Addressing and Managing the
Challenging Behavior of Young Children
Shelby County (AL) Early Childhood SPED Services
Professional Development
March 22, 2010
William McInerney / Laurie Dinnebeil
Judith Herb College of Education
University of Toledo
Support provided by Margie Spino, M.A.
Early Predictors
•Temperament
Difficulties
•Early Aggression
•Delayed Language
•Difficulties in
Communication
•Noncompliance
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• Analysis and design of learning and
living environments
• Evaluation of schedules
• Implementation of rules, rituals, and
routines
• Carefully plan traffic patterns
– Minimize large open spaces
– Insert obstacles and other dividers to divert child
traffic and minimize running
– Consider the needs of children with physical and
sensory disabilities re: mobility and access to
materials/centers
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• Physical Design
– Clear boundaries
– Visibility of children and opportunity for children to scan other
centers
– Visual prompts to indicate when centers are ‘open’ or ‘closed’
– Adequate number of centers
– Size and location of centers: minimize congregation
– Identify the number of children allowed in specific centers
– Organize materials in classroom to allow or deny access and to
indicate where materials are stored
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• Create Meaningful and Engaging Learning
Centers
– Relevant to children’s needs, interests, and lives
– Highly engaging and interesting
– Variety of materials in each center
– Items and materials need to be changed and
rotated on a regular basis to ensure novelty and
engagement
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• Develop schedules that promotes child engagement & success
– Plan for transitions (Centering Ativities)
– Balance the following activities:
1. Active and quiet
2. Small group and large group
3. Teacher-directed and child-directed
– Teach children the ‘schedule’. Post schedule.
• Establish routines and follow them, consistently
– When changes are necessary, prepare children ahead of time
– Provide guidelines for expected behavior in learning centers, in groups,
and during choice time
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– Minimize the number of transitions in a day
– Minimize the length of time children spend waiting with
nothing to do (centering activity)
– Structure the transitions so that children have
something to do while they wait
– Prepare children for transitions by providing a warning
(Auditory……song/CD……Visual…….raise a flag…..colored light
cue)
– Teach children behavior expectations related to transitions
– Provide individual supports and cues (especially visual cues)
where necessary
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Schedule/Routine/Transition Activity
•Divide into groups
• Create a schedule from an EC partner
teacher’s classroom.
•Consider what we have discussed. What
changes could you make in what you are
currently doing that might increase
engagement and prevent challenging
behaviors?
Providing Directions
• Make sure you have the
children’s attention before you
give the direction
• Minimize the number of
directions given to children
• Individualize the way
directions are given (cue
cards, linear sequence cards,
step x step task analysis cards)
• Always provide directions
that are concrete and
organized (sequence of tasks)
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Providing Directions
• Give children the opportunity to respond to
a direction before repeating or prompting
• When appropriate, give the child choices
and options for following directions
• Follow through with positive
acknowledgment of children’s behavior
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• Have a few simple classroom rules
• Involve the children in developing the rules
• Post the rules in locations (may need multiple
postings / different font size) where they can
be seen. Print and graphics.
• Teach the rules, systematically
• Reinforce the rules at high rates initially and
at lower rates throughout the year. Ditto with
individual children entering the program at
different times during the year.
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• The single best way to address challenging
behavior in young children is to take steps to
decrease the likelihood that it will occur.
• Focus on the strategies discussed:
– Look closely at the physical environment
– Consider the schedules, routines, transitions,
and rules within your ‘host’ settings
What do we do when a child engages in
behaviors that …
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Cause injury to self or others
Cause damage to the physical environment
Interfere with learning
Socially isolate a child
• Attention: to get someone's attention (positive
or……. negative attention aka…. ‘punishment’)
• Escape: to get out of or avoid something or some
task
• Tangible: to get something (e.g. toy, food, etc.)
• Sensory: to get some kind of sensory stimulation
(e.g. vibration, noise, pressure)
Devon, a 3-year old, hits the teacher and says “NO!”
when given a puzzle to complete. The teacher
removes Devon from the table and places him in a
chair away from the group.
See MAS Tool - Exercise
Christina, a 4-year old, shrieks and spins when she
knows it is time to paint at the easel. The teacher
tells her ‘no painting if you yell’. She continues to
shriek and spin, and the teacher allows her access to
the easel in hopes of reducing the shrieking.
Kevin, who is 5 and has autism, rocks back and forth
and waggles his hands when there is free play in
the classroom. His peers ignore him.
Mary, who is 4 years old, runs to the play area
(violation of class rule) when she is told ‘it’s time
to come to reading circle’. The teacher says “no
running” and brings her back to the circle to sit
next to her.
• Choose from a variety of assessment tools
– Interview the teacher, caregiver, and/or child
– Complete a Rating Scale
– Observe the challenging behaviors when they
occur, and also observe appropriate behaviors
when they occur
• Develop hypotheses about the function of
the behavior. The WHY question.
• Develop hypotheses about factors that may
predict the behavior
• Identify new behaviors to teach that match
the functions of the behaviors and that can
replace the inappropriate behavior
• Find a behavior that serves the same
function as the challenging behavior
• Teach a different behavior that helps
the child achieve THEIR objective in a
more socially acceptable manner
than the challenging behavior
Name: Devon
Date: 3/7/10
Classroom Context/Activity: small group, manipulative activity
Social Context: Peers close by engaging in task. Teacher
gives Devon a puzzle.
Child’s Response: Devon hits teacher
Social Reaction: Everyone looks at Devon; some children
gasp and say “uh oh!” Teacher removes Devon from table
and places him in a chair away from the group
Possible function?: Escape
Possible replacement behavior: Teach Devon to ask for
help
Other ideas?
Name: Devon
Date: 3/7/10
Classroom Context/Activity: small group, manipulative activity
Social Context: Peers close by engaging in task. Teacher
gives Devon a puzzle.
Child’s Response: Devon hits teacher
Social Reaction: Everyone looks at Devon; some children
gasp and say “uh oh!” Teacher removes Devon from table
and places him in a chair away from the group
Possible function: Attention
Possible replacement behavior: At beginning of activity, ask
Devon to help pass out materials.
Other ideas?
Heather is 5 years old with moderate cognitive
impairment (mental retardation) and autism.
The teacher notices that during recess
Heather is socially withdrawn and spends
most of her time spinning the wheels on a toy
truck or jiggling items in her hand (pop bead
chain, doll by hair, etc.).
Name: Heather
Date: 3/7/10
Classroom Context/Activity: Outside
playground
Social Context: Peers are playing on the
playground
Child’s Response: Heather plays by herself
Social Reaction: Peers ignore her
Possible function: Sensory
According to a FUNCTIONAL assessment, the
function of Heather’s behavior is SENSORY. The
teacher also noticed from direct observation that
other children asked Heather to play, but she did
not respond.
What would be a possible replacement behavior
for Heather that addresses her sensory needs
but also helps her to engage with other children?
The teacher decides to teach Heather to play with
another child using the toy cars. She uses the
following strategy:
– Teacher chooses a peer to be a model and buddy for
Heather
– Teacher instructs peer to initiate with Heather by
holding Heather’s hand and taking her over to the cars
– Peer instructed to prompt Heather to play with toys.
– Teacher praises Heather for playing with her friend
On the web:
– Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations of Early
Learning http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel/
– Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional
Intervention http://www.challengingbehavior.org/
– Positive Solutions for Families: Eight Practical Tips for
parents of young children with challenging behavior
http://www.challengingbehavior.org/do/resources/docum
ents/positive_solutions_for_families.pdf
Articles:
– Conroy, M. A., Sutherland, K. S., Snyder, A. L., Marsh, S.
(2008). Classwide interventions: Effective instruction
makes a difference. Teaching Exceptional Children, 40(6),
24-30.
– Michael, M., Meese, R., Keith, S., & Mathews. (2009). Bob
bear: A strategy for improving behaviors of preschoolers
identified as at risk or developmentally delayed. Teaching
Exceptional Children, 41(5), 54-59.
– Sandall, S. R., & Ostrosky, M. (Eds.). (1999). Practical Ideas
for Addressing Challenging Behaviors. (Young Exceptional
Children Monograph Series No. 2). Denver, CO: Council for
Exceptional Children, Division for Early Childhood.
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Conroy, M. A. (2004, September). Addressing challenging behavior in early
childhood: Strategies for teachers and trainers. Presentation at the DEC
Recommended Practices Training Series, Erlanger, KY. Retrieved from
http://www.challengingbehavior.org/explore/presentation_docs/9.04_addres
sing_challenging.pdf
Fox, L. (2010, January). Evidence based practices to reduce challenging
behavior [Power Point slides]. Presentation at Opening Minds Conference of
the Chicago Metro AEYC. Retrieved from
http://www.challengingbehavior.org/explore/presentations_workshops.htm
Hemmeter, M. L. Joseph, G., Ostrosky, M., & Santos, R. M. (2006). Building
Supportive Relationships and Creating Supportive Environments. Retrieved
from The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning
web site: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel/index.html
McFarland, R. (October, 2008). Managing Challenging Behavior by Creating
Supportive Environments. Kansas State University. Retrieved from
http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/famlf2/mf2845.pdf