Posted under: Education, Psychology

Continuing our last about autism behavior. Then it tickles us to know when do we know that our child having problematic behavior or its just normal act of children seeking for attentions.

Okay to answer When should we consider a behavior to be problematic enough that something should be done? I believe that a problem behavior is one that:
• interferes with the learning and development of the child himself
• interferes with the learning and development of other children
• causes a potentially unsafe situation and/or
• is socially and/or culturally inappropriate or unacceptable.

Allowing the child to behave in ‘unconventional’ ways so long as they do not meet any or all of the four criteria above. If the child wants to stand while doing a task rather than sitting, it would not meet any of the criteria above and it would be permitted at least in early learning situations. If the child wants to work under his desk or a table, it would be allowed because it does not meet any of the criteria. A child who walks the perimeter of a room on first entering it and then settles to work would be given the opportunity to do so.

There are very likely sensory reasons for all of these behaviors. However, if a child is over focused on chewing his shirt or on loudly singing his favorite song and cannot move on to doing an expected task, these would be considered problem behaviors. Children who grab other children’s materials or who scratch other children are considered to have problem behaviors because they interfere with the learning and development of both him and the other children.

In terms of socially-appropriate behavior, it is not up to the therapist, adult, support worker or other hired caregiver to decide what this is. In different cultures, appropriate and/or acceptable behavior is defined quite differently. It is critical that these issues are addressed with the child’s parents and they help delineate what is acceptable in different situations within their family life. For example, an issue of major importance may be that the child sit quietly at temple or church or say “please” and “thank you”. In other families, these may be of little importance.

Many times I have heard teachers, parents, and caregivers state that a child is being ‘manipulative’ or ‘stubborn’ or is ‘trying to make my life difficult’. I recall one teacher who told me I should not bother observing a seven-year-old client in her classroom because his only problem was that “he lacked a work ethic”. These words were clear indicators of adult frustration.

The behavior is the child’s attempt to communicate some need or feeling. It is our role to consider what the child is trying to express.We need to recognize that there is some legitimacy to the child’s needs and/or feelings that motivated the behavior. Haywood stated it very well: “behavior is seldom just plain bad but is more often ill-timed or set in the wrong place or directed inappropriately”.