Optimistic Parenting: Hope and Help for You and Your Challenging Child

Happier lives. Less stress. Family harmony. That's what all parents of children with challenging behavior want. Learn how to get there with this groundbreaking guide to confident, skillful, and positive parenting.

A book you'll want to share with every family you know, Optimistic Parenting helps moms, dads, and other caregivers develop more positive thoughts and perceptions—a key ingredient of successful parenting and effective behavior management. One of the most highly regarded experts on challenging behavior—and a parent himself—Dr. V. Mark Durand delivers both philosophical hope and practical help to parents of children with a wide range of challenges. With keen insight, gentle humor, and practical tools and strategies, Durand guides parents step by step through the process of

• pinpointing the "why" behind challenging behavior
• tuning in to their own thoughts, emotions, and self-talk
• understanding how their thoughts affect their interactions with their child
• interrupting negative thoughts and replacing them with positive, productive ones
• achieving a healthy balance between taking care of their own needs and their child's needs
• using effective emergency strategies when quick behavior intervention is needed
• implementing long-term strategies for lasting behavior improvements
• weaving functional communication training into everyday routines and interactions
• addressing the most common problem areas, such as sleep and transitions
• increasing mindfulness and parenting "in the moment"

Engaging stories from the author's extensive experience illustrate how parents and other caregivers can develop more effective behavior management techniques. And practical tools and exercises, developed and tested during Durand's decades of work with thousands of parents, help families on their own journey to better parenting and happier lives.

A lifeline for overwhelmed parents—and a great source of insight for the professionals who work with them—this highly motivating guidebook will help families reduce children's challenging behaviors and approach the future with optimism and confidence.

V. Mark Durand, Ph.D., is known worldwide as an authority in the area of autism spectrum disorders. He is a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, where he was the founding Dean of Arts & Sciences and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Dr. Durand is a fellow of the American Psychological Association. He has received more than $4 million in federal funding since the beginning of his career to study the nature, assessment, and treatment of behavior problems in children with autism spectrum disorders. Before moving to Florida, he served in a variety of leadership positions at the University at Albany-State University of New York (SUNY-Albany), including Associate Director for Clinical Training for the doctoral psychology program from 1987 to 1990, Chair of the Psychology Department from 1995 to 1998, and Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences from 2001 to 2002. There he established the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at SUNY-Albany. He received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees — all in psychology—at Stony Brook University.

Dr. Durand was awarded the University Award for Excellence in Teaching at SUNY-Albany in 1991 and in 2007 received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Research and Creative Scholarship at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Dr. Durand is currently Co-editor of the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, is a member of the Professional Advisory Board for the Autism Society of America, and is on the Board of Directors of the international Association of Positive Behavioral Support. He serves on a number of editorial boards, has reviewed for dozens of journals, and has more than 100 publications on functional communication, educational programming, and behavior therapy. His books include several best-selling textbooks on abnormal psychology, Severe Behavior Problems: A Functional Communication Training Approach (Guilford Press, 1990), Sleep Better! A Guide to Improving Sleep for Children with Special Needs (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1998), and When Children Don't Sleep Well: Interventions for Pediatric Sleep Disorders, Therapist Guide

(Oxford University Press, 2008). In his leisure time, he enjoys long-distance running and just completed his third marathon.