Lost at School gives a fuller picture of what is behind the socially, emotionally, and behaviorally challenged child. It is a compassionate look at what makes them the way they are and what professionals can do to educate them effectively and teach them to be functioning, contributing members of society. Dr. Greene emphasizes that it is more accurate and useful to think of challenging children and adolescents as lacking important thinking skills. The book highlights other ways to conceptualize the challenging child. Further, it explains that the prevalent positive reward or punishment-based discipline programs found in public schools do not address the root of the issue with challenging children and are ineffective for them. Further, they serve to compound the frustrations these children already feel. Lost at School emphasizes collaboration of the adults in the challenging child's life to figure out what thinking skills are missing, through an evaluation procedure. It then suggests having an adult and child work to resolve the identified problems or unmet expectations in a way that is both realistic and mutually satisfying for everyone.

 

This book provides counselors many examples of dialogues and exchanges between challenging children/adolescents and adults designed to resolve unsolved problems and teach needed skills.