Someone Else’s Kids

What are the underlying premise and goals of the TTP?

The Total Transformation Program is a guided training program for parents that utilizes cognitive learning theory a behavioral management techniques to alter dysfunctional family interaction patterns. The underlying premise of the TTP is that behaviorally
disordered children and teens need to be empowered with skills to manage their daily functioning and social/behavioral interactions. TTP is an accountability based treatment program that empowers parents to deal with their child’s inappropriate responses. It offers them a means to decode and understand their child’s behavior. It places parents in the training and coaching role and offers them a concrete plan that they can actualize in the home.ADD ADHD, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, bd, behavior disorder, behavior problem, collaborative problem solving, cps, disruptive behavior disorders, ed, EDBD, emotional disorder, james lehman, jim lehman, legacy parenting, legacy publishing, ODD, oppositional defiance disorder, parent training, pediatrician, pediatrics, pt, total transformation, total transformation behavior, total transformation course, total transformation program, total transformation review, TTP

I have to say that I never thought I would see the day when college recruiters decided to use videos of stick figures to do their recruiting advertising. However, that’s what Kettering University, known for its mechanical engineering programs is currently doing.

It should be noted that this is not some hole in the wall, phony college that hands out bogus degrees. Kettering University is named in US News & World Report’s annual college report as the “# 1 university in the nation for Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering.” Check out some relevant excerpts and comparisons from the US News Best Colleges report on the Kettering website.

I suppose the college recruiters must aim their efforts at the likes of their intended market. Take a look at this sample video that shows the Stickman figure “answering his fan mail.” Interestingly, despite the presentation of the material, there is a lot of good information in the videos.

Who knows, maybe the recruiters from Kettering are on to something. The world is a different place today than ever before. No doubt, these videos will have high school students talking about them and sharing them with their friends. The interesting thing will be to see if this translates for the school into more and better admission applications.

college recruiting, kettering university, mechanical engineering, stickman

What is the quality of the materials?

Overall, the TTP is extremely well organized and structured. Materials are presented using a step-by-step approach. Once the child’s behavior is understood, scripts are provided to empower the parent’s response. The Parent Workbook is very well done and provides checklists to help the parent determine what skills need to be worked on at that time (target behaviors) and provides excellent explanations of why a child acts in a certain way.

The Total Transformation Program was also found to have several features not found in other programs. This includes Parenting Style self-assessments that allow parents to look at their role in the interactive process. I especially liked the age appropriate consequences and rewards charts, as I find this is a particularly difficult concept for many parents. In addition to
providing tools for acute behavior management, the TTP also focuses on teaching parents exactly how to have a problem-solving discussion with their child utilizing an interview format thus placing the parent in a coaching role.ADD ADHD, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, bd, behavior disorder, behavior problem, collaborative problem solving, cps, disruptive behavior disorders, ed, EDBD, emotional disorder, james lehman, jim lehman, legacy parenting, legacy publishing, ODD, oppositional defiance disorder, parent training, pediatrician, pediatrics, pt, total transformation, total transformation behavior, total transformation course, total transformation program, total transformation review, TTP

How can TTP meet the need of providing a multimodal treatment program to these children and teens with ADHD and disruptive behavior disorders?

[Somone Else’s Kids Editor’s Note: TTP stands for Total Transformation Program.]

While most pediatricians can say that they understand the need for a multimodal program for the treatment of children with ADHD and coexisting conditions, they are at a loss of how to assist parents in acquiring the skills necessary to carry out such a program. The
behavior management component of the MTA program has been shown to be an ideal program for obtaining positive outcomes for children with ADHD and coexisting behavioral disorders, but few communities offer the support received in this program to parents and their children with ADHD. Most parents must then “go it alone” or seek out expensive mental health support within the community knowing the majority of these services are not covered by health insurance.

Given the limited time available to clinicians to interact with patients and their parents, how can professionals teach parents to more effectively deal with their children with ADHD and ODD/CD and provide these services in a way that is both cost and time
effective? An “at home” training program like the TTP program seems ideal. Through a series of compact disks, DVDs and an interactive parent workbook, the TTP can be used by parents and professionals to decode a child’s behavior and understand why a child or
teen is acting in a dysfunctional way. The main focus of this non-judgmental structured program is on teaching parents exactly how to react to and better understand their children or teens with behavior disorders such as ODD/CD and then effectively empower
them to change.ADD ADHD, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, bd, behavior disorder, behavior problem, collaborative problem solving, cps, disruptive behavior disorders, ed, EDBD, emotional disorder, james lehman, jim lehman, legacy parenting, legacy publishing, ODD, oppositional defiance disorder, parent training, pediatrician, pediatrics, pt, total transformation, total transformation behavior, total transformation course, total transformation program, total transformation review, TTP. multimodal treatment

Parents, if your kids have been bugging you to get them a Wii and you haven’t done it yet because of the price, this entry has information about a site that has the chance for you win a Nintendo Wii.

While you’re there, you can also check out their new Internet service. They are having an auction for lifetime Internet service. It will be interesting to see what the final price is that someone bids for that. Please note that in order to bid, you have to live in an area that Charter, the company sponsoring the sweepstakes, services.

Anyway, I know you are psyched right now about the Wii sweepstakes so here is some more information. In addition the console itself, they are also giving away other components to the winner. They include: two different controllers, five sports games, and wires, adapters, etc. The games are boxing, baseball, tennis, golf, and bowling. (I have actually played tennis, baseball, and bowling on the Wii. I liked the action of the games, but I would prefer that the characters looked more human and less caricature-like, but most people probably prefer them the way they are.)

Here is the link that you need to get the details:

UPDATE: This is an old blgo entry from 2008 and the contest has now ended so the link was no longer active.charter, charter internet, contest, Nintendo wii, prize, sweepstakes, video games, wii, wii contest, wii sweepstakes, win a nintendo wii, win wii

What is the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of such a program?

The current findings regarding the outcomes of ADHD and disruptive behavior disorders indicate that all children presenting with symptoms of ADHD and ODD/CD need to be assessed and treated with a view of targeting both the ADHD and the disruptive behaviors. The link between behavioral disorders and poorer psychosocial outcomes only reinforces the need to treat these disorders aggressively with both psychosocial and pharmacologic interventions. In addition, these children are difficult to live with and parents need to understand that they do not need to deal with their ADHD and ODD/CD child alone. Programs that teach parents acute, simple behavior management strategies (Parent Training) and those that help build and reinforce cognitive, problem-solving skills (Collaborative Problem-Solving) have both been shown to be effective.

[Someone Else’s Kids Editor’s Note: When the author says “such a program,” she is referring to the Total Transformation Program, which is the subject of her analysis.]ADD ADHD, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, bd, behavior disorder, behavior problem, collaborative problem solving, cps, disruptive behavior disorders, ed, EDBD, emotional disorder, james lehman, jim lehman, legacy parenting, legacy publishing, ODD, oppositional defiance disorder, parent training, pediatrician, pediatrics, pt, total transformation, total transformation behavior, total transformation course, total transformation program, total transformation review, TTP. multimodal treatment

It’s funny how there items (as well as particular brands of items) that come and go as fads. Take watches, for example. Think back to when you were in high school or elementary school, what were the big brands that everyone had to have. I actually had an electronic Pac-Man watch in elementary school. Yes, I could play Pac-Man right on the wristwatch. Isn’t that a funny memory?

There are some items and brands that stand the test of time (pun intended). One example would be a Seiko watch. I was just taking a look at the site I linked to and noticed the Seiko chronograph style with the black dial. That is only one of hundreds of styles that Seiko makes. I bet you can remember a time when you or someone you knew had that brand. Next time you’re ready to buy a new watch, you know that, because of the quality and reputation, Seiko will still be around. In fact, you may want to wrap a new Seiko around your wrist.
seiko, watch, watches, wristwatch, wristwatches

Parent Training (PT) has been shown to be effective for treating oppositional and defiant behaviors. Standardized parent training programs are short-term interventions that teach parents specialized strategies-including positive attending, ignoring, the effective use of rewards and punishments, token economies, and time-out to address clinically significant behavior problems. (Farley et al., 2005)

The long-term maintenance of changes following parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) for young children with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and associated ADHD has been shown to be good. Three to 6 years after treatment, the mothers of children with these disorders indicated that the significant changes found in their children’s behavior and their own feelings of control at the end of treatment were maintained at long-term follow-up. Child behavior reported at the post-treatment assessment and the length of time since treatment were strong predictors of long-term outcome. Mothers’ reports of disruptive behavior decreased with time after treatment. (Hood & Eyberg, 2003)

[Someone Else’s Kids Editor’s Note: The author is discussing parent training as an effective treatement for children’s ADHD and ODD as found in The Total Transformation Program.]ADD ADHD, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, bd, behavior disorder, behavior problem, collaborative problem solving, cps, disruptive behavior disorders, ed, EDBD, emotional disorder, james lehman, jim lehman, legacy parenting, legacy publishing, ODD, oppositional defiance disorder, parent training, pediatrician, pediatrics, pt, total transformation, total transformation behavior, total transformation course, total transformation program, total transformation review, TTP. multimodal treatment