Improving Skills at Home using ABA - Challenging Behaviours

When we talk about challenging behaviour, we are talking about actions that may pose risks to oneself or others, create barriers to inclusion or learning, and affect the well-being of the person and those supporting them.

It's important to approach these behaviours with compassion, recognising that each behaviour serves a purpose and is a form of communication.

By understanding the underlying needs, we can work together to develop new skills, fostering a positive impact on the quality of life.

The best way to support challenging behaviour or behaviours of concern is to create an environment that reduces the chances of it happening.

Our approach to supporting your child aligns with your goal of ensuring their happiness above all else.

Crying and shouting are not synonymous with “being pushed.”

It’s a sign of distress or a bid for communication, and if these are not responded to, learning will not occur and the child’s wellbeing will be at risk.

Here are the techniques used for supporting our ABA practitioners and families, with some go-to strategies for supporting challenging behaviours and how we ensure that your child continues to grow in their independence with their language and learn more skills.

The important thing to remember, as mentioned above, is that the child’s well-being is always at the forefront of our mind when supporting with challenging behaviours.

Using  Reinforcement:    Reinforcement is a great way of increasing desirable behaviours whilst helping to decrease challenging behaviours. Acknowledge and reward desired behaviours as much as possible; you cannot praise them enough! Reinforcement can include encouragement, time with loved ones, or access to preferred activities and items. Aim to create a supportive environment that emphasises listening, acknowledgement, encouragement and reinforcement to maintain low or zero rates of challenging behaviour. 

Interrupt or Redirect Challenging Behaviour: When it comes to supporting challenging behaviour, it can be helpful to intervene before it escalates. If you notice the beginning signs of challenging behaviour, you can support by redirecting your child to a more appropriate activity, environment or behaviour. Recognise, listen and emphasise with how your child is feeling and offer alternatives or suggest a different approach to take. This helps to shift their attention and energy towards a more positive and constructive direction while still being listened to and supported.

Recognising a child’s needs and emotions does not mean that we are condoning the challenging behaviour- it is the first step to supporting them.

Children need to feel loved and supported when they are having a hard time, not ignored and punished.

Help Them Get It Right

Using prompts can be very effective for reducing challenging behaviours. Instead of focusing on the difficulty, consider using prompts as a distraction or de-escalation strategy.

Think of prompts as gentle cues or suggestions that guide individuals towards more positive behaviours. It's like offering a helping hand during challenging moments, so that they can try again.

Here are some steps to consider:

1. Teach: Take the time to explicitly teach your child the desired behaviour. Explain what is expected of them and why it is important. Break down the behaviour into manageable steps and provide clear instructions.

2. Prompt: Provide prompts to help your child remember the desired behaviour when challenging situations occur. This could include verbal reminders of specific actions or statements they can use, modelling the behaviour yourself, or using visuals as reminders.

3. Reinforce and praise: When your child engages in the desired behaviour, provide positive reinforcement and praise to encourage them to continue behaving in that way. Acknowledge and celebrate their effort.

By consistently teaching, prompting and reinforcing, you can help your child develop and demonstrate the desired behaviours in challenging situations. 

We hope this helps you to understand some of the ways we help children with challenging behaviour at home.

Please do get in contact with us if you would like to know more.