FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Emily Lavelle
Three Rivers Press Publicity
(212) 572-8756; elavelle@randomhouse.com
DISTINGUISH “DIFFERENCE” FROM “DISORDER”
AND RESIST THE DIAGNOSIS EXPLOSION WITH
WHEN THE LABELS DON’T FIT
A NEW APPROACH TO RAISING A
CHALLENGING CHILD
by
Barbara Probst, MSW, LCSW
“Readers seeking innovative ways to handle a challenging child will be drawn to Probst’s
bright and benevolent approach.”
–Publishers Weekly
“In this highly insightful book, Barbara Probst helps us all penetrate beyond the
over-simplifying and unhelpful labels that never quite fit struggling children..”
- Dr. Mel Levine, author of “A Mind at a Time” and founder, All Kinds of Minds
“One of the finest and most helpful books we have ever read … should be the first stop for any parent trying to help a struggling child.”
- Brock and Fernette Eide, authors of “The Mislabeled Child”
Many children do things that seem odd or excessive at various points in their development.
Though some do need professional help, many are victims of a culture that’s far too quick to
attach a label such as ADHD, social anxiety, or bipolar disorder to every child who’s hard to
manage or doesn’t fit in. In recent years, more and more children have been receiving
psychiatric labels – and at younger and younger ages, for fewer and milder symptoms. In fact,
nearly one-fifth of all American children currently meet the criteria for a mental disorder!
Barbara Probst dares to ask: Is there really something wrong with all these children, or is there
something wrong with the way they’re viewed, categorized, and treated? If so many kids are
“disordered,” what’s happened to our concept of “normal”?
A growing number of mental health experts agree that not all difficult behavior indicates an
underlying diagnosis, yet no one has offered an alternative. Enter Barbara Probst’s WHEN THE
LABELS DON’T FIT: A New Approach to Raising a Challenging Child (a Three Rivers
Press Original), a groundbreaking book that provides a fresh, positive, and practical framework for understanding and helping children whom no label really fits and who, as a result, often end up with misleading or even multiple labels.
WHEN THE LABELS DON’T FIT proposes a radical new perspective: instead of viewing
unusual or puzzling behavior as a symptom of disorder, we need to view it as exactly what it is:
the extreme or out-of-context expression of a trait like perfectionism, intensity, or curiosity.
Probst demonstrates that there’s nothing inherently wrong with any of these traits; each can be
appropriate in certain conditions and problematic in others. Before reaching for the nearest label,
we need to examine the origin, setting, and significance of a child’s behavior: we need to look at
who the child is, not what he has.
Much more than a critique of psychiatric labels or a quick-fix for misbehavior, WHEN THE
LABELS DON’T FIT offers a brand-new framework— a guide to the specific traits the lie
behind behavior—and explains how to use it with real children. Featuring a questionnaire to
profile a child’s temperament, more than 60 strategies for dealing with specific kinds of difficult
behavior, and exercises that teach children (and parents) how to reframe their language and
reshape their habits, WHEN THE LABELS DON’T FIT provides a direct, hands-on approach
tailored to a child’s specific needs.
As the first comprehensive system not based on figuring out what’s “wrong” with a child, but on
helping parents manage, nurture, and enjoy their child’s essential nature, WHEN THE
LABELS DON’T FIT is a must-have resource for any parent struggling to raise a challenging
or unusual child.
* Three Rivers Press Original Paperback * On Sale: August 28, 2008 *
* ISBN: 978-0-307-39543-6 * $13.95 * 288 pages *
Press Release
