education?

Conjure up a very bad night. Make it a dark and stormy night, and trees are falling onto houses, the lights are out and phones aren't working. Have your students detail how to resolve the upsetting dilemmas that occur such as dealing with their tree hitting the neighbor's house, and obtaining medical care for an ill child. Be sure to require that the students provide specific details on how to achieve resolution. Have phone books, check books, etc. available for students to use to actually locate and secure resources. This fun activity can show students that they can't even make it through the night without education.

No Reading Needed-- Ever

For students who claim that they can survive without education, ask them to list all the jobs they can do with no reading, writing, or computer skills of any type. If necessary, have students conduct this research by contacting employers or reading employment ads. They will discover that beginning with the job application, most/all jobs require at least some of those skills.

I'll Beat the Odds

Some students can become convinced that life without school can be tough, but then the child surmises that she will beat the odds, that for her, it will be different or better. To teach students that they cannot beat the odds, ask the student to beat the odds in a different area. For example, ask the student to demonstrate her special ability to beat the odds by purchasing a lottery ticket and winning. Or, have the student beat the odds by magically picking an ace out of a card deck. When the student can't beat the odds, you may want to gently note that the student won't be able to beat the odds in life either and somehow magically avoid the customary problems normally associated with lacking an education.

LIKE THESE STRATEGIES?

We have dozens more motivational interventions in our new book, Maximum-Strength Motivation-Makers. This book sells at our site and on amazon.com for $15. Order by phone at 1-800-545-5736; at our site (http://www.youthchg.com/orderfm.html); or use the contact information shown at the bottom of this page.

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LOOKING FOR PRACTICAL, REAL-WORLD CONTINUING EDUCATION?

SCHEDULE AN ON-SITE TRAINING WORKSHOP!

We wrote the book on troubled students.
We also teach the class.

Make the 1 or 2 day professional development investment that delivers year-long results. Bring the popular Breakthrough Strategies to Teach and Counsel Troubled Youth Inservice Workshop to your entire staff, team, association, or conference. Your staff name the exact problem areas; we deliver hundreds of ready-to-use, problem-stopping interventions. For more details: Visit http://www.youthchg.com/onsite.html, or call 1-800-545-5736.

Popular on-site professional development days are starting to disappear! Call 1-800-545-5736 or reply to this email to get a professional development information packet sent to you on hosting our powerful workshop. At your request, we can include information on arranging college credit, clock hours and CEUs, and using the inservice as a fund raiser. Our on-site professional development classes are extremely affordable!

ON-SITE STAFF DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS ARE TERRIFIC FUND RAISERS!

RECENT ON-SITE WORKSHOPS
Alhambra School District, Phoenix, AZ; Donna, TX Schools; Parent University in Sierra Vista, AZ; Res Care in Oklahoma City; and Hope Schools, in Hope, AR.

We've been to every corner of North America, and want to bring our solutions to your school, agency or conference. Book the best presentation, keynote, speaker, or breakout seminar. Call now to solve your worst kid problems: 800-545-5736.

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"There are always words more dignified than concealment"

--writer Anne Lamott

Regardless of what type of job you do with youth and children, a part of that job should include noticing youngsters who may be suffering through unspeakable events at home. So, whatever your role with children, the information contained in this issue is critical, perhaps even life-saving for your children who are living with terrible pain and sadness.

When a child is 6 or 16, keeping a secret may seem like the only option when life gets scary. So, you may not be able tell from the words you hear from the youngsters in your classroom or office, but the number of children living with "bad secrets" might shock you. Although sometimes the child's behavior may give a hint of what goes unsaid, here are the best guesses as to how much pain children may actually live with. These numbers are only guesses drawn from research, but no one knows for sure, so feel free to disagree with the guesses. These numbers are offered to illustrate the high frequency of serious family problems that may exist.

Kids may not talk about it, but estimates are that about 15% of students may struggle with substances, or have a family member who struggles. In some regions, this number may seem low so adjust accordingly if alcohol and drug abuse are of particular concern in your area.

About 12% of your students are severely emotionally disturbed, or have a family member who is facing this problem.

The biggest problem facing your students in terms of frequency may be this next problem. A surprising 20% or more of youngsters live with sexual abuse or incest. More precisely, 1 in 3 of your girls, and 1 in 5 of your boys live with sexual abuse or incest. Of all the problem areas that students don't talk about, this problem may occur the most-- but be the least likely to be disclosed.

At least 15% of your students-- or others in the family system-- live with verbal, physical and/or emotional abuse.

These problem areas can and do overlap. A child can be living with both beatings and incest, and also have an alcoholic parent, for example. These numbers may document what you suspect: that you are seeing more and more children who cope with very serious family problems.

You already know that when a child discloses, as a youth professional, you must report the abuse to the proper authorities. More commonly, however, you have only suspicions with nothing concrete to support your fears. Here are some strategies to use with children who may be carrying such a heavy load that it may make it difficult or even impossible to successfully teach, counsel or help them.

Would You Tell?
It is critical to understand why children don't tell the secret of what is happening at home. Here is a way to give you that insight: Name all the things that you care about the most on earth. You probably think of family, pets, your home, and friends. That is what the child can lose by telling. That's why so many kids don't tell. This understanding may sometimes help you clarify what is going on when you are not sure what is happening with a child.

Before Anything is Said
You may want to be sure that your youngsters know the ramifications of telling before they tell. For example, at the start of the school year, teachers can tell students that if necessary, they are able to help with serious problems from home-- and specify what types of problems that means. But, consider if that statement needs to also include honestly revealing what can happen next with regards to reporting requirements, and what consequences can result. Make sure that this strategy is in keeping with the policies at your site, and is done in an age-appropriate manner.

Children may need to know what could happen if they disclose so they won't be devastated to later discover that they went "from the frying pan to the fire," saying "I never would have told if I knew what would happen!" At our workshop, we hear countless tragic stories of children who are not removed from perpetrators after disclosure and are harmed or killed; and we hear about children whose most private woes become front page news, and so on. If your child protection system-- like many-- might struggle to offer good help, consider telling the child that. Ideally, non-mental health workers should cover this information with the help of a counselor. Your goal is to be sure that students know how to identify adults who can help during times of crisis, and to honestly convey the results that the adults would likely produce.

These Conditions Must Apply
If you do want to be available to help children who suffer, what can you do if you are not a counselor? First, if you do get a disclosure, get a counselor to help right away. Second, you can create an environment that feels safe enough that a deeply distressed child could trust it to give help. There are a number of conditions that can create that safety. Here are just a few of the most important: Children want confidentiality; they need to know that their problems won't be blabbed everywhere. They want to know that they will have a say in what happens next. They want the adult to know what to do to help, not become upset, overwhelmed or agitated. They want to have a chance to say what they want to say without being cut off or sent away. They want to be treated with respect no matter how "horrible" their story.

Your Role
You may feel that you just want to teach 7th grade, or just do rec activities with kids, because that is the work you signed up for. You may have never anticipated having to possibly become involved with terribly difficult problems from home. Those feelings are completely understandable, but they may not fit our contemporary times very well when so many children live their lives in fear and pain. Although it may not be written on your job description, perhaps everyone who works with youth, needs to be attentive to the needs of troubled youth. If youth workers can't see the pain, then who will?

So many students in crisis later lament that no adult ever seemed to notice or care about what they were going through. You could.

Strike a Balance
You may wonder how you can do your job when working with children who are devastated from what they endure at home. Here is a simple guideline to maximize your effectiveness with your distressed children: You never abandon your mission but you don't accomplish it at all costs. That means that you provide accommodations to the child when she appears distressed, and you increase your expectations at those times when the child appears more functional. If you can strike that balance, you can best offer your service to the troubled child without adding to the woes that the child already shoulders.

LIKE THESE STRATEGIES?

We have thousands more in our books, tapes and workshops. The smattering of resources listed in this issue are just a few of the solutions we have. Find more on this topic in our "Child's Guide to Surviving in a Troubled Family," and "What Every Girl Needs to Know About the Real World." Find both on this page: http://www.youthchg.com/lessons.html. When you think of troubled, sad, withdrawn, and distressed youth and children, think of Youth Change Workshops. We can help!

For more guidance suggestions for children who are coping with serious trauma, be sure to consult our web site. You will find guidance resources that focus on the trauma generated by the 9-11 terrorist tragedy but those pages also provide dozens of specifics that you can use to help a child manage any type of trauma. Those links are http://www.youthchg.com/tuesday.html and http://www.youthchg.com/tuesday2.html

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DO YOU HAVE TRAUMATIZED, DISTRESSED, FRAGILE, or S.E.D. STUDENTS?

ASK YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT, EDUCATION SERVICE CENTER, PROGRAM or CONFERENCE to

SCHEDULE AN ON-SITE TRAINING WORKSHOP!

We wrote the book on troubled students.
We also teach the class.

Make the 1 or 2 day professional development investment that delivers year-long results. Bring the popular Breakthrough Strategies to Teach and Counsel Troubled Youth Inservice Workshop to your entire staff, team, association, or conference. Your staff name the exact problem areas; we deliver hundreds of ready-to-use, problem-stopping interventions. For more details: Visit http://www.youthchg.com/onsite.html, or call 1-800-545-5736.

Popular on-site professional development days are starting to disappear! Call 1-800-545-5736 or reply to this email to get a professional development information packet sent to you on hosting our powerful workshop. At your request, we can include information on arranging college credit, clock hours and CEUs, and using the inservice as a fund raiser. Our on-site professional development classes are extremely affordable!

ON-SITE STAFF DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS ARE TERRIFIC FUND RAISERS!

RECENT ON-SITE WORKSHOPS
Alhambra School District, Phoenix, AZ; Donna, TX Schools; Parent University in Sierra Vista, AZ; Res Care in Oklahoma City; and Hope Schools, in Hope, AR.

We've been to every corner of North America, and want to bring our solutions to your school, agency or conference. Book the best presentation, keynote, speaker, or breakout seminar. Call now to solve your worst kid problems: 800-545-5736.

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Several of these great strategies were given to us by participants in our Breakthrough Strategies to Teach and Counsel Troubled Youth Workshops, but the names of the participants have long since become separated from these terrific ideas. So, if you are one of our former course participants now reading an idea that you mentioned in class, we apologize for borrowing your inspiration. In many ways, our Breakthrough Strategies Workshop has always been a collection of the best methods that exist, so it is not a stretch to highlight a few methods inspired or donated by our loyal class attendees.

1. WAIVER OF MY RIGHTS
As shown below, this intervention is geared for school, but if you will simply alter a few key words from the school-based example below, you can easily make this device work at your Job Corps, foster home, treatment center, etc. This intervention is designed to be used with children and youth who feel that your service is a waste of time.

Remember: You must judge this and every other intervention that we offer to see if it fits your youngsters, your locale, etc. The intervention below is not suitable for all youngsters. You can also consider editing to make it gentler. To get a broader array of methods, consider coming to our workshop or buying some of our books (http://www.youthchg.com/lessons.html). Our workshops and books flood you with a vast assortment of methods, rather than the small handful offered here.

Waiver of My Rights I want to waive my constitutional right to a free education. I, _____ hereby give up my rights to education. I give up the right to choose a high-paying job forever. I do not want to be a partner in my own success. Signed, _________________

2. THINK ABOUT IT
Other than not being a very good sentence, this next device may be a great thing to say to impulsive youngsters: "You can't think yourself out of what you acted yourself into." Then work with them to think first, act second.

3. MAKE A WHINE LIST
Some days, a girl's just gotta gripe. Boys too. The next "black Monday," when all attitudes seem to be dreary and whiny, here is a fun activity that can turn it around. If you're a teacher, this may be an activity that you can relate to writing, art, or reading.

You can choose one of the following versions. One choice: Let your students make a Whine List of all their complaints, and get the complaining out of their systems. A second version: Have your students devise a menu for a restaurant called The Irri-Table, and then create dishes that fit the mood. For example, the main course might be crab in whine sauce. You may want to follow this activity with a discussion of what happens to crabby employees in the work place, and assist students to develop plans to moderate their attitudes on the next black Monday.

4. WHAT STUDENTS WANT
It may be useful to note what students often say they want from their teachers and counselors. It may not be what you think. Some surveys have shown that students don't ask for less work, longer lunch or more days off. So what do they want? They want their teachers and counselors to believe in them. That thought can guide you.

New research, reported in Education Week on 9-3-03, notes that when youth professionals "pay attention to students' social and emotional development, children do better academically." I have to admit that the top complaint we get in our workshops from teachers is that they are sickened by what they overhear in neighboring classrooms or in the hall.

At a school here in our town, a boy named Len teetered towards dropping out. Then, starting with the new school year, Len was assigned a math teacher who belittled Len and called him names on a daily basis. Soon, Len started coming in late for math, then he skipped math entirely. Eventually, he stopped showing up at all. Says a former classmate: "In the 12 years I shared classes with him, I watched many teachers try unsuccessfully to make it better for Len, but I will always remember the one teacher who successfully made it worse."

LIKE THESE STRATEGIES?

We have thousands more in our books, DVDs, posters and workshops. The smattering of resources listed in this issue are just a few of the solutions we have to help you build a more productive year. Click here to see more unexpected, compelling guidance resources. When you think of problem youth, think of Youth Change Workshops. We can help you help your troubled and problem students succeed!

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ASK YOUR PRINCIPAL, ASSOCIATION, CONFERENCE or EDUCATION SERVICE DISTRICT TO SCHEDULE AN ON-SITE TRAINING WORKSHOP!

We wrote the book on troubled students.
We also teach the class.

Make the 1 or 2 day professional development investment that delivers year-long results. Bring the popular Breakthrough Strategies to Teach and Counsel Troubled Youth Inservice Workshop to your entire staff, team, association, or conference. Your staff name the exact problem areas; we deliver hundreds of ready-to-use, problem-stopping interventions. For more details: Visit http://www.youthchg.com/onsite.html, or call 1-800-545-5736.

Popular on-site professional development days are starting to disappear! Call 1-800-545-5736 or reply to this email to get a professional development information packet sent to you on hosting our powerful workshop. At your request, we can include information on arranging college credit, clock hours and CEUs, and using the inservice as a fund raiser. Our on-site professional development classes are extremely affordable!

ON-SITE STAFF DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS ARE TERRIFIC FUND RAISERS!

RECENT ON-SITE WORKSHOPS
Alhambra School District, Phoenix, AZ; Donna, TX Schools; Parent University in Sierra Vista, AZ; Res Care in Oklahoma City; and Hope Schools, in Hope, AR.

We've been to every corner of North America, and want to bring our solutions to your school, agency or conference. Book the best presentation, keynote, speaker, or breakout seminar. Call now to solve your worst kid problems: 800-545-5736.

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If you work with youngsters who say that they do not plan to finish school, they should know that even robots finish school. That's important to know because these educated robots are in training to take over many of the jobs that are still open to dropouts. Name the job that is still open to dropouts, and USA Today (5-1-03) can name the robot that can do the job cheaper. Check out what is happening to these jobs that your students say they will always be able to do without a diploma.

G O I N G Nursing Home Aide
G O I N G Aide to the Disabled
G O N E Caregiver to the Elderly

Have you heard about Pearl? Pearl is a robotic nurse. She "has cameras for eyes, a computer screen for a chest and a tray or basket in which she can carry items to an elderly or disabled person," says USA Today. "That's so far away," your potential dropout may say hopefully. "Not true," you can reply. Pearl has already passed the testing stage for use in both nursing homes and private residences.

G O I N G Maid
G O I N G Housekeeper
G O N E Custodian

It's called Roomba FloorVac, and it's not even expensive. For about the price of a regular vacuum, you can now own a robotic vacuum that can do the job without supervision. The Roomba will never call in sick, ask for a raise or beg for the day off either. Other devices exist or will soon exist for other cleaning chores.

G O I N G Lawn Mower
G O I N G Gardener
G O N E Grounds Worker

It costs just a bit more than a traditional lawn mower but no people are needed to run it. It's not a dream for the future but a product that has been on the market for at least a year.

G O I N G Baby Sitter
G O I N G Nanny
G O N E Child Care Worker

The ER-2 can not only tell stories or play games with kids while their parents are away, the device can also patrol the property. If the ER-2 detects a problem, it can not only notify you, but it can also show you a picture of the problem too. Machines will soon be able to prepare simple food items, set the table and clear it too. That's more than many baby sitters do.

G O I N G Home Aide
G O I N G Attendant
G O N E Personal Assistant

MARION-1 can turn on and off house appliances as you command via your cell phone, starting the oven or turning off the dryer. Soon, you can also purchase a robotic butler who will unlock the door of your home when you arrive, alert you to who else is home, and perform tasks for you on the internet. Other robots can call people by name and fetch or deliver items as directed. A machine named Grace can even register you for a conference, take notes, and chat with other attendees. Some of these machines even manage themselves. USA Today reports that MARION-1 even plugs itself in between charges when it feels "woozy."

Other jobs that don't require diplomas, but may be headed towards mechanization include fast food worker, customer service worker, receptionist, clerk, toll taker, cashier, dishwasher, bus boy, hostess, newspaper delivery person, and ticket taker.

Is there any encouraging news on the job front for potential dropouts? With the economy at its worse since perhaps before World War II, it appears that today, a high school diploma is far more critical than anyone could have imagined. USA Today noted that machines used to tackle only repetitive tasks like factory work, or jobs that no human should have to do like searching for bodies during a disaster. Now, machines are starting to be able to take over jobs that may have been fine ways to earn a living, especially for people who had fewer employment options due to their lack of a diploma.

The article had just the slightest morsel of hope for dropouts, but that hope was dashed by the end of the sentence. USA Today includes this blunt and devastating comment by Brandeis University robotics expert, Jordan Pollack: "I believe that there is a low-paid human who folds clothes cheaper than any robot we could make." You may wish to relay this information to students considering dropping out of school. Unless the student's dream job is to fold clothes for almost no money, they may want to do whatever it takes to get that diploma.

WANT ADDITIONAL RESOURCES to detour dropouts? Our Education: Don't Start the Millennium Without It book (click) has additional compelling interventions to persuade potential dropouts that they will desperately need school throughout their lives.

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DO YOU WORK WITH UNMOTIVATED, AT RISK, NEGATIVE or DISCOURAGED STUDENTS?

WE CAN HELP!

ASK YOU PRINCIPAL OR ADMINISTRATOR to
SCHEDULE AN ON-SITE TRAINING WORKSHOP!

We wrote the book on troubled students.
We also teach the class.

Make the 1 or 2 day professional development investment that delivers year-long results. Bring the popular Breakthrough Strategies to Teach and Counsel Troubled Youth Inservice Workshop to your entire staff, team, association, or conference. Your staff name the exact problem areas; we deliver hundreds of ready-to-use, problem-stopping interventions. For more details: Visit http://www.youthchg.com/onsite.html, or call 1-800-545-5736.

Popular on-site professional development days are starting to disappear! Call 1-800-545-5736 or reply to this email to get a professional development information packet sent to you on hosting our powerful workshop. At your request, we can include information on arranging college credit, clock hours and CEUs, and using the inservice as a fund raiser. Our on-site professional development classes are extremely affordable!

ON-SITE STAFF DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS ARE TERRIFIC FUND RAISERS!

RECENT ON-SITE WORKSHOPS
Alhambra School District, Phoenix, AZ; Donna, TX Schools; Parent University in Sierra Vista, AZ; Res Care in Oklahoma City; and Hope Schools, in Hope, AR.

We've been to every corner of North America, and want to bring our solutions to your school, agency or conference. Book the best presentation, keynote, speaker, or breakout seminar. Call now to solve your worst kid problems: 800-545-5736.

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"In a perfectly rational society, the best of us would aspire to be teachers and counselors, and the rest of us would have to settle for less, for passing civilization on from one generation to the next, ought to be the highest honor and highest responsibility anyone could have." -- Lee Iaocca

This lovely quote has very little to do with reality. At our workshops around the country, more and more teachers and youth professionals say that due to budget concerns, they are increasingly being expected to do more with less, that their community does not properly value and fund schools and youth services. Classrooms of over 40 are becoming common. School counselors have caseloads of thousands-- and that's the lucky schools. The unlucky schools now have no counselor at all. Whatever your job is in the youth service sector, you have probably been affected by budget cuts.

Here are tips on maximizing your remaining resources:

PROBLEM: REDUCED SERVICE DAYS/HOURS

Many schools and agencies have reduced the number of days that services are offered, or the amount of hours per day have been cut. You may be in the position of having the same mandate but far less time to accomplish it.

SOLUTION: The typical teacher or youth professionals wastes 22 minutes per hour on on-demand behavior management-- stopping the inappropriate comments, requesting students pay attention, ending side conversations, and so on. More than ever, you need to maximize the time you have with your students, so be sure that you are thoroughly training your youngsters to perform the skills they need to benefit from your site. This does not mean that you re-state the expectations for conduct. This means that you actually teach nuts-and-bolts skills such as attendance, punctuality, how to sit in a chair, how often to talk out, how often to make comments, voice level, choice of words, etc. If you begin to systematically provide this training, you can expect to re-gain much of that lost 22 minutes per hour.

PROBLEM: FEWER RESOURCES, SAME GOALS

When you retain the same goals but have less staff and tools, it can seem overwhelming-- especially if you work with students who seem apathetic about your service, which is quite often the case..

SOLUTION: More than ever, it is critical that you motivate your youngsters to see the value of your site's services. You no longer have the time or manpower to "drag" reluctant participants along; you need each youngster to be convinced that they need your service. Working with motivated students can quickly help you accomplish more since you face less resistance from your youngsters.

SAMPLE STRATEGY: Here is a motivation-maker for schools. (If you are not in a school setting, our books and workshop have plenty of motivation-makers to fit your site.) Ask students to list all the things they may ever want to do in their lives. Elicit answers like "travel to Australia," "buy a Porche," and "fly a plane." Write the answers on the board then ask your class to review the list, determining which activities require education (reading, math, science, etc.) to do. All/most activities will require education. For example, to go to Australia, you must read to understand the flight schedule and secure a passport. Discuss with the class: "Education: Don't leave home without it."

PROBLEM: REDUCED STAFFING

When you cut resources, you often open the door for safety concerns. Conduct disorders, and other children and youth who are calculating in their misbehavior, can notice this, and seize upon your reduced staffing as an endless opportunity for acting out.

SOLUTION: Safety concerns need to take center stage in all settings where staffing and resource cuts have occurred. Supervision must be more carefully planned with top priority given to conduct disorders, your most misbehaved youth. All staff must have superb skills with this population, and be well-versed in using approaches designed especially for conduct disorders, as conventional methods fail with these children. Be sure that all personnel-- including adjunct staff such as your receptionist, cafeteria staff, etc.-- are familiar with which of students may be at highest risk of serious misconduct. Your first two issues of this internet magazine gave you the basics on conduct disorders. You may wish to share those issues with your entire team. To get those issues re-sent to you, see below...

NEED MORE INFORMATION on Doing More with Less? Our books and workshop have comprehensive information and give you much more than the sampling included in this issue. Let us know if we can help you locate the more extensive resources that you need. Call 1-800-545-5736, reply to this email or visit our site <http://www.youthchg.com>. We are here to help you help challenged and troubled children and youth.

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DO YOU HAVE APATHETIC, DELINQUENT, VIOLENT or TRUANT STUDENTS?

WE CAN HELP!

SCHEDULE AN ON-SITE TRAINING WORKSHOP!

We wrote the book on troubled students.
We also teach the class.


Make the 1 or 2 day professional development investment that delivers year-long results. Bring the popular Breakthrough Strategies to Teach and Counsel Troubled Youth Inservice Workshop to your entire staff, team, association, or conference. Your staff name the exact problem areas; we deliver hundreds of ready-to-use, problem-stopping interventions. This workshop is the one continuing education course that will turbo charge your staff and the results you achieve with students. For more details: Visit http://www.youthchg.com/onsite.html, or call 1-800-545-5736.

Popular on-site professional development days are starting to disappear! Call 1-800-545-5736 or reply to this email to get a professional development information packet sent to you on hosting our powerful workshop. At your request, we can include information on arranging college credit, clock hours and CEUs, and using the inservice as a fund raiser. Our on-site professional development classes are extremely affordable!

ON-SITE STAFF DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS ARE TERRIFIC FUND RAISERS!

RECENT ON-SITE WORKSHOPS
Alhambra School District, Phoenix, AZ; Donna, TX Schools; Parent University in Sierra Vista, AZ; Res Care in Oklahoma City; and Hope Schools, in Hope, AR.

We've been to every corner of North America, and want to bring our solutions to your school, agency or conference. Book the best presentation, keynote, speaker, or breakout seminar. Call now to solve your worst kid problems: 800-545-5736.

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Yikes! Okay, stop flooding us with your requests for the answers to the Pop Quiz featured in the last issue of this internet magazine!

Here is that answer plus greatly expanded content. It's nice to know so many of you actually read your issue of this magazine. We work very hard to give you our best so it's been great to get such a big response, but stop e-mailing us for the answer. It is shown below.

Many of you did send comments with your email when you requested the Pop Quiz answers. Some of you commented about how you still had as many-- or more-- problem kids than ever, but due to budget shortfalls in your area, you had less resources than ever, to manage your youngsters. A couple of the letters were terribly sad, especially from Oregon, where Portland Public Schools will now have the shortest school year in the nation because voters failed to allocate funding for schools and other services. One Oregonian wrote us that she was about to lose her job, but asked if she could still come to our Portland class in April. That type of selflessness and commitment to troubled young people by someone who is losing her job, was devastating to us.

We would like to believe that here at Youth Change, we share that spirit of undying commitment and selflessness, so please understand that if you are a teacher or youth worker who has been affected by severe budget problems, we still want to help. We pride ourselves on being a socially responsible business.

If you want to come to class, but have little budget, call us and we will attempt to find a half-price work-study slot for you, or figure out some way to help. We do not turn away people who can not afford to pay full price. If you want one of our books, but can't afford the $13 price tag, email us and we will sell you a damaged copy for half-price, or do what we can to help. Obviously, if we gave away all our books and classes for free, we would have no income and could not exist, but in these difficult financial times, we want you to know that we still want to be there to help you as you struggle to do more with less resources than ever.

THE POP QUIZ

Test your knowledge now: In many groups, there is one child who causes way more than his/her fair share of disruption. One teacher said that this child is the "1% of my class that takes 99% of my time." I bet you have a child that fits that description too. Here's the question:

Name the child who causes the most disruption, and state how you must work with that child differently than all your other students.

THE POP QUIZ ANSWER

Your most out-of-control student is probably a conduct disorder. That's the child who lacks a heart or conscience, so they do what they want, when they want, to who they want. It's ironic that after the grim discussion of budgets above, that at the time your budget may be shrinking, your number of conduct disorders is almost certainly growing. So you may have more hard-to-manage kids than ever before, but less staff and other resources than ever before to control these most difficult youngsters.

"Conduct disorder" is a mental health term that you had better know backwards and forwards, or else you probably will continue to struggle with this child. Only mental health professionals can diagnose the problem, but nearly all youth workers have this child in their setting. You don't need a diagnosis to adjust how you work with a child who you fear may be conduct disordered. It is wise to make some adjustments immediately if you think that the young person might be conduct disordered.

The second and third issues of our Problem-Kid Problem-Solver internet magazine covered this child. If you are a new subscriber, you will be receiving those issues soon. If you are an "old" subscriber, you may wish to dig those issues out of your trash to review if any of this information presented here is unfamiliar. Workshop past participants: This should be familiar ground for you! Our web site has a little bit of help too at http://www.youthchg.com/hottopic.html. If the information offered here is unfamiliar, make sure that you do something to upgrade your skills because CDs are usually 11-15% of your group, and they may pose a serious safety risk to both people and property. They are much more than just your most disruptive kid.

Here are some tips on working with conduct disorders and kids that may be conduct disorders. However, these strategies are just a tiny part of the comprehensive, detailed help that we give in our Breakthrough Strategies classes. So, still be especially careful with this child if you are not very familiar with conduct disorders, because this smattering of tips is absolutely no substitute for fully updating your skills. However, it's not realistic to try and cram all you need to know into an e-mail, but hopefully this at least helps a bit. Remember that this child is potentially dangerous as they lack a conscience; don't attempt to skate by without getting the full picture. Otherwise, there can be serious results.

Here's just a few key tips:

DO DO DO DO DO:

Watch out for manipulation such as "that's not fair!"

Avoid/severely limit heart-to-heart relationship approaches.

Use "muscle" heavily.

Be a power, never a pawn.

Start off in control of the class; it's almost impossible to re-gain control.

Be a unified team or expect to be "divided and conquered"

Make sure the boss at your site knows a lot about conduct disorders, or manipulation is highly likely

Give a wide range of possible consequences, never give just several specific ones

Remember that if you are an administrator or counselor, this is the child you see the most, for the most serious infractions

Remember that half of ADD kids are conduct disordered or have a similar problem

DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT:

Don't turn your back or isolate with the student

Don't make idle threats, be ready to do as you say

Don't be consistent when dispensing consequences

Don't be predictable

Don't be fair

Don't work with CDs like you work with everybody else

COMPREHENSION TEST FOLLOW-UP

If you don't know WHY we recommended each Do and Don't, then you do not sufficiently understand this population. You need to know the why's, and not just follow some tips without the logic being clear to you. Please consider doing something to broaden your skills. In your defense, unless you are a mental health professional, this information was probably not included in your training.

The quickest source of more information on conduct disorders is our $15 Anti-Social Youth/All the Best Answers to the Worst Kid Problems book and audio book (click), or to get our Breakthrough Strategies class (live or distance learning version). Click on the link to our web site (http://www.youthchg.com/tape.html), reply to this email, or call 1-800-545-5736 to get more information on those options. Ideally, you already knew all the information presented here. If not, use the tips with care and learn more about conduct disorders as soon as you can. Good luck and let us know if we can be of further help working with this very hard-to-manage kid.

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DO YOU HAVE AGGRESSIVE, BORED, FAILING, SLEEPING and WITHDRAWN STUDENTS?

WE CAN HELP!

SCHEDULE AN ON-SITE TRAINING WORKSHOP!

We wrote the book on troubled students.
We also teach the class.

Make the 1 or 2 day professional development investment that delivers year-long results. Bring the popular Breakthrough Strategies to Teach and Counsel Troubled Youth Inservice Workshop to your entire staff, team, association, or conference. Your staff name the exact problem areas; we deliver hundreds of ready-to-use, problem-stopping interventions. For more details: Visit http://www.youthchg.com/onsite.html, or call 1-800-545-5736.

Popular on-site professional development days are starting to disappear! Call 1-800-545-5736 or reply to this email to get a professional development information packet sent to you on hosting our powerful workshop. At your request, we can include information on arranging college credit, clock hours and CEUs, and using the inservice as a fund raiser. Our on-site professional development classes are extremely affordable!

ON-SITE STAFF DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS ARE TERRIFIC FUND RAISERS!

RECENT ON-SITE WORKSHOPS
Alhambra School District, Phoenix, AZ; Donna, TX Schools; Parent University in Sierra Vista, AZ; Res Care in Oklahoma City; and Hope Schools, in Hope, AR.

We've been to every corner of North America, and want to bring our solutions to your school, agency or conference. Book the best presentation, keynote, speaker, or breakout seminar. Call now to solve your worst kid problems: 800-545-5736.

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1. Teacher Telegram (or Counselor, Therapist, Court Worker...Telegram)
A veteran, "world-class" special ed teacher was working with a student when the child suddenly flipped over his desk and fled the room. You won't believe what this teacher had done! She had written on the student's math paper! That child interpreted that help to mean that the teacher thought he was too stupid to do the work himself, and bolted from the room in anger. Of course, had this teacher known that the child would react in that manner, she would have been happy to let the child do the writing, or she could have written on scratch paper instead.

This incident is a classic, common situation that could have easily been avoided if only the teacher had known the child's views. The Teacher Telegram surveys your youngsters to gather the information you need to avoid problems that can perhaps be averted or minimized. Make your telegram have about five finish-the-sentence statements, and include queries like: "Some of the things I like about your class are...," "The one thing I wish you would do differently is...," "The one thing that helps me is...," "The one thing that does not help me is...," and "My other comments are..." You may be pleasantly surprised at how much this little device, done periodically, can reduce or end problems.

2. Motivation Burger
For students who state they would never want to work in fast food, discuss this: "Don't Want to Flip Burgers? Then get a diploma and 'Super-Size' your life." Also discuss that more than 80% of jobs require a diploma, and that fast food may be one of the few places that will consider dropouts for employment.

3. A Taste of the Real World
It can be very hard to convince youth that they will desperately need education. For children who have very poor reading skills, here's an interesting and compelling activity. Create a menu in a foreign language and ask the students to order. To get you started, here are some Dutch dinner items, but you can also go to a page like <http://www.google.com/language_tools> and enter English menu terms and have the words translated into German, French or other language. You may wish to actually serve some of the items your students order. Select items that are very likely to be viewed as distasteful, so you might consider offering treats like sardines, stewed prunes and liver, foods that might be thoroughly disliked, but are easy to purchase.

Choose Your Dinner Gebakken garnalen (Pan-Roasted Shrimp) Gegrilde lamskoteletten (Grilled Lamb Chops) Vegeratische pastachotel (Vegetarian Pasta) Rijstpudding met frambozencoulis (Rice Pudding) When your students protest that they can't figure out what to do, let them know that could be their on-going adult experience in the world if they don't learn to read.

4. Education-- You Can't Live Life Without It
Ask your students to list out the most difficult things that they may face during their lives. Elicit answers like manage a serious illness or find a job. After reviewing the list, ask the students to identify if education would help or hurt in each situation. Assist students to note that education almost always helps, and never hurts. Assist students to realize: Education-- You Can't Live Life Without It.

5. There's Always Welfare
Hurry up. Welfare is going the way of the buggy and 8 track tape deck. The number of welfare recipients has dropped a phenomenal 50% in the past six years. Plus, in most cases, you can be on welfare for five years and then you are out for life,-- yes, life. The amount of money given out is down by as much as 90% in some places. The average person may live nearly 80 years so welfare may be available only 6% of the time. To convey how tiny 6% is to your youngsters, give 6% of your class a small treat, like a mint. Or, give each student $300 in play money and then take all but 6% away, leaving each youngster with just $18.

6. Three Little Lies
To convincingly teach students how hard it is to tell and keep a lie, ask each youngster to tell three lies about things that are occurring that day. So, a typical lie might be: "I have pink hair," said by a brunette. Ask students to repeat each lie at least three times an hour all day. The next day, discuss how much energy, concentration and focus it took to maintain those lies, and relate the discussion to actual lies students have told in the past. Include in the discussion: "Who does lying really fool?" Assist students to realize that in many ways, the liar really most fools himself or herself.

7. There Must Be 2003 Things You Need to Know By the Year 2003
Working with your students, make a list of the things students need to know by 2003 (or whatever year it is). Include things like purchase air travel online, pay bills electronically, fill in a complex job application on a computer, enter contact information into a mobile phone, operate a PDA, and configure a wireless network.

8. Pay Attention
Adults often expect young people to magically know how to pay attention, but no one may have actually taught the child how to do so. To teach the skills needed to pay attention, teach each of these five skills one at a time: Get your area ready, get yourself ready, watch the action, listen to the action, control your body. You should use pictures, rag dolls or other attention-grabbing devices to teach and drill the skills into habits. But, until you teach the skills, you shouldn't expect them.

9. Can You Compute?
Internet and/or computer skills are becoming required for almost any job. You may have to scan a badge to clock in at your job, or log onto a network to get your assignments. Have your students strut their stuff by performing internet or computer tasks. Here's one to start: Find where to get bakeapples, and locate a shipper to transport. Answer: Bakeapples are a Newfoundland, Canada food; UPS could provide shipping. Discuss with students where they can hone key internet and computer skills.

10. Computers Rule
For good or bad, computers are becoming absolutely key to everyday work and living. More and more mail is being sent over the internet, but at the same time, spam is becoming a bigger and bigger hassle. Here at Youth Change, we receive about 275 spams each day. It has gotten harder and harder to spot the real e-mail from the junk e-mail. In fact, an invitation to present our workshop in Europe was at first deleted as our spam deletion program thought it was junk mail. So, save up your real mail and junk e-mail (eliminating offensive or personal items) then ask students to sort through a very large amount of e-mail. Alternatively, create simulated e-mails to use instead. Note how many times important items like bills, renewal notices, and password information, are deleted. Be sure to include bogus virus alerts, e-mails containing "viruses", and deceptive offers in the e-mails you give students to process. When students mishandle items, note that education and computer training can help.

WANT MORE ANSWERS TO YOUR WORST "KID PROBLEMS?"

A quick Top 10 list is no replacement for having all the skills and information you need to work with youth and children. Based on the recent questions to the Live Expert Help Area of our web site <http://www.youthchg.com>, many professionals struggle with major gaps in their training. Many of you have said that you're uncertain how to rein in rowdy youth, or you wish you had a broader mental health base, or better understood what to do about fragile kids. Make your job easier, and become more effective working with troubled youth. Come to our live Breakthrough Strategies class (http://www.youthchg.com/live.html), or order the distance learning continuing ed course on DVD. Read about that option here: http://www.youthchg.com/tape.html. Our professional development resources and classes put you in the child's world and take the guess work out of youth work.

Yes, you can afford to come to our continuing education class (click). Financial aid work-study slots are always offered for $84 for the live continuing ed course. So if you have a bad budget, call 800-545-5736 to sign up for work-study reduced tuition. We're here to help all youth professionals turnaround troubled youth and children.

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DO YOU HAVE ANGRY, FRUSTRATED, UNCOOPERATIVE or DISRESPECTFUL STUDENTS?

WE CAN HELP!

SCHEDULE AN ON-SITE TRAINING WORKSHOP!

We wrote the book on troubled students.
We also teach the class.


Make the 1 or 2 day professional development investment that delivers year-long results. Bring the popular Breakthrough Strategies to Teach and Counsel Troubled Youth Inservice Workshop to your entire staff, team, association, or conference. Your staff name the exact problem areas; we deliver hundreds of ready-to-use, problem-stopping interventions. For more details: Visit http://www.youthchg.com/onsite.html, or call 1-800-545-5736.

Popular on-site professional development days are starting to disappear! Call 1-800-545-5736 or reply to this email to get a professional development information packet sent to you on hosting our powerful workshop. At your request, we can include information on arranging college credit, clock hours and CEUs, and using the inservice as a fund raiser. Our on-site professional development classes are extremely affordable!

ON-SITE STAFF DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS ARE TERRIFIC FUND RAISERS!

RECENT ON-SITE WORKSHOPS
Alhambra School District, Phoenix, AZ; Donna, TX Schools; Parent University in Sierra Vista, AZ; Res Care in Oklahoma City; and Hope Schools, in Hope, AR.

We've been to every corner of North America, and want to bring our solutions to your school, agency or conference. Book the best presentation, keynote, speaker, or breakout seminar. Call now to solve your worst kid problems: 800-545-5736.

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At our live workshops, we often get requests for interventions that can enhance self-worth-- and we do have many creative methods for all age levels. However, at class, we always offer a cautionary note: If a child hears at home that they are no good, or the child is called racist names, or is physically assaulted in the community, there is no strategy that can speak louder than that fist, that racist name, or that put-down from home. So, the best time to use self-esteem builders is when the child is no longer being put down at home, called bad names, etc.

For children currently facing events that generate low self-esteem, that is a normal reaction to the abuse they encounter. Your initial focus should not necessarily be to counter that reasonable reaction, but instead to help the child avoid, manage or process the abusive events.

For children who no longer face the verbal assaults or physical abuse, or whatever caused their feelings of low worth, that is the population for whom these interventions offer special value. Remember though, that self-esteem doesn't strike randomly, but generally is caused by the specific events the child has faced or is facing now. You must address those events and not just skim over them. With that in mind, when the time is right, here are some fun strategies that can help build esteem:

Esteem Magazine:
Have your students put themselves on the cover of "Esteem Magazine: For Students Who Know That Esteem is More Than Just Hot Air." Have your youngsters fill the magazine with the items created via some of the next interventions (offered below), so that students create a publication that captures many of their positive qualities.

Picture Us
Using a digital or instant camera, have a student snap pictures of your class members. List on the board qualities such as "good leader," "reliable," "kind to others" and "always willing to help." Have students sort the pictures to fit the categories using removable adhesive to secure the photos to the board. Have plenty of categories so each picture can be placed. Afterward, students can be given their photos with the correct category noted below the picture. An award ribbon can be added.

Caught Doing Good
Make award ribbons (that can attach to clothing with a pin) and are imprinted: "Caught Doing Good." Award these periodically to class members as the individual student's behavior warrants it. This is a great intervention for youth who are "always in trouble" and consequently feel bad about themselves.

Happy New School Year
This activity works best at the start of the school year, or it also works well in January. Sometimes students feel bad about themselves because they are failing at tasks at your school or agency. Have students make "Happy New School Year" resolutions, which can be placed into balloons and released into the sky (and later recovered.) Work with each class member to develop a plan to succeed at their resolutions. You can even have a "Happy New School Year" party, which can make it harder to be so completely sour and negative about your site.

Everybody Know Somebody Who Doesn't Like Them Sometimes
Some students believe that everyone should like them. Especially during middle school, chances are that most students will be aware that other youngsters do not seem to like them. That can be hard on esteem. Teach students that about a third of the kids will like them, a third won't like them, a third don't care, and if you feel those numbers are similar to what you experience, you're doing just fine. Students can make illustrations that clarify what each third looks like.

Before and After
Have students make "Before" and "After" pictures of themselves, similar to the ads for weight loss companies that show the person before and after they lost weight. This activity can help discouraged youngsters better imagine good outcomes. The ads can focus on any area from earning better grades, to improving hygiene to having more friends.

Picture This
Have students cut up magazines and affix pictures to the outside of a paper grocery bag. The pictures should show the student's good qualities. The bags should show the student's name and photograph, and can be titled: Picture the Good Things About Me. A follow-up: students can write positive comments about their peers and place the comments into the bags so that the bags are filled with positive feedback.

Everyone Makes Mistooks
Perfectionist students can quickly feel awful about themselves when they aren't perfect, when they make mistakes. To alleviate the anger they may feel towards themselves for missing a question on a quiz, or misspelling a word in a major spelling bee, help the students to discover that "everyone makes mistooks." You first make a mistook by tripping, for example. Challenge your perfectionistic students to make "mistooks" such as dropping their pencils, for example. Your goal is to reduce the sting and intensity of making everyday errors.

Perfectly Imperfect
To further show perfectionistic students that everyone makes mistakes, teach your class that no one is perfect, that sooner or later everyone mispronounces a word or drops the ball in a game, for example. Teach your students that they can't be perfect, but they can be "perfectly imperfect." The more you reduce the anger and shame of making mistakes, that some perfectionistic students experience, the less their self- esteem will rise and fall based on performance. It is not healthy to have one's esteem based on external factors that none of us can completely control.

Want more ways to work successfully with children with low self-esteem?

Come to our live Breakthrough Strategies class (http://www.youthchg.com/live.html), or order the distance learning workshop on DVD (http://www.youthchg.com/tape.html). Our professional development inservice will put you in the "child's skin" and take the guess work out of youth work. Financial aid work-study slots are always offered for the live class (click) if you have a bad budget this year. Just call 800-545-5736 to sign up for work study reduced tuition for the live professional development class.

Our "Learning to Like the Kid in the Mirror" book has dozens of additional methods, and is just $15. View information on this book at http://www.youthchg.com/lessons.html.

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HAVING A ROUGH SCHOOL YEAR?

SCHEDULE AN ON-SITE TRAINING WORKSHOP!

We wrote the book on troubled students.
We also teach the class.

Make the 1 or 2 day professional development investment that delivers year-long results. Bring the popular Breakthrough Strategies to Teach and Counsel Troubled Youth Inservice Workshop to your entire staff, team, association, or conference. Your staff name the exact problem areas; we deliver hundreds of ready-to-use, problem-stopping interventions. For more details: Visit http://www.youthchg.com/onsite.html, or call 1-800-545-5736.

Popular on-site professional development days are starting to disappear! Call 1-800-545-5736 or reply to this email to get a professional development information packet sent to you on hosting our powerful workshop. At your request, we can include information on arranging college credit, clock hours and CEUs, and using the inservice as a fund raiser. Our on-site professional development classes are extremely affordable!

ON-SITE STAFF DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS ARE TERRIFIC FUND RAISERS!

RECENT ON-SITE WORKSHOPS
Alhambra School District, Phoenix, AZ; Donna, TX Schools; Parent University in Sierra Vista, AZ; Res Care in Oklahoma City; and Hope Schools, in Hope, AR.

We've been to every corner of North America, and want to bring our solutions to your school, agency or conference. Book the best presentation, keynote, speaker, or breakout seminar. Call now to solve your worst kid problems: 800-545-5736.

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Do you know a Nix-Master? Sure you do. It's the child who says "no" to nearly anything. Some of these children are loud and defiant, others are quietly and politely non-compliant. Whether they are loud or quiet, they are not doing what they are asked to do.

No adult ever won a power struggle with a child, and no adult ever will. The minute you get into power struggle with a child, you've already lost. Instead, choose interventions that work around the resistance.

Nearly nonstop nay-saying is a normal part of development that prepares teens to become independent. Here are techniques to use with youth or children who evidence normal non-compliance, and those who use behaviors that go well beyond "typical" into seriously defiant:

Be Democratic

Who would you work harder for-- the boss who was a dictator or the boss who was a participatory manager? Most of us, whether adults or kids, want to have a say at work or school. Allowing youth input prepares them for the self- management they must do throughout life when adults aren't present.

Strategies: To win a great prize, have students play Tic Tac Toe without rules. They will discover that games won't work without rules. Now, have a classroom without rules and a defiant youth as teacher. Role reversals offer fast ways for defiant youth to get a jolting look at their own problem behavior.

If Everybody Says "No"

Help students realize that compliance is not arbitrary but essential.

Strategies: Ask the students to determine the consequences if everyone was non-compliant whenever they wished. Ask what would happen if everybody ignored stop signs, took every item they wanted, blocked traffic, refused to pay taxes, or could enter your house without your okay.

Give a Perspective

Defying authority can become the top issue above all else.

Strategies: Ask students to list the most important things they want in life. Defying authority will not be listed. Identify to defiant students that they devote much time and energy to low/no priority issues while jeopardizing their top goals. Have students cross out goals that defiance could ruin. This intervention is especially good with children such as conduct disorders who only care about what they want for me-me-me.

Different Approaches for Different Folks

You may have noticed two trends among your defiant youth. Some, such as conduct disorders, engage in defiance for fun, or out of meanness. These may be your students who are loudly non-compliant. But, others, usually your quieter students, are defiant not for sport or meanness, but out of quiet desperation. You must work with these two populations very differently. In past issues of this ezine, we have discussed the special set of tools you must use with conduct disorders. Visit http://www.youthchg.com/hottopic.html for a refresher. For your more vulnerable child who is non-compliant, we have dozens of methods that we give in our workshop. However, we will have space for just a few here.

Strategies: Your vulnerable students are non- compliant because it is safe and familiar, and they do so out of desperation. Teach them alternatives using acceptance. So, negotiation of expectations with incremental increases can help, but the more you wrestle for compliance, the less you may get, so also be sure to find out why the child says "no." Some children will tell of family strife, others will say "I don't know." Respond to the "I don't know" with "If you did know...what would it be?" and often you will learn key data that will guide you.

Be sure to teach compliance skills, including what to say when you don't want to do as directed. Many students say "no" but could learn to say for example, "I don't know how to do what you are asking," which would be a much more conciliatory response. Consider allowing the child to say if it is a "good work day" or a "bad work day" and to be given some accommodation on bad days. Any "breathing room" you offer fragile, non-compliant students will usually result in their undying loyalty to you, and they will work as hard as they can on days they are able. You may be one of the few sane, sober, humane adults in their universe. If you can strike the balance between your mission and the child's issues that impair functioning, that is the best case scenario. Consider coming to our workshop if you want more extensive ideas rather than just this sampling of suggestions (http://www.youthchg.com/live.html).

Want more ways to work successfully with all types of non-compliant youth and children?

Come to our live Breakthrough Strategies class (http://www.youthchg.com/live.html) or order the distance learning course on DVD (http://www.youthchg.com/tape.html). Both the live and video class devote hours to understanding and working with defiant students. Our class will put you in the "child's skin" and take the guess work out of youth work. Financial aid work-study slots are always offered for the live class (click) if you have a bad budget. Just call 800-545-5736 to sign up for work study reduced tuition for the live class. We care about you and your kids. We will do whatever we can to help you come to class even if you have a bad budget. Call us, we can help.

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ASK YOUR PRINCIPAL OR ADMINISTRATOR TO

SCHEDULE AN ON-SITE TRAINING WORKSHOP!

We wrote the book on troubled students.
We also teach the class.

Make the 1 or 2 day professional development investment that delivers year-long results. Bring the popular Breakthrough Strategies to Teach and Counsel Troubled Youth Inservice Workshop to your entire staff, team, association, or conference. Your staff name the exact problem areas; we deliver hundreds of ready-to-use, problem-stopping interventions. For more details: Visit http://www.youthchg.com/onsite.html, or call 1-800-545-5736.

Popular on-site professional development days are starting to disappear! Call 1-800-545-5736 or reply to this email to get a professional development information packet sent to you on hosting our powerful workshop. At your request, we can include information on arranging college credit, clock hours and CEUs, and using the inservice as a fund raiser. Our on-site professional development classes are extremely affordable!

ON-SITE STAFF DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS ARE TERRIFIC FUND RAISERS!

RECENT ON-SITE WORKSHOPS
Alhambra School District, Phoenix, AZ; Donna, TX Schools; Parent University in Sierra Vista, AZ; Res Care in Oklahoma City; and Hope Schools, in Hope, AR.

We've been to every corner of North America, and want to bring our solutions to your school, agency or conference. Book the best presentation, keynote, speaker, or breakout seminar. Call now to solve your worst kid problems: 800-545-5736.

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