Want a calmer kid? Calm yourself

"Calm down!" Those are words that parents of kids with special behavioral needs utter on an all-too-regular basis. But maybe, instead of saying that to our overstimulated, overextended children, we should be saying it to ourselves. In "Keep It Calm," an excerpt from his book Kids in the Syndrome Mix of ADHD, LD, Asperger's, Tourette's, Bipolar, and More, Martin L. Kutscher M.D. advises parents to "be a defusing influence, not an inflammatory one." That often involves choosing not to go into battle, not rushing through transitions, and being willing to stop the action until everyone cools down. My favorite part of the article is the idea of imagining that your child has a "stress speedometer," and making sure that needle never gets over 60 mph. ... More behavior books