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When considering the behaviors of children with autism and related
disorders, it is important to remember that their behavior is most
likely purposeful and communicative. That is, the child is
demonstrates certain behaviors in order to meet some kind of need.
It is often the adult’s “job” to identify what the child is trying
to “tell” us with their behavior. When a child demonstrates a
particular behavior, they are doing so for one of two reasons: the
child is trying to tell us that they want more of something
pleasant, or that they want to get away from something that they
consider unpleasant. Simply put, if a child sees their sibling with
a cookie, and begins to scream and chasing them, chances are that
the child is trying to tell us, “I want a cookie.” Conversely, if
the child is expected to complete a difficult task and immediately
crawls under the table, it is likely they are telling us, “I don’t
want to do that work.” When children display behaviors because they “want something pleasant”, that “something pleasant” is considered positively reinforcing to the child (i.e., a positive reinforcer). Sometimes, children want attention from other children or adults, so they will display certain behaviors until they receive that attention. Often, however, the “attention getting behaviors” they display aren’t always appropriate. Consider the child who hits other children. This generally results in negative attention from adults, which for some children, is just as reinforcing as positive attention, sometimes even more so. In addition to gaining attention, some children demonstrate certain behaviors to get reinforcing items and/or activities. Consider the child in the grocery store who screams and cries because they want a candy bar. Often, the child will increase the screaming and crying until the parent becomes so frustrated they “give in,” allowing the child to have the candy. In this scenario, the child learned: “all I have to do is scream and cry really loud, and I get the candy.” This is an example of positively reinforcing inappropriate behaviors. The function of the screaming and crying was to get a “pleasant” item, and the child obtained that “pleasant” item by displaying inappropriate behavior. Our task as adults is to teach children to obtain the “something pleasant” by demonstrating appropriate behavior. Another reason that children with autism and related disorders display certain behaviors is to obtain something pleasant at a sensory level. That is, the child is trying to get some kind of “sensory feedback” or “internal positive reinforcement”. Types of sensory feedback or internal positive reinforcement might include visual sensory stimulation, such as waving a string in front of the eyes, “finger flicking”, staring at lights or ceiling fans, or moving pencils or other straight items back and forth in front of the eyes. Another type of sensory or internal feedback might include auditory input or stimulation. Examples of this type of sensory related positive reinforcement might include screaming in cavernous rooms, repeating words and phrases, or covering one’s ears and screaming. A third type of sensory or internal stimulation includes behaviors in which the child receives tactile feedback. Some examples of tactile related behaviors include scratching or pinching self, pinching other people, or rubbing smooth surfaces. A fourth type of sensory or internal feedback includes vestibular stimulation (i.e., sense of motion). A child who rocks their head or body back and forth may very likely be attempting to obtain vestibular sensory stimulation. Finally, some children with autism and related disorders receive positive sensory or internal feedback via mouth related behaviors. Examples of this type of feedback can be seen in a child who mouths various objects, chews on their shirt, bites buttons off clothing, or licks “odd” objects. Any of these example “sensory” or “internally” related behaviors can serve as positive reinforcers to individual children. Generally, when a child is engaging in one or more of these types of behaviors, they are receiving positive sensory input. It is the adults’ task to identify more appropriate ways for the child to obtain the input they desire, and to teach the child to use the appropriate alternative. For example, many children with autism and related disorders have been taught to chew on a “chew necklace” made out of rubber tubing, rather than chew on their clothes. In other instances, children have been taught to obtain tactile input by squeezing clay or “stress balls” instead of pinching themselves, or to obtain vestibular reinforcement by rocking in a rocking chair instead of swinging their body back and forth. When children display behaviors because they want to “get away from something unpleasant,” they may be trying to escape or avoid unwanted tasks, activities, people, or environments. Considering the sensory and learning challenges people with autism face, it is not unusual to observe high rates of these avoidance behaviors. A child might display inappropriate behaviors to avoid “externally aversive conditions” when they are trying to escape from situations under which they have little control, and that they consider unpleasant. Consider the child who hits other children to make the other children “go away”. When the other children “go away”, the child has been negatively reinforced. In other words, they “got what they wanted” when they hit the other children and made them go away. This kind of behavior will usually increase if the child continues to “get away from something unpleasant (i.e., the other children)” by hitting. In closing, before any behavior can be modified, it is critical that the potential function of the behavior is first identified. Understanding the function of a behavior drives the selection of strategies for intervention. |
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