Beyond Behaviours Mona Delahooke Summary

Upon reading chapters one and two of Mona Delahooke’s Beyond Behaviours: Using Brain Science and Compassion to Understand and Solve Children's Behavioural Challenges, I was given an extensive introduction to a new way of understanding and approaching children with behavioural challenges. I say a new way of understanding and approaching because the practices used and actions taken in my elementary years were unlike Delahooke’s approaches. In my elementary years, inclusivity felt very clinical, one way and impersonal, while Delahooke stresses the importance of individual differences, and generally a more abstract way of thinking about inclusivity, opening the door for everybody. One idea that particularly stood out to me was that age does not
When I was a child I would often fall very behind in school, at a certain point I began to refuse to do work, talk to the teachers, peers or even enter the classroom at times. These behaviours were a reflection of the way I was feeling. I was upset that I was not as good as the other kids, I felt insecure, I felt left behind, but I did not know that was what I was feeling. The only thing I knew was that when I did not do the work I did not feel that way, so my immediate reaction became refusal. When my parents were informed of my behaviour, they told me I was not trying hard enough. I believed that it was in fact my fault that I could not do the work the other kids could do so easily. This did not motivate me to do better, it made me want to give up even more. My behaviour was slowly interjected by a teacher who I got very close with. She formed a trusting, caring relationship with me, which she used to navigate the underlying issues. I finally got diagnosed with learning disabilities, which provided solidity and security in my education plan. This teacher also made sure she verbally affirmed my skills and efforts,