Helpful Books by Julia Cook

I recently purchased several books from Amazon that have been A-Mazing to use in therapy!  (Speaking of Amazon, this post contains Amazon-affiliate links for your convenience).  Julia Cook has authored and co-authored several books for kids that directly target problem behaviors or social difficulties that so many of my students find themselves in.

Here are some of the ones that I have:

• The Worst Day of My Life Ever

This book focuses on listening and following directions.  It tells a cute story about RJ who has accidents and gets into trouble but finally learns that his problems are because he does not listen or follow instructions.

Many of Julia Cook's books have an activity guide for teachers available for purchase.  I have the one for this book and have loved using the coloring sheets and writing prompts with my kids.

• My Mouth Is a Volcano

I love this one!  It targets appropriate conversational skills like not interrupting and respecting what others have to say.  

In this story, Louis has trouble keeping his words in.  He constantly wants to tell his thoughts and interrupts others constantly.  He learns how to turn take and hold his words inside until it is appropriate to speak.  Cute!

I have the teacher's activity guide for this book as well.  There are some really creative activities and ideas for the classroom.

• I Just Want to Do it My Way

This one focuses on staying on task and asking for help.  It's great for kids who have a problem staying focused and organized.

RJ is having trouble in school finishing his assignments and staying focused in class.  He is constantly distracted by others and doesn't like to ask for help.  Luckily, his wise parents teach him a thing or two, and RJ learns some great strategies to focus and finish his work.  

Love it.

• I Just Don't Like the Sound of No

This one targets accepting no for an answer and disagreeing appropriately.  Several of my kiddos struggle with this skill.

RJ hates hearing "no" and constantly turns conversations into an argument.  His teacher then invites him to join her "say yes to no" club and teaches him how to except no and disagree the right way.  It offers some great strategies to parents, teachers, and students on how to deal with this behavior.

• It's Hard to Be a Verb

Another great one.  It helps teach kids who struggle with sitting still how to focus and control themselves more appropriately.

Louis is constantly having trouble focusing and is always on the move.  His mom helps him by telling him some great strategies with how to control himself and deal with his constant jumping around.  This is a great resource for those affected by ADHD.  

What do you think?  Do you own any Julia Cook books?  I think I'm going to try and eventually get ALL of them!  Lol.  Love em.

FAQ Friday: Managing Behavior

In today's FAQ Friday post, I'm hoping to give you a couple of easy ideas and a few research links that could help my fellow SLP and teacher friends.

It's that time of year!  Summertime is just around the corner.  State testing is over.  It didn't help that there was a full moon last night.  The kids are getting antsy!  This is the time when behavior starts to get a little bit (or a lotta bit) out of control...which leads us to this week's question.

Of course, let me just preface this by saying that every kid is different.  There are cases that can get severe.  Sometimes it takes lots of trial and error and team meetings and professional intervention.  This is just meant to be a few helpful tips and links to get you through the rest of the year.  :)

-It's always great to have an incentive system in place.  I always like making much of the good behavior.  Check out some of these cool ones that I found through Pinterest.  Click "source" to take you to the pin.

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Behavior Bingo - Students write their name in a square when they're spotted doing something good.  At the end of the day (or session), the teacher/therapist draws a bingo chip to see who gets the special prize.

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Cute punch card!  Kids receive a punch for good behavior.  When their card is full, they choose a prize.

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Behavioropoly - SO cute!  When students meet their behavior goal, they can take a turn on this fun game board.  It's filled with little incentives like free homework or take off your shoes.

-It's also a great idea to teach kids about how to deal with their anger and show self-control.  The savvyschoolcounselor has a great post about anger games.  This m&m one is my fave!

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-The Crisis Intervention website lists 6 behavior management strategies for you as a professional when the situation gets tough!  You can find the full article here.  Strategies include:

1. Be mindful of your own reaction.
2. Maintain rational detachment.
3. Be attentive.
4. Use positive self-talk.
5. Recognize your limits.
6. Debrief.

-If you want to take a closer look at a child's behavior, you can use the ABC system (from bbbautism.com).
A = Antecedant (the event that happens before a behavior or what prompts the behavior)
B = Behavior (a response to events that can be seen or heard)
C = Consequence (the events that follow the behavior and effects whether the behavior will occur again). 

-If you want to do a little more reading up on managing behavior, THIS website has lots of great articles and tips for the classroom.

Hope you find some of this helpful!  Do any of you deal with problematic behaviors?  Or maybe I'm the only one.  ;)