Page 6 - EA Summary Handbook 2024 2025

The key issues with traditional approaches

1. Carrots and sticks can lose potency over time

2. They are often transitory – only working when present
or at the forefront of the child’s mind

3. They can be ineffective for young people with significant

unmet needs and missing skills (“It’s skill, not will!” Ablon, S)

4. They can cause long-term dependence on external loci of control

5. They don’t build a child’s internal locus of control

1. They ‘manage’ rather than ‘educate’

2. Some children can become dependent on adult support

3. This limits development of skills and strategies

4. It reduces self-efficacy, leading to helplessness

1. Missing (Executive Function) skills are not the focus, so not built

2. Unmet needs are not the key focus, so not addressed

3. Progress is then not sustained

4. Problems pop back up year after year.