Anytime our child is engaging in challenging behavior it can be extremely frustrating.  It can also be challenging as a parent to know or understand what to do about it. One way to handle challenging behavior is by first determining why it is happening.  Understanding the why can help you find appropriate solutions.

A Behavior Analytic Perspective

If your child has ever received Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) before, you may have heard the term function of behavior.  This is a term often used by Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) to determine why a behavior occurs.  In order to determine the function of the behavior, BCBAs look at various contexts including the antecedents and consequences (what is happening before or after) of the behavior to determine what purpose it is serving the child.  From this perspective, behavior occurs for one of 4 reasons:

1. Attention 

2. Access to a tangible

3. Escape a demand or undesired activity or stimuli

4. Automatic sensory serving purposes  

Attention

When challenging behavior occurs for attention seeking purposes, the behavior is aimed to do exactly what it sounds like: gain someone’s attention.  You may have heard before that even negative attention is attention.  This can very much ring true with attention seeking behaviors. It is also important to note that just because an individual does not seem to enjoy the attention they are receiving, it does not mean they do not want it.  For many, receiving any attention is better than no attention at all.  

Escape

Sometimes challenging behavior occurs as a way to get out of something.  Have you ever had the experience of your child knocking items off the counter and you sending them to their room?  In some scenarios, sending them to their room may be exactly what they are looking for.  One of the challenging components of behaviors occurring for the purpose of escape is that even a brief time away from the activity can be reinforcing enough to make the child continue to engage in the behavior.  Another challenge is that a child may be trying to escape something that we see as fun.  While school work and other challenging activities can absolutely lead to escape maintained behaviors, an individual looking  to escape is driven by their desired activity at that moment.

Tangible

This is often thought about as the child screaming in Target while walking past the toy aisles.  Tangibly maintained behavior is challenging behavior aimed at getting access to something.  So while this may be a toy at Target, it may also be screen time, a favorite dessert, or any other material substance an individual is seeking. 

Automatic/Sensory

Behaviors occurring for automatic or sensory purposes can be the most challenging to decrease as the reinforcement from the behavior comes from  within the individual.  Think about sitting in a classroom and clicking your pen or tapping your foot.  You may not even realize you are engaging in this behavior, but it is fulfilling something for you in that moment.  You are doing that behavior for you because your body said so, and not to get attention, materials, or anything else.  This is an automatic behavior.  Oftentimes these behaviors serve the purpose of providing your body with necessary sensory input.

Multiple Functions

It is also important to realize that behaviors can occur for multiple functions, sometimes even at once.  They also can change functions over time.  For example, a child may drop to the ground kicking and screaming to get access to the iPad (tangible) but quickly learn they also get a lot of attention when they do so.  The next time they drop to the ground kicking and screaming, it may be for attention instead. 

These nuances are why it is always important to have consistent challenging behavior evaluated by a BCBA.  Please reach out to help@galliantcare.com if you have any questions regarding this article or your child’s behavior. We assist in understanding the why of your child’s behavior!