‘Change The Way You Look At Children, And The Children You Look At Change’ is written from the heart and experiences of Lori A. Abosch, an educator whose tumultuous relationship with a highly-volatile and violent seven-year-old boy, Sammy, led to the discovery of a simple and all-encompassing explanation for persistent behavior problems in children. In her game-changing new book, Abosch recounts the frustrating yet ultimately uplifting story of her time with Sammy, and calls on all adults to first look inwards when trying to change the children they’re responsible for.
Northridge, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/03/2014 -- “If Sammy were a cat, he would be on his ninth life upon the start of his educational journey with me,” admits Lori A. Abosch, a uniquely-skilled paraprofessional at the time whose work with a seven-year-old violent child became a sobering and life-changing experience. There’s really no way to sugarcoat it; Lori found working with Sammy to be maddening, tragic yet ultimately triumphant.
‘Change The Way You Look At Children, And The Children You Look At Change’ tells the story with raw aplomb. But it’s so much more than a memoir; Lori and Sammy’s relationship led to a bold discovery about the root singular cause of childhood problem behavior. Lori is now taking this explanation public for the first time.
Synopsis:
"What compels a child to be disrespectful to an adult, to yell and use profanity? What motivates a child to become a bully, to demean and seriously injure his peers? What causes a seemingly “normal” child to wake up one day in a homicidal rage unable to prevent himself from shooting classmates at school? What is the difference between well-behaved children and ones who exhibit impulsive and aggressive behavior?
For years, experts deem the following dynamics such as ADD/ADHD/Autism Spectrum, child abuse, media, poverty, discrimination, single-parent families and others as the primary cause of behavior problems in children. The following story will clearly show that the above factors play a secondary role.
This book is the emotionally charged, inspirational true story about the relationship between a highly volatile and violent seven-year-old boy named Sammy and a seasoned paraprofessional named Lori. Sammy is on his last leg with the local district and has already been kicked out of multiple schools. Lori possesses a reputation as a uniquely skilled assistant and is hand selected to accompany Sammy to his new placement. However, Lori finds no answers for the troubled child whose injurious behavior is becoming increasingly unpredictable and dangerous with each passing moment. On the very day that Lori commits to giving up on Sammy and jeopardizes her ten-year career with the district by deliberately acting in ways that will get her fired, a miracle drops from the heavens. But, just when you think "Happily Ever After" is a page turn away for Sammy, another landmine is detonated.
Sammy's story is riveting, maddening, tragic, touching and triumphant and through his relationship with Lori, the world will not only discover the true cause of all behavior problems, but will be witness to the fact that no child is beyond hope."
“Bullying, teenage pregnancy, addiction and general problem behavior among young people has become a national epidemic, and I’m afraid to report that it all starts with how adults view these children and their potential,” admits Abosch. “The simple explanation that I expose in this book directly challenges ‘hot button’ theories that poverty, disability, abuse and divorce cause bad behavior. It’s simply not true. It comes from adults’ lack of understanding of the true cause of behavior problems and then sometimes the unfortunate unwillingness to dig their heels in and provide the child with whatever they need to become successful.”
Continuing, “The explanations for various issues, let’s take teenage addiction for example, lie within the stages of emotional development and simple common sense. If adults collectively decide that a child is beyond hope, we have resigned them to detriment. My book title says it all – if we change the way we look at them, they will change for the better. Hope prevails.”
To date, the book has garnered overwhelmingly-positive reviews. Margie Wert comments, “The author has written a very honest and compelling story. Many times throughout the story I found myself saying "Someone should have..." But this is a very realistic description of what happens often in education.
The support provided is not enough to help the staff or the child. We as teachers don’t always know what our student’s life stories are, or what they have to go through outside the classroom, nor do we have the power to change it. All we can do is what the author did.”
‘Change The Way You Look At Children, And The Children You Look At Change’ is available now: http://amzn.to/1DCW1NB.
About Lori A. Abosch
The author lives in California and works as a Paralegal Educator.