Strategies to Change Behavioral Patterns: Ryan's Case Study Analysis

This assignment presents a case study of a 5-year-old boy named Ryan, diagnosed with developmental delay and exhibiting anger issues. The paper explores the application of functional behavioral assessment (FBA) to identify the underlying causes of Ryan's behavioral problems, such as communication difficulties and parental comparison. It then proposes proactive strategies, including structured activities and social interaction, and reactive strategies, such as allowing breaks and celebrating progress, to manage his anger. The document emphasizes the importance of addressing both the environmental and individual factors contributing to Ryan's behavior, advocating for a comprehensive approach that combines assessment with tailored interventions to improve his emotional and communicative abilities. The paper concludes by highlighting the potential for positive change through consistent application of these strategies.

Running head: STRATEGIES TO CHANGE BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS
Strategies to Change Behavioral Patterns
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1STRATEGIES TO CHANGE BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS
This is topic is concerned with the behavioral patterns of a child named Ryan who is 5
years old in age and was detected to be suffering from delay in mental development at the age
of 3. The disease can be contributed to the fact that he was born due to late pregnancy. This
was first noticed by his mother who found that he was not responding to her when she called
his name. She decided to take her son to a pediatrician and get her advice on the issue. After
some months of treatment she did not find any development and went to a private
rehabilitation center where she was informed that her son was suffering from delayed mental
development syndrome that had slowed down the development of her son by two years. The
suggested measures from the therapists included Occupational Therapy that should be
followed by speech therapy lessons. He also prescribed that Ryan should be sent to play
school where he can develop himself. At the play school it was identified that Ryan is
suffering from aggression.
Functional Behavioral Assessment for Anger Management
To offer a solution for the behavioral issue that Ryan was suffering from the
technique of functional behavior assessment can be implied. It will help to figure out what are
the reasons that lead to this behavioral issue in Ryan. These are the techniques that are
utilized to identify the unusual and inappropriate behavior in an individual. In case of Ryan,
the reason for his anger issue can be identified as the lack of his expressing abilities. The
purpose of functional behavioral assessment is to identify the reasons that lead to problems in
the individual. The main idea of this assessment is that there is always a reason why a child
behaves in a particular manner. The child does not know about the effects of his behavior on
the people that are in his immediate contact. There are numerous factors that may have led to
anger issues in Ryan. Lack of attention from his parents as both are working and could not
pay required attention to him (Oliver & Normand, 2015). There can also be genetic and
biological factors that may have led to anger issues in him. Parenting styles are often said to

2STRATEGIES TO CHANGE BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS
be prime factors in contributing to anger. Ryan lacks development in comparison to other
children that may have led to harsh and rude treatment from his parents. The treatment he
receives as a child from his parents had inculcated anger issues in him (Crone, Hawken &
Horner, 2015). Ryan due lack of verbal development is unable to communicate his needs to
his parents that increases his frustration and leads to certain anger bouts. Environment also
plays an important factor in contributing to anger issues because the people who surround
him can sometimes make some demeaning concepts that may result in increased frustration.
Thus, techniques should be implied to solve anger issue that is identified in Ryan.
Proactive Strategies to Manage Anger
Proactive strategies that can be identified in case of managing anger issue in Ryan are that a
proper plan can be chalked out for all the activities that are performed by him. All the
activities that he does during the day should be planned according to his preferences. The
activities that involve playful techniques should be done and he should be sent to play in a
large group where there are a number of children of his age (Riekert, Ockene & Pbert, 2013).
This will lead to his exposure to individuals of his age and release the superfluous energy that
sometimes results in frustration. The involvement with individuals will lead him to listen to
new vocabulary which will help him solve the speech dysfunction that he is suffering from.
The improvement in speech will result in him properly expressing his emotions which will
help in curing his anger issues.
Reactive Strategies to Manage Anger
Ryan should be allowed to do the activities that are enjoyed by him. He should be
allowed to take necessary breaks when he does not want to do anything. There should be no
forceful actions involved in making him perform the activities. His parents should make it
their priority to celebrate all the developments that Ryan makes in recovering from his

3STRATEGIES TO CHANGE BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS
disease. Appreciation from his parents will encourage him to perform better and reduce the
frustration in him. It should be reminded to him that the state of his disease would improve
with time and it would not sustain for a long time (Faupel, Herrick & Sharp, 2017). The
positive advancements should be acknowledged by all the individuals that are in his contact.
This will help Ryan to develop his mental abilities and overcome all the issues that he is
suffering from.
Thus, it can be established from the above discussion that though Ryan suffers from
anger and speech issues in the early age due to increased frustration by his lack of
communicative abilities and constant comparison by his parents, all these issues can be
solved with functional behavioral assessment and by adopting proactive and reactive
techniques for improving and managing his behavior.

4STRATEGIES TO CHANGE BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS
References
Crone, D. A., Hawken, L. S., & Horner, R. H. (2015). Building positive behavior support
systems in schools: Functional behavioral assessment. guilford Publications.
Faupel, A., Herrick, E., & Sharp, P. M. (2017). Anger Management: A Practical Guide for
Teachers. Routledge.
Oliver, A. C., Pratt, L. A., & Normand, M. P. (2015). A survey of functional behavior
assessment methods used by behavior analysts in practice. Journal of Applied
Behavior Analysis, 48(4), 817-829.
Riekert, K. A., Ockene, J. K., & Pbert, L. (Eds.). (2013). The handbook of health behavior
change. Springer Publishing Company.