Meeting the Challenge An Introduction to Understanding and Managing Behaviour Sue Byron

Objectives To increase awareness and understanding of:  the reasons why children and young people display challenging behaviour  the skills and techniques for promoting positive behaviour

Some children and young people don’t have the underlying skills to behave well They often present with:      poor social skills a lack of empathy poor self control oppositional behaviour aggressive behaviour

Discussion What challenges do you face?

What situations cause them?

Why do children misbehave?

 Someone or something else has upset them  Change in routine  Being in pain/unwell  Being unable to communicate a need  Change or withdrawal of medication  Environmental factors  Learned behaviour

Why do children misbehave?

Factors in the home environment:  Socio-economic background  Family background and make-up  Parenting style  Attachment difficulties

Why do children misbehave?

Factors individual to the child or developmental issues such as:  Speech and Language Disorder  Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder (AD(H)D)  Autistic Spectrum Disorder

Other factors  Sleep Deprivation Up to two thirds of children in the UK do not get enough sleep. This may harm neurological development and can contribute to behavioural problems including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder  Diet Studies have demonstrated links between diet attention span, irritability, fatigue and the ability to achieve  Influence of the media

Why do some children misbehave?

‘All behaviour reflects an underlying need and has a purpose’

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Attachment Theory Attachment:  Is the connection established from birth between baby and mother/carer   Affects the way the brain develops Underpins a child’s ability to develop emotionally, socially and academically

Securely attached children       Emotionally secure Self confident Good social skills Display empathy Seek help when experiencing difficulties Better able to learn

Insecurely attached children         Low self esteem Insecure Withdrawn Attention seeking Clingy Anti-social Hostile Aggressive

Healthy Neglected

What can we do?

5 ways to promote positive behaviour

Develop good relationships  Get to know them  Demonstrate that you value them  Listen to them  Use humour  Show respect  Be a role model

Establish good routines  Make your expectations clear but realistic  Allow scope for planned change  Firm boundaries  Remind, rehearse and reinforce  Be well-planned and well prepared

Catch them being good!

 Let them know what you expect  notice the behaviour you want  reward it!

     A word about praise Praise is the easiest reward to give It should be specific and genuine It can be verbal and non-verbal Could be given for effort or intention as well as achievement It develops self-esteem

A word about sanctions      Sanctions alone will never change behaviour Sanctions don’t teach you what to do instead Need to be consistently applied Need to be relevant, proportionate and followed through The best sanctions have a restorative element

Use positive language     Say what you want not what you don’t want Offer positive feedback Say ‘thank you’ instead of ‘please’ Use the language of choice

Be consistent  Follow up on issues that count  Work to the agreed rules  Apply reward and sanctions consistently  Stick to your guns when you’ve made a decision or promised something

It’s not the severity of the reward or the consequence that is important but the certainty that it will happen!

Dealing with more challenging behaviour ‘ Behavioural research on conditioning affirms that what most adults do impulsively when they respond to misbehaviour is incorrect’ Sweeney (1975)

Six stages of a crisis from Team Teach Level 3 Time Level 2 Level 1 Anxiety levels raised Escalation of feelings

Crisis

Recovery Depression Follow up Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6 Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6

Unhelpful responses        Moving into personal or intimate body space Use of body size or height to intimidate Straight forward, front on body stance Arms crossed Unrelenting eye contact Fist shaking or clenched Finger pointing

Helpful responses      Maintain social distance Sideways stance, step back Intermittent eye contact Relaxed body posture Open hands and arms

Distract!

Defuse!

De-escalate!

Distract  Engage in conversation  Involve them in another activity  Give them a job  Send them on an errand

Defuse and de-escalate  Remind of desired behaviours  Give choices and options  Remind of rules and consequences  Give take up time-allow time to think-gives you thinking time

Avoid       Subjective judgements or comments Displaying irritation or anger Over talking Forcing them to lose face in front of peers A stand-off “Do it or else” Making promises you can’t keep

Good luck and thank you for listening Sue Byron Primary Behaviour Service