Re: addressing challenging behavior

From: Mary Louise Hemmeter
Email: ml.hemmeter@vanderbilt.edu
Date: May 22, 2006

Comments

Hi Carlotta!! This is a great question...and a hard one!! You should talk to parents as soon as a child begins to exhibit challenging behavior. I have worked with many parents who did not know anything was wrong until the program informed them that they didn't think the program was a good match for the child. It is much better to talk to parents early and enlist their help in addressing the issue. I have a bias against asking children to leave programs. We often find that children who are asked to leave one program have been asked to leave multiple programs. We have been very successful at keeping children in programs when we develop a comprehensive behavior support plan that is based on an understanding of the child's behavior. This is most successful when it is developed in collaboration with families.

In terms of referring the child for services, it is difficult to know how to answer that question without knowing what kind of program you work in. If you have behavior or mental health consultants available, it is never too early to ask the consultant to observe the child and work with you to develop a plan. If you do not have access to those types of consultants, i would contact the special education services in your school system (if the child is three or older) or the early intervention program in your community if the child is younger then 3.

An important step in this process will be to collect systematic observations of this child. How often does the behavior ocurr? Does it happen during certain activities and not others? Does it happen more in teacher directed or child directed activities? What seems to be the purpose of the behavior? Is the child trying to get someone's attention? Is the child trying to play with other children and doesn't know how? Is the child trying to communicate emotions and does not know how? This usually tells you that the child does not have a skill they need to engage in more appropriate behaviors. In that case, teaching the child new ways to communicate their needs will be an important part of your support for that child.

Systematic observations of children will provide you with data and information that you can use to communicate with families about the seriousness of the child's behavior. Families often feel very threatened when approached about their child's behavior. If families do not see the behavior at home, you can ask them what they do at home that might be useful in figuring out what to do at school.

Hang in there!!! And ask for the help you need to help this child be successful!!