Beyond Behaviors: Using Brain Science and Compassion to Understand and Solve Children's Behavioral Challenges

This book contains thought-provoking and ground-breaking insights that will change the way you parent, treat, or educate a child with behavioral challenges. The ideas and practices presented in this book are based on the latest scientific understanding of how we learn to regulate our emotions and behavior in the context of safe interpersonal connections and environments. Dr. Delahooke helps us recognize that what matters most is the child's felt sense of safety and not our own perception or presumption of it. What we perceive as seemingly benign environmental stimuli, children with faulty neuroception or sensory-processing challenges may perceive as a threat to their sense of safety. As a result, their behaviors must be understood as an adaptive response to their unique individual experiences. If you are a parent, educator, or mental health provider for a child with behavioral challenges, reading this book is an imperative. It will fundamentally change the way you approach working with these children for the better. Dr. Delahooke presents complex concepts with such elegant clarity, readability, and compassion that you will be moved to come back to her words again and again as a guide for your understanding of children's needs. As a child psychologist specializing in treating children with challenging behaviors, this is one of my go-to book recommendations for parents who seek to gain a deeper understanding of their child's needs, and the work involved in helping them experience connection and well-being.

This upcoming school year, I was tasked with creating professional development for our teachers that centered around "trauma informed teaching." Personally, I have utilized strategies on my own but it was hard to put it into words why my students had been successful when I was in the classroom. I struggled for a bit trying to think of how to develop a scope and sequence, how to figure out what to focus on and what to share with staff. I purchased this book after doing the preview, since I hoped it would help put into words what I struggled to do. I was right.What I love about the book is that it is very easy to understand and practical. The worksheets in the book are straightforward, and the material within the book helps people understand that "whys" behind behaviors. It's always been my belief that you can't focus on the behavior itself, because behavior is a method of communication. Looking at behaviors through that lens, you want to try to get the bottom of the communication - whether it is, "I'm overwhelmed right now" or "I don't feel comfortable here," there are lots of things are kids try to communicate with us without words. This book helps you break down the behaviors and get a better understanding of the root cause of what is happening. I highly recommend it.

As Den Heijer eloquently states, "When a flower doesn't bloom you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.""Our approaches fall short when we simply mist little flowers struggling to grow in parched soil. Instead, we need to tend the soil. In human beings, the 'soil' is safety in relationships - safety as perceived by each child's nervous system, not as defined by adults for the child."I highly recommend this book to anyone that works with children! It breaks down literal brain science and makes it make sense for us lay people. The book was an easy read with a lot of real life examples that helped explain the concepts and tons of worksheets that could be immediately utilized with children and families. The author also provides a lot of good resources.

As someone who has limited training in behaviors and understanding the underlying causes, this book really explains everything clearly. I truly felt after reading this I had a better grasp on the "why" behind behaviors and how to better support my students. This book is great for school teachers, social workers, SLP, OT, PT and any other school professional. I'd also recommend this to parents!

This book has changed the way I parent. I homeschool my 7 year old daughter . This book has changed my perspective on misbehavior and how it is the body’s way adapting and handling stress. It goes beyond the surface of behaviors and is grounded in neuroscience. It has changed how I connect and interact with my 7 year old . It has been so helpful and my daughter’s challenging behaviors have diminished dramatically . I would recommend this book to any parent , educator or anyone who interacts with kids .

As a psychotherapist I utilize this book as a source of comfort for the parents of my clients or for clients who have children that deal with mental distortions It's very comprehensive and you can actually see their relief on the parent's faces if you use this in session It's an easy read and I'm so happy about it