Pathways and Triggers 45(“That was a mean thing to do...I’d like to avoid get-
ting into a fight with this person” or “That was a nice
greeting...I’d like to play a game with him”). Then,
on the basis of his interpretation of the cue and the
outcome he desires, the boy must begin to think about
how to respond, either by remembering his experiences
in similar situations or by thinking of new responses.
Then, he must evaluate the different possible responses,
consider the likely outcomes of each (“If I smile back,
he’ll probably ask me to play a game with him”), choose
a response, enact it, monitor the course of events
throughout, and adjust the response accordingly.
Sounds like a lot of thinking for one event, yes? The
key point is that this process is nonstop and requires a lot
of efficiency and flexibility. It’s barely noticeable to peo-
ple for whom it happens automatically, but it’s very frus-
trating if you’re not one of those people.
Many explosive children have trouble attending to ap-
propriate social cues and nuances; do not accurately inter-
pret those cues (“He hates me,” “Everybody’s out to get
me,” “No one likes me”); are inefficient at connecting cues
with past experience; may not be very efficient at consid-
ering how they want a social interaction to ensue; may
have a limited repertoire of responses and end up apply-
ing the identical responses (giggling, poking, intruding) to
situations in which such responses are inappropriate; may
be quite unskilled at recognizing how they’re coming