A mom -- who'd called in the week before to get some help drilling for information with her son -- called in again to provide an update...and her creative drilling strategies were very effective at helping her son communicate his concerns! A good program to listen to for parents who are struggling in the Empathy step of Plan B.

As always, a lot of territory was covered on this program, including a mom who called in for help figuring out why the solutions that are being applied to her son's difficulties haven't been accomplishing the mission.

Challenging behavior isn't a puzzle anymore when you put the Assessment of Lagging Skills and Unsolved Problems (ALSUP) to work.

On this, our last program of this "broadcast year" (the program airs from September through May), we responded to emails from several parents and talked with a mental health professional who's finding the CPS model very much in keeping with her values.  And, to close, we read emails from parents who are just beginning their CPS journeys with their children...we can't wait to hear back from them in September!  All of this year's programs are archived in the Listening Library on the Lives in the Balance website and in i-Tunes.

When you're working on what happens WHEN an unsolved problem has already caused challenging behavior, you're focused on the aftermath of the problem.  So you don't want to work on WHEN...you want to paddle upstream and start solving problems BEFORE they cause those behaviors that are floating downstream.

Are ABA (applied behavior analysis) and CPS completely incompatible?  Well, CPS won't have you rewarding and punishing your child...but the real answer is that it depends on who you ask.

Some great questions answered on today's program, including the one in the title...but also how to transform "No" into an unsolved problem.

Unfortunately, there are lots of things that have changed for the worse for kids in the last 40-50 years...maybe that explains it...

On today's program we heard from a long-time caller who's been implementing the CPS model with her sons for over three years. We reflected a little on the "good old days," heard about how far her sons have come, and learned that Plan A isn't necessarily the best way to help a spouse use Plan B!

What should you do when your child is already in the midst of an explosive outburst?  Defuse, de-escalate, keep everyone safe.  Then figure out what just happened (so it doesn't happen again).