Addressing and Managing Challenging Behavior in Children: A Guide

This report delves into the complexities of challenging behaviors in children, providing a comprehensive overview of identification, causes, and management strategies. It begins by defining challenging behaviors and differentiating them from emotional or behavioral difficulties. The report explores various factors that can contribute to these behaviors, including medical conditions, disabilities, and learning difficulties. It then outlines effective intervention strategies, such as talking with family members, reviewing support programs, and implementing teaching strategies. Furthermore, the report details the importance of behavior management plans, including the ABC sheet, and emphasizes the significance of creating supportive physical, social, and temporal environments. The report also stresses the need for learning experiences that consider the child's cultural background and the use of symbolic objects. Finally, it concludes by emphasizing the importance of understanding the function of the behavior and providing moral support to redirect it, as negative reactions can exacerbate the situation. This report serves as a valuable resource for understanding and addressing challenging behaviors in children.

Challenges
behaviour

Introduction
Children with challenging behaviors present signs and
symptoms which are not easy to detect.
Challenging behaviours are a characteristic that all humans
have as a result of being uncomfortable with something.
Children display such behaviours by crying or showing
tantrums (Matson & Timina, 2008). .
However, the behaviour becomes questionable if it risks the
life of other people around or makes it difficult to manage the
child, this calls for a thorough examination to understand the
causes.
Therefore, behavior becomes challenging when it is difficult
to understand and manage the situation that the child is
facing.

How to tell challenging behaviour in
children
• Children with challenging behaviours display the
following characteristics.
• Refusing orders and requests from adults and
parents.
• They are easily frustrated.
• Display longer tantrums unlike other children
• Can be aggressive and difficult to manage and
control
• They do not respond to simple behaviour strategies
that work on other children (Lapointe, 2017)

How to tell
behaviour
problem in
children?
The child has difficulties coping with the
environment like learning and playing
with other children, thus shows signs
that are beyond the basic characteristics
of children their age (Hunter &
Hemmeter, (2009).
Inappropriate reactions to situations
around them. For example the child can
be aggressive to other children.
unexpected behaviors like lack of remorse
Excessive crying and tantrums for
unexpected reasons
On other hand, they display excessive
behaviours like kicking of toys, throwing
objects and sometimes use of abusive
language.

Causes of
behaviour
s,
frustration:
fear: they are frightened of
something
strong feelings:
anxiety:
Hyperactivity
Cultural norms
Temperament of child
Age of child
Environmental
arrangements
Reactions to behaviour
(Lapointe, 2017)

SOME BEHAVIOUR THAT CHALLENGES IS MORE
LIKELY IN CHILDREN WITH PARTICULAR MEDICAL
CONDITIONS OR DISABILITIES. FOR EXAMPLE:
ADH children can report challenges in longer periods of
concentration as compared to normal kids.
Autistic children with ASX can be unsettled making them
anxious and upset with situations. Such children sometimes
react strongly to some environmental situations like crowds
(JinaJang, Tarbox & Granpeesheh, 2011).
Sensory impairment children can be stimulated by other
environmental situations like sound which can make them display
challenging behaviours.
Children with other disabilities like speaking challenges
require special attention to make them not look like they are
ignoring communication.

SOME BEHAVIOUR THAT CHALLENGES IS MORE LIKELY IN
CHILDREN WITH PARTICULAR MEDICAL CONDITIONS OR
DISABILITIES. FOR EXAMPLE:
• Some genetic characteristic can make children display
certain behaviours even though they are not challenging.
• Other behaviours like being tearful, phobia, challenges
making friends, low esteem and being easily angered are
classified as emotional or behaviour difficulties rather
than challenging behaviours (JinaJang, Tarbox &
Granpeesheh, 2011).
• • children with learning, speaking and reading difficulties
can display difficulties adapting which needs support
from the school system to reduce the likelihood of the
behaviour becoming challenging.

Early
intervention
(JinaJang,Ta
rbox, &
Granpeeshe
h, 2011)
Clinical psychologist support:
Educational school psychologist
to increase cognitive
development:Occupational therapists:
School counselling:
use of Special educational needs
coordinator:
use of Speech pathologist:.
Social workers for specific
problem solving:

Improve child
behaviours
• Hunter & Hemmeter (2009) suggests the following
approaches
• Talking with family members to make them
understand the child.
• Reviewing support programs to meet the needs of
the child.
• Plan, implement and review intervention strategies
• Ongoing communication and regular check up with
the child’s family
• Communication with relevant staff to improve
intervention strategies

Teaching
strategies
(Park &
Scott,
2009).
Be positive when handling the
child:
Be consistent with the
intervention to achieve the
intended results :
Help child regulate their
emotions:
Redirect:
Working ion the Sensory needs:
Assisting the child on better
choices for communication
Choices:

Teaching strategies
Use of role playing to develop social skills
Assisting family to form positive
relationships with the child to control
challenging behaviours
Creating a supportive environment that
limits occurrence of challenging behaviours
Maintaining eye contact during
communication to assist the child learn :
Use of Simple language to make the child
understand instructions:
Keeping a low and normal Tone for the child
to understand communication
Set boundaries to be used in guiding
behaviours through reinforcement: (Presser,
2004)

WHAT IS Behaviour Management
Plans
Presser (2004) suggests that a behaviour
management plans seeks to control the behaviour
through:
Understanding the function of the behaviour that the
child is using
Teaching alternative behaviours through redirecting.
Providing other alternatives for the child to use in
response

Behaviour
Management
Plans
Preventative mechanism
Discussing and planning with family
members
Developing positive behaviour strategies for
the child
Developing strategies and planning with
people like, staff, teachers, carers and
parents who exist in the life or the
child(Park & Scott, 2009).
Developing outcomes that march with the
age and needs of the child.
develop strategies that meet the available
resources and work in the child’s
environment.
Include cultural and family factors that can
boost or hinder response to behaviour
therapies.
Identify resources and support agencies
within the child’s reach for support.
Work with the agencies to boost
effectiveness of the intervention (Presser,
2004).

MANAGMENTS PLANS

ABC SHEET

ENVIRONMENTS
Components of Early
Childhood Environments
Definition
Physical environment The overall layout of the intervention room
like learning materials, furnishing and other
characteristics that the child associates with
Social environment The interactions that occur in the child's life
either consciously or unconsciously, these
include peers, family members, staff
Temporal environment Relate to the intervention mechanisms like
the timing of the intervention, the approach
and the people involved.

PHYSICAL ENIVOURMENT
• Use strategies that encourage ownership and
acknowledge efforts of the child in the
intervention. This improves communication with
the child and increases development (Presser,
2004).
• Use materials that link the child to the
environment that he/she knows (e.g., culture,
disability, language, family structures)

Social Environment
• Use things that increase participation of
the child like toy games, songs or any
other participative mechanism that can
encourage the child to respond Park &
Scott (2009).
• Involvement: keep the child actively
involved to assist in overcoming
challenging behaviour.

Temporal environment
• Communicate the performance of the child with
evidence like scores for ownership.
• Teach daily activities that the child can easily work on
and asses them every time now and then.
• Keep consistent routines for the child to follow and
introduce new ones gradually.
• Use schedules that are in line with the age of the child.
For example, use of visuals for children in a younger age
(Matson & Timina, 2008).

Learning experience
• Use symbolic objects that the child understand and
associate with in their own environment. (Odom et
al, 1992). The toys should capture the social and
cultural background of the child for easy acceptance.
• Play materials and equipment should meet different
needs of the child. For example, disability. The toys
need to accommodate more than one child for easy
sharing to improve learning (Lapointe, 2017)
• .

IN LAST
• Children use challenging behaviour to communicate.
• Understanding the function of the behaviour is the
first step in redirecting it.
• Children with challenging behaviour require moral
support to redirect. Negative reactions increase the
behaviour.
• Understanding the child is the only option in helping
them change (Hunter & Hemmeter, 2009).

• Hunter, A., & Hemmeter, M. (2009). Mental Health consultation in
child care: Transforming relationships. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
• JinaJang, R.D., Tarbox, J.D & Granpeesheh, D. (2011). Symptom
severity and challenging behavior in children with ASD.
Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 5(3), 1028-1032.
• Lapointe, V. (2017). What is your child’s Challenging Behaviour
trying to tell you? Disability Service Commission.
• Matson, J., & Timina, R. (2008). Characteristics of challenging
behaviours in adults with autistic disorder, PDD-NOS, and
intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual Development and
Disability, 33(4), 323-329.

• Park, K. L., & Scott, T. M. (2009). Antecedent-
based interventions for young children at risk
for emotional and
behavioral disorders. Behavioral Disorders,
34, 196-211.
Presser, K. (2004). Supporting and managing
children's behavior. Port Road, Hindmarsh:
DECS Publishing.