Martin Herbert & Jenny Wookey 
Managing Children’s Disruptive Behaviour 
A Guide for Practitioners Working with Parents and Foster Parents

Managing Children’s Disruptive Behavior is a comprehensive
guide designed for professionals and parents who care for children
whose behavior problems are beyond those encountered normally.
Arranged in three parts, the book opens by setting out the
theoretical background to conduct disorders in a range of settings.
Part Two discusses issues in assessment and treatment and explains
the background to the ‘Child-Wise’ programs devised by the authors.
Four versions of the Child-Wise program follow, complete with
useful materials for evaluation and homework purposes.

This flexible set of resources has been designed for use with
children aged between 2 and 10 years and includes versions for use:
in group settings; at home; in the classroom; with typical and
special needs children. Devised for use by a wide range of
professionals, the programmes reduce fraught interactions and
restore mutually enjoyable relationships between the carer/parent
and the child. There are also further resources available to
download from a supporting website.

Managing Children’s Disruptive Behaviour is an invaluab le tool for
psychologists, health visitors, social workers, teachers, and all
those whose work involves children and their carers.

Table of Content

About the authors.

Preface.

Acknowledgements.

PART I: DISRUPTION BY THE CHILD.

Introduction.

1. Disruption in the home: Children in control –
children out of control.

Definitions.

Consequences of the conduct disorders.

Risks and protective processes: the early history.

Developmental pathways and transmission of conduct
disorders.

Restoring the balance.

Select bibliography.

2. Disruption in the foster home.

Fostering.

The break-up of children’s families.

The breakdown of fostering placements.

Interventions.

The concept of attachment.

Conclusion.

Select bibliography.

3. Disruption in the classroom.

Introduction.

The influence of school life.

The consultation (triadic) model.

Classroom management.

Disruptive behaviour.

Select bibliography.

PART II: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE: PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT
AND TRAINING.

4. Behavioural parent training.

Introduction.

Behavioural theory.

Assessment methods.

Behavioural methods.

Select bibliography.

5. Orientation to the Child-Wise behaviour management
programme.

Preliminaries.

Getting started.

Resistance.

Possible remedies to overcome resistance.

Notes on the courses.

Select bibliography.

PART III: COURSES.

6. The Child-Wise behaviour management course.

Objectives.

Course outline.

Session 1: Introduction to the course.

Session 2: Children’s needs.

Session 3: Play as ‘special’ (quality) time.

Session 4: Effective praise.

Session 5: Tangible and social rewards.

Session 6: ‘It’s as simple as ABC!’.

Session 7: Discipline.

Session 8: Ignoring and time-out.

Session 9: Removing rewards and privileges.

Session 10: Caring for yourself.

Session 11: Booster session.

7. The individual behaviour management course.

Objectives.

The Child-Wise home-based version.

Advantages of the home-based individual approach.

Reference.

8. Using the Child-Wise course with special needs
children.

Introduction.

Guidelines.

Functional analysis.

Interventions – modifying antecedents.

Select bibliography.

9. The foster parents’ behaviour management
course.

Introduction.

Session 1: Introduction.

Session 2: Behavioural change.

Session 3: The modification of behaviour.

Session 4: Rehearsing behavioural strategies.

Session 5: Booster session.

Appendix I: Issues for discussion and reminder handouts.

Appendix II: Course evaluation forms.

Appendix III: Child-Wise selection interview.

Appendix IV: Background to the Child-Wise course.

Index.

About the author

Martin Herbert is Emeritus Professor at Exeter University.
He was previously Director of the School of Social Work and
Professor of Psychology at the University of Leicester. He later
joined the National Health Service full time and was in charge of
the mental health service for children in Plymouth. This post was
succeeded by a move to Exeter where he directed the doctoral course
in clinical psychology as Professor of Clinical and Community
Psychology. He was appointed to the Consultant Clinical
Psychologist post in the Child and Adolescent Department at the
Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Healthcare Trust. He now specialises in
personal injury psycho-legal work. He has published books and
journal articles on various topics dealing with the psychological
problems of children, adolescents and adults. His latest is
Typical and Atypical Development: From Conception to
Adolescence (2003). Many of his books have been translated into
European and Asian languages. He is a Fellow of the British
Psychological Society.

Jenny Wookey is a consultant clinical psychologist at the
Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust and also honorary tutor and supervisor
on the Clinical Doctoral Course at Exeter University. She has had
many years of working with adults in GP surgeries and with parents
and children at the Plymouth Child Development Centre. She
previously worked in an adultmental health and primary care
setting. Her special interests include developmental disability and
young children with behaviour problems. In recent years she has
worked with Professor Martin Herbert researching and conducting
parent training programmes.