5 Tips for Figuring out the Function of Behavior

“I don’t understand” said a parent. “You’re telling me my child can decode and comprehend just fine, but last year, her last school told me she needed a 1:1 in the classroom to do any work. Who do I believe?”

 This was a statement made by a parent in an IEP meeting. The concern on her face was genuine and raw.

 If a child’s instruction is not being differentiated to meet his/her unique academic abilities and needs, then that child will find coping mechanisms to manage the workload, and it is often maladaptive coping mechanisms that will appear…

 I’ve heard the following during parent conferences and meetings:

“My daughter used to hide in the bathrooms and behind trees outside of school”

“My son would get into fights with peers and even got suspended once”

“She swore at her teacher and threw her paper in the trash”

“He just doesn’t produce work, but I know he can.”

While these could be classified as signs of defiance, “defiance” is often a symptom of something greater.

The real question is WHY is your child showing these behaviors?

Some potential options:

-       Work is too challenging

-       Work is not challenging enough

-       Low self esteem

-       Anxiety has developed causing irrational fears

-       Social conflicts are occurring with peers (e.g., a child may have unidentified social-language challenges)

 In the world of behavior, there are four functions to behavior: avoidance, attention, sensory stimulation, and tangible items:

The behaviors your child demonstrates at school may be occurring in order to:

-       Avoid something, such as if work is too challenging

-       Attention seeking, as demonstrated by increased fighting at school

-       Sensory seeking, such as shrieking in the classroom or holding hands over ears

-       Tangible items, screaming & shouting to get something they want (most often seen in the home-setting)

When your child is in an appropriate school placement and/or receiving academic work that is within their zone of proximal development, or rather, the “goldilocks environment for learning” – it’s just right, your child’s behavior will naturally decrease.

It is only natural to want to react as quickly as you see your child’s behavior grow. Next time, try these tips:

1.     Practice taking a step back

2.     Observe your child’s behavior: what is he/she doing? How long is the behavior occurring?

3.     Try to take a “smart guess” at the function: is it for avoidance? Is it for attention?

4.     Take a lot at the work that your child is doing to help you make a smart guess: you know your child’s learning best!

5.     Now that you have a general function in mind, you’ll be able to target the true issue, not the behavior that is only a symptom!