The information in this program outline is provided by the program representative and edited by the CEBC staff. The Think:Kids program has been rated by the CEBC in the area of: Disruptive Behavior Treatment (Child & Adolescent).

• Types of Maltreatment: Does not target any specific kind of maltreatment
• Target Population: Children and adolescents with a variety of behavioral challenges, including both externalizing (e.g., explosions, meltdowns, tantrums) and internalizing (e.g., implosions, shutdowns, withdrawal).  The children and adolescents carry a variety of psychiatric diagnoses, including Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Mood Disorders, Bipolar Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorders, etc.

Think:Kids teaches an approach for helping children with behavioral challenges where through training, support and clinical services, the understanding that challenging kids lack the skill, not the will, to behave well is promoted. Specifically, skills related to problem solving, flexibility, and frustration tolerance are emphasized. Unlike traditional models of discipline, this approach avoids the use of power, control, and motivational procedures and instead focuses on teaching at-risk kids the skills they need to succeed.

Not long ago, kids who had trouble reading were thought of as lazy or dumb. Today, people recognize that these kids have a learning disability that simply requires a different method of teaching. Think:Kids aims to accomplish a similar shift in perspective and practice with behaviorally challenging kids. Rather than try to motivate these kids to behave better, this approach teaches skills through a process of helping adults and kids learn how to resolve problems collaboratively.

The goals of Think:Kids are to:

• Pursue high priority adult expectations.
• Reduce challenging child behavior.
• Create (or restore) a helping relationship between the adult and the child.
• Clarify what crucial thinking skills need to be taught to the child and start teaching them.
• Solve chronic problems so they don’t keep coming up.