Challenging Kids, Challenged Teachers:

Teaching Students With Tourette’s, Bipolar Disorder, Executive Dysfunction, Ad/hd, and More

Leslie E. Packer, Sheryl K. Pruitt 		      

Written for educators, parents and healthcare professionals, CHALLENGING KIDS, CHALLENGED TEACHERS looks at the approximately 70 to 90% of children seen in clinics who turn out to have one or more neurological disorder. The authors, a psychologist and educational therapist, draw on their extensive experience to describe the cardinal features of 16 related neurological conditions listed below and their educational and academic impact. CHALLENGING KIDS, CHALLENGED TEACHERS alerts readers to conditions that can occur together and offers concrete advice about dealing with their symptoms in the classroom. Not only do teachers learn, say, how Tourette syndrome and OCD are related, they also get advice about and what other symptoms to watch for, as well as insight into how these students experience school in terms of academic performance and social and emotional issues. The features of these conditions are covered:

The authors focus on problems commonly observed in students with neurological disorders, such as handwriting or visual-motor integration deficits, language problems, difficulties with written expression, math calculations, and reading. Numerous accommodations and tips are provided that are appropriate in both regular and special education settings. Separate chapters address homework, testing accommodations, and medication side effects.The last section of the book discusses behavioral approaches to neurological symptoms, the importance of functional behavioral assessments to determine the underlying cause of behavior, disciplinary issues, and positive behavioral supports. Coaching and cooperative problem-solving techniques are also covered as a way to help students develop better social skills. The CD-ROM includes dozens of charts and forms, such as a Homework Time Estimation Worksheet, and Organizational Skills Survey, Sleep Survey, Self-Monitoring Form and a Tic Reporting Inventory The teachers onestop resource for successfully educating K 12 students with mulltiple neurological disorders.

Covers sixteen conditions, and presents practical strategies that teachers can use in the classroom to address academics, behavior, and social issues. Challenging Kids, Challenged Teachers is an educator's go-to source for creating a supportive environment to successfully teach children with multiple neurological disorders including Tourette's Syndrome, OCD, AD/HD, LD, Nonverbal Learning Disability, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Asperger's Syndrome, Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Executive Dysfunction, Sensory Processing Disorder, Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Strep (PANDAS), Bipolar Disorder, "Storms" or "Rages", Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and Sleep Problems. Parents, school psychologists, and social workers will also find this book essential reading.

The wealth of practical tools and strategies discussed in this book are founded on the authors' considerable experience treating children with neurological disorders in their private practices and conducting training workshops for teachers, as well as parenting their own children with multiple diagnoses. Full of charts, graphs, lists, quotes, and vignettes, this well-organized resource makes it easy for busy teachers to find the information they need, including: Challenging Kids, Challenged Teachers also includes a glossary and resources, and its appendix of screening tools, forms, and checklists are on the accompanying CD-ROM for easy reproduction.

Leslie E. Packer, Ph.D. is a psychologist in private practice on Long Island, New York, specializing in the treatment of children and teenagers with Tourette's Syndrome, ADHD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and other disorders described in her book. She maintains two award-winning websites: Tourette Syndrome “Plus” and SchoolBehavior.com, and is the author of Find a Way or Make a Way. She has also written numerous articles for websites, professional, and parenting publications. Dr. Packer has given dozens of presentations and workshops in the U.S. and abroad at schools, professional meetings for educators, psychologists and other services providers, as well as parents Sheryl K. Pruitt, M.Ed., ET/P is the Clinical Director of Parkaire Consultants, a clinic she founded in Marietta, Georgia that serves children and adults with neurological disorders and deficits. Ms. Pruitt speaks locally and nationally to children, adolescents and adults about neurological disorders and coping skills and teaches professional seminars and learning courses for health care professionals and educators. Ms. Pruitt served on the Board of Directors of the Tourette Syndrome Association of Georgia for six years and also served on the national Tourette Syndrome Association's Education Committee She is the author of Teaching the Tiger: A Handbook for Individuals Involved in the Education of Students with Attention Deficit Disorders, Tourette Syndrome or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder