The ABC’s of Behavior Figuring out the Function of My Child’s Challenging Behaviors

Challenging Behavior Although autism alone does not cause challenging behavior, many people on the spectrum will exhibit some form of difficult behavior during their life. Behaviors such as aggression, self-injury and “OCD type” behaviors can be extremely stressful for both the individual and the family What can a parent do to help their child, their family and themselves when challenging behavior is an issue at home?

Challenging Behavior It is important to recognize that challenging behavior serves a purpose, or a function, for each person. For people on the spectrum, it is often a way to communicate a basic want or need. For example, a non-verbal 10 year old girl may drop to the ground and cry when she wants attention. Looking at what happens just before and just after a behavior can help us figure out what purpose that behavior serves. “Collecting” this type of “data” is called functional assessment or ABC data collection.

Challenging Behavior IMPORTANT A new challenging behavior can be a sign of a physical problem. For example, aggression may develop in children who are experiencing stomach problems or frequent headaches. Please take your child to the doctor if you suspect a challenging behavior is related to a physical problem.

Challenging Behavior “Sam’s teacher moved to another city, so he entered his second year of high school with a familiar but less skilled instructor. Soon he was headed to the nurse’s office each morning and spending first period on her bed. Clearly the new teacher had anxiety, and the school staff believed that this was being reflected in Sam’s behavior and increasing his anxiety as well. Or perhaps it was task avoidance, as there were a lot of language demands in that first period social skills class. Then one morning, he actually gagged and vomited, but once he got home it was clear that Sam was not sick. Soon after, other staff noticed that he would turn his head to the side and his eyes would roll during the period immediately after lunch. We also noticed a tendency to retreat to the couch at home after dinner. That’s when we consulted the gastroenterologist, and sure enough, he was diagnosed with reflux. All of these odd behaviors and the trips to the nurse’s office subsided once he was treated.” – ED, mother, AutismSpeaks.org

Challenging Behavior: ABC’s To determine the function of your child’s challenging behavior you must gather information about what happens before the behavior, the Antecedent, the Behavior itself and what happens after the behavior, the Consequence. This is why this type of data is called ABC data.

Challenging Behavior: ABC’s First, we must be clear about the Behavior that we are targeting. For example, a tantrum is typically a set of behaviors such as crying, screaming and lying on the floor. So to collect data on a tantrum, we gather information when those 3 behaviors occur together. We do not collect data when only one of those behaviors is occurring or if another behavior that is not part of a tantrum is exhibited.

Challenging Behavior: ABC’s The Antecedent is what happens immediately before the behavior starts. For example, just before a tantrum starts the child was told “no” when they started to open a piece of candy. This is not to be confused with other events that may be contributing to behavior throughout the day such as sickness, hunger or being tired. These more general scenarios are called slow triggers or setting events.

Challenging Behavior: ABC’s The Consequence is what happens immediately after the behavior starts. For example, after the tantrum starts mom says “alright you can have the candy” and hands the candy to the child.

Challenging Behavior: ABC’s ABC data should be collected in the moment rather than from memory. This can be challenging, however it is important. There are several types of data sheets that can be used to make this process easier. -Examples Data should collected for at least a few days if the behavior occurs frequently or for a few weeks if the behavior occurs less frequently so that we can see a pattern emerge.

Challenging Behavior: ABC’s Based on the pattern that emerges, the function of the behavior typically falls into 1 of 4 categories; attention, escape, tangible or sensory. If the majority of the antecedents involve not receiving attention or spending time alone and the consequences involve gaining attention, including reprimands, then the function of the child’s behavior is to receive attention

Challenging Behavior: ABC’s If the majority of antecedents involve not receiving access or being denied access to an item or activity and the consequences involve “giving in” then the function of the behavior is to gain access to tangibles. If the majority of antecedents involve being told to do something and the consequences involve removing that demand then the function of the behavior is to escape demands.

Challenging Behavior: ABC’s If the behavior occurs only when the child is alone or if it occurs across antecedents then it is motivated by a sensory need, meaning it helps the child to gain access to a particular internal feeling or escape an undesirable internal feeling. Once the function of the behavior is determined we can treat it appropriately …but that’s a story for a different day

Challenging Behavior: ABC’s Discussion: Let’s talk about your child’s ABC’s