Transcript The ABC’s of Behavior

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