Autism Behavior Problems - Why Does Challenging Behavior Happen
How To Identify The Reason For Autism Behavior Problems And Next Steps
Do you find yourself thinking “Why is my child doing that?” All behavior has a purpose and happens for a reason. Sometimes the reason is obvious. Other times, it may be harder to identify. There are ways to identify why anyone’s behavior is occurring. Whether you have Autism behavior problems or more general ones, it helps to go back to the basics. Let’s go back to our ABCs.
What are the ABCs of Behavior?
To identify the reason a behavior is occurring it is important to look at what happens before and after the behavior. What happens after, reinforces the behavior. What happens before, can be a signal that the behavior may occur. This is where we can use our behavior ABCs:
Antecedent: What happens before Behavior: Behavior that is happening Consequence: What happens after |
How Can You Use the ABCs?
You can use the ABCs to identify the reason a behavior occurs by looking at what happens after the behavior. All behaviors have consequences. These consequences shape our behavior everyday. If our behavior gets us something we want or is beneficial to us, we are more likely to do it more in the future. This is how behavior is reinforced.
Antecedent: Matt is hungry. He goes to the kitchen and sees an apple. Behavior: Matt says “Mom, can I have an apple?” Consequence: Mom gives him an apple to eat. |
Matt was feeling hungry so he nicely asked his mother for an apple to eat. When he asked for an apple, Mom gave him one. The behavior of nicely asking for an apple has been reinforced. Matt is more likely to ask for food nicely in the future when he is feeling hungry or sees food that he wants to eat.
Sometimes, we may accidentally reinforce ‘bad behavior’. Here is how this may happen:
Antecedent: Matt sits at the table for a snack. Mom is in the kitchen. Behavior: Matt begins screaming and pushing items off the table. Consequence: Mom says “stop doing that!” Here you can have a snack if you sit nicely. |
Uh oh! Matt’s mother accidentally reinforced screaming and pushing things off the table as a way for Matt to tell her he is hungry and wants a snack. If Mom continues to reinforce this, Matt will be more likely to scream to get access to food in the future.
What Should I Do If I Accidentally Reinforced ‘Bad Behavior’?
So you went back to the ABCs and discovered you have accidentally reinforced some ‘bad behavior’. Don’t worry! The first step is identifying why behavior is happening. Now you can plan how to fix it! Some things you can think about doing next:
- Providing Reinforcement for ‘good’ behaviors.
- Modeling or prompting ‘good’ behaviors.
- Not reinforcing ‘bad’ behaviors.
If you have concerns that your child has autism, contact your primary care physician. If you are looking for Applied Behavior Therapy, contact Epicenter ABA Therapy to set up an intake call today.
