There is no magic bullet when it comes to addressing students’ challenging behavior. We all want a simple solution to connect with a student and guide them toward more socially acceptable behaviors. However, every student is different and may require different interventions. This is why it is so important to have a variety of tools in your classroom management toolkit. You can try out different strategies to see which ones work best for this particular student and their specific needs.
All Behavior is Communication
Remember that all behavior is communication. When a student uses challenging behavior, they are communicating a need. They also go back to strategies that have worked for them in the past. First, we need to figure out what needs are being communicated through the behavior. Then we support the student in building new skills to get those needs met in ways that are more effective.
Most needs fall into one of five categories:
- Attention: the student is craving interaction or needs to feel valued or affirmed
- Power: the student is seeking a sense of control over themself or their environment
- Inadequacy: the student is worried about meeting expectations or wants to avoid failure
- Revenge: the student is lashing out due to feeling hurt or wants to avoid the possibility of future pain
- Gain or avoidance: the student is trying to get something they want or to avoid something they don’t want
We can identify possible ways to help the student get that need met as we discover what is being expressed. Then we help the student meet their need without resorting to the challenging behavior we are trying to stop. This truly is a process of discovery, especially with very young children who may not be able to verbally communicate their needs and feelings. Even with older children and youth, they may not have sufficient self-awareness or vocabulary to express their true needs.
Meeting Student Needs
We will first hypothesize what need is the underlying function of the behavior. Then, we can identify some strategies to try in response. This can be a trial-and-error process and takes time.
One pitfall educators face in addressing challenging behavior is that we often expect our strategies to have immediate and lasting results. However, when a student has used a behavior many times and successfully gotten their need met, the behavior becomes a habit and a tool.
You can probably think of areas of your own life where you have undesired habits. You keep engaging in the habits even though you know they aren’t behaviors you really want to keep using. As you build a new skill or habit to replace the undesired one, it takes time and repetition. You are going to have to choose the new behavior over and over while resisting the old behavior. This repeats until the new behavior becomes the dominant habit.
We need to take that same mindset when working with challenging behaviors in students. We are in this with the student for the long haul. They need our support to keep practicing the new skill and to reduce reliance on the old behavior. The only way this works is when the new behavior results in the student’s need being met at least as well as it was through their old behavior.
The ABC Method of Understanding Challenging Behavior
Now that we’ve established the importance of understanding the need being expressed through challenging behavior, let’s break down a process that can help us diagnose the function of that behavior. I call this the ABC Method of Understanding Challenging Behavior. It may be familiar to you from other classroom management or intervention strategies you’ve learned about. It isn’t a new idea, or my original idea, but it is a very effective process. ABC stands for Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence.
Antecedent
Start by clearly defining the behavior and then look at what happens immediately prior to the behavior occurring. This is called the antecedent and can also be thought of as the trigger for the behavior. The guiding question for this step in the process is “What happened immediately before the behavior?” Identify events, times, settings, situations, and other people involved when the behavior occurs.
- Was there some kind of trigger setting off the behavior? Perhaps the student wanted something from another person, or perhaps they were feeling left out and wanted to get attention from others.
- Is another person usually involved in incidences of the behavior? Sometimes the challenging behavior always occurs during the student’s interactions with the same peer or teacher. Is the other person contributing in some way to the student’s response?
- Is the behavior happening only at certain times of the day or during certain subjects? Or is it consistently happening at the same time of day? Perhaps the student always engages in the behavior right before lunch or recess, because they are bored or hungry or restless.
When we identify what happens immediately prior to the behavior, it helps us hypothesize about what need is being expressed. We are able to identify triggers that forecast when the behavior might be coming or what environmental factors we can change. This allows us to stop the behavior in the future before it starts.
Behavior
The second step is to look at the specific behavior that is occurring and what it tells us about the student’s needs. The guiding questions in this step are “What did the student do?” to identify the specific behavior, and “What need is being expressed by the behavior?” Identify the specific behavior or a pattern of similar behaviors that may share a common function.
- Is this a new behavior or one the student has used with success before? Reflect on prior behaviors you’ve noticed the student using to determine if this is a “tried and true” behavior or a new experiment.
- Are there other behaviors that tend to occur alongside the problem behavior? Notice if there is anything else going on that may point to antecedents or consequences.
- Is the behavior developmentally appropriate, or is it a sign that the student is struggling in some way? For example, a young child who is hitting or biting may be expressing frustration or a lack of social skills.
- What does the behavior accomplish for the student? For example, does it get them attention, help them avoid a task they don’t want to do, or provide a sense of control? Understanding the function of the behavior can help to identify more effective ways to meet the student’s needs.
Clearly identifying a target behavior helps us to dig further into the Antecedent. We look for common patterns that can help us know when and where to intervene. This clarity also helps us as we move into the third step of the process.
Consequence
This step examines what happens to the student right after they engage in the target behavior. The guiding question is “What happened to or with the student right after the behavior?” Identify any responses from peers or adults or changes in the student’s situation as a result of the behavior.
- Is the behavior being reinforced by the consequence? If the student is engaging in behavior for attention and we stop the class to address the behavior, we have just given them exactly what they wanted. For a student who desires power, if they can push our buttons and get us to react, they’ve gotten exactly what they wanted.
- Is the student’s need being met by the consequence, either intentionally or unintentionally? If the student is trying to avoid an activity or subject they don’t like, and we send them to the principal’s office as a result of the behavior, they’ve just gotten their need met. If a student is trying to avoid feelings of inadequacy by acting like a class clown, and disrupts the lesson so they don’t have to do the work they are afraid they won’t be good at, they’ve just gotten their need met.
It is crucial to analyze the consequence of a student’s behavior so you understand if the behavior is being reinforced or if the student’s needs are being met unintentionally. By identifying the consequences, you can develop effective strategies to address the behavior and support the student’s social and emotional development.
In Conclusion
There is no one-size-fits-all solution when dealing with challenging behavior, as every student is different and may require different interventions. This is why it is so important to have a variety of tools in your classroom management toolkit.
Remember, all behavior is communication. Our job as educators is to identify the need being expressed through the behavior and support the student in building new skills to get those needs met more effectively. You’ll want to keep a long-term mindset when dealing with challenging behaviors. Then you can engage in consistent practice and repetition to replace undesired behaviors with new ones.
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