WHY DO CHILDREN WITH AUTISM BEHAVE THE WAY
THEY DO…AND WHAT WE SHOULD DO ABOUT IT
By: Melissa Richardson, M.Ed., BCBA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Why do children with autism behave the way they do?
Usual answer…
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•
•
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Developmental, neurological disorder
Brain size and structure are different
Information processing is different
Sensory systems are different
Circular Reasoning
Q Why did he/she do that?
A Because he/she has autism.
Q How do you know he/she has autism?
A Because he/she has sensory issues/odd,
repetitive behaviors, problems with social
skills, communication difficulties.
Circular Reasoning
• Focusing on the characteristics gets us
nowhere
• So instead of talking in circles, let’s stop and
ask ourselves another question…..
Now we’re getting personal!
Why do you and I, as adults, behave the way
we do?
And the answer is…..
• Because it works for us!
• We have learned through conditioning and
through our experiences what is effective in
getting our needs and desires met.
As human beings
(adults, children, male, female, etc.)
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•
•
We all want the same basic things:
Attention
Escape from things we find aversive
Control of our environment
Furthermore…..
We like to do what we’re motivated to do, what
we find enjoyable, and what is reinforcing to us.
Guess what?
• Kids with autism are no different!
In spite of their neurological differences, sensory
issues, communication difficulties, social problems and
odd behaviors, they want the same basic things we
want.
They are motivated by things they enjoy and find to be
reinforcing
Remind me again what it is that we
want….
• Attention
• Escape from things we find aversive
• Control of our environment
So you’re saying….
• Children with autism behave the way they do
because it works for them.
• They have learned through experience how to
effectively get what they want, avoid or escape what
they don’t want and ultimately to have some control
of their environment.
That’s right. However, their methods of doing so
often involve inappropriate behavior
So, what should we do about it?
• According to Temple Grandin…
“Autism IS NOT an excuse for bad behavior!”
So rather than spending time in circular reasoning….
Let’s focus on the facts
It’s a fact…..
• Just as there are scientific laws that govern
the universe, there are scientific principles
that govern behavior.
• Let’s talk about some behavioral principles.
Deal or No Deal?
• I have a one acre lot and it needs to be
mowed. I’ll pay you $10.00 to mow it!
• Interested in doing the job?
Deal or No Deal
• I have a one acre lot and it needs to be
mowed. I’ll pay you $200.00 to mow it!
•
• Interested in doing the job?
What’s the Difference?
• The size of the lot didn’t change and the task
demand didn’t change.
• Why was the second offer more appealing?
Motivation and Reinforcement
Although you were
motivated by the idea of
earning money, the
reinforcement (money)
for the first offer just
wasn’t worth all the effort
you would have to put
forth to earn it.
The reinforcement (more
money) for the second
offer was more
motivational due to the
bigger payoff even though
you would have to work
just as hard.
Where Would You Go?
• If you wanted something to eat..restaurant or
doctor’s office?
• Why?
• How do you know?
Problem Behavior
• Most problem behavior is the result of the same type of
conditioning.
• We have a long learning history.
• Problem behavior is a learned performance.
• There is a cause and effect relationship…If I do this, the adult
will do this.
• May or may not be conscious/manipulative behavior.
• All behavior (appropriate and inappropriate) is linked to
antecedents and consequences.
Who’s Teaching Whom?
• Children with autism often condition/teach us how to behave!
• Do you ever avoid delivering demands for fear of tantrums or
aggression?
• Do you ever give reinforcers freely to stop inappropriate
behavior?
• Do you ever give the child what you think they want, rather
than requiring them to tell you?
• Don’t worry….you’re not alone!
Serious Behaviors Call For Specialized Intervention By Highly
Trained Professionals
If your child breaks an arm, you can
apply a bandage and an ice pack
along with some ice cream, but
without careful diagnostic measures
and intensive intervention from a
highly qualified surgeon, the arm will
never function appropriately.
In the same sense, careful diagnostic
measures of the child’s maladaptive
behavior and individually prescribed,
research-based interventions should
be implemented by highly qualified
professionals in order for
appropriate functioning to take
place.
These scientific
measures will
reveal how the
inappropriate
behavior is
supported
and/or
maintained in
the child’s
present
environment.
If inappropriate
behavior is
happening, it is being
reinforced by
someone….somehow
WE MUST CHANGE OUR BEHAVIOR
IN ORDER TO CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOR!
It is essential to determine the
function of the behavior
because….
We treat the function, not the
behavior.
One essential determination…
Does the child want to get
something
•
•
•
•
activity
item
attention
self-stimulation
OR
Does the child want to get out of
something
• escape
• avoid
Social Positive Reinforcement
Preferred Items
Attention
Look at me!
Social Positive Reinforcement
• Something (attention, activities or tangible items) is delivered by
another person AFTER the behavior happens
• that makes the behavior more likely to occur in the
future.
Social Negative Reinforcement
• Escape
Social Negative Reinforcement
• People are motivated to escape from “bad”
situations. Things we see as good may be seen as bad by the child if
we ask them to do things that are difficult for them.
• The child may engage in inappropriate
behavior in order to get away from what they
perceive to be aversive.
Negative Reinforcement
• If you withdraw a demand that is aversive to the child after
the behavior has occurred, it makes the behavior more likely
to occur in the future.
• For example: If you tell the child to take out the garbage and he begins to
whine, argue, scream, etc. until you send him to his room. He has
succeeded in avoiding or escaping taking out the garbage.
• You removed the demand (probably without even realizing it)
and the child has now learned a successful means of escaping
or avoiding taking out the garbage.
Social Negative Behaviors
• Property destruction, self-injurious behaviors and
aggression all look different, but can serve the same
purpose.
• Aggressive people are selective in their targets. They
receive social reinforcement from human targets.
Aggressive Behavior
• Aggressive behavior is always maintained by social contingencies.
• The more intense the behavior, the more attention it gets from us.
• We must act immediately in situations of self-injurious behavior,
property destruction or aggression, but all we have to do is STOP
the behavior.
• As caring adults, we go further. We try to reason with the child, talk
to them, etc.
• As a result, we unintentionally provide attention and reinforce the
inappropriate behavior.
Who me?
• We all knowingly or unknowingly reinforce behavior for better or for
worse.
• Positive reinforcement can be gained through our social
attention or allowing the child to have an item/activity they
want.
• Negative reinforcement is given when we unintentionally
allow a child to escape or avoid a task or demand.
Automatic Positive Reinforcement
• Sensory Stimulation
Automatic Positive Reinforcement
• Movements or activities of our bodies that
produce a feeling that makes the behavior
that produced it more likely.
Sensory Stimulation
• Stereotypic behavior in autism is not often seen in enriched
environments.
• Seen often in un-enriched environments
• Automatic positive reinforcement occurs when not much is
happening, it makes the environment more interesting.
• We do the same thing (eat, watch t.v., surf the net, play on
cell phone, etc.)
Automatic Negative Reinforcement
• Pain Attenuation
Automatic Negative Reinforcement
• If you are unable to turn the behavior on and
off, it could very well be a medical issue.
Automatic Negative Reinforcement
• We all establish alternative pain reduction responses.
When you have a toothache, the best solution is the dentist. If you can’t get
in right away, you use alternative pain reduction responses: rub your tooth
with your tongue, apply Ora-gel, etc.
• Relatively ineffective. Our ineffective behavior will intensify if
we don’t get relief.
• Doesn’t alleviate the problem, but makes the pain less
obvious.
It’s Complicated….
• Some behaviors look different, but serve the
same function.
• Some behaviors look the same, but serve
different functions.
• The same behavioral intervention can have
different effects depending on the function of
the behavior.
Understand the variables of the behavior
Discover the cause-effect
relationships in order to:
• Understand
• Treat
• Prevent
The most probable functions of specific behavior disorders are:
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Aggression-Social positive/negative reinforcement
Tantrums-Social positive/negative reinforcement
Noncompliance-Social positive/negative reinforcement
Stereotypic behavior-Automatic positive reinforcement
Self-injurious behavior-Social positive/negative, automatic positive
Functional
Behavioral
Assessment
A systematic method used
to identify sources of
reinforcement for problem
behavior
Functional Analysis
• Use of a scientific, experimental model to
identify environment-behavior interactions.
Functional Analysis
Enables BCBAs to determine what
makes behavior worse and what
specific interventions to implement in
order to make it better.
Reinforcement Based Approaches to
Behavior Reduction
Scientifically Speaking…
• Eliminate the behavior’s
antecedent through
Noncontingent Reinforcement
• Eliminate the behavior’s
maintaining reinforcer through
Extinction (no reinforcement of
the target behavior)
• Replace the behavior with an
Alternative Response
Alternatives to Functional Analysis
• Make your best guess which may lead to
worsening of behavior if the wrong
intervention is used for the wrong function of
the behavior.
Delayed Language Development and Negative Behavior
• Most nonverbal or children with language delays have behavior problems.
• The maladaptive behaviors function as their main form of communication.
A nonverbal child wants to go outside. He stands by the door and screams.
Mom opens the door in order to stop the screaming. He has communicated
clearly, gotten his desires met, and will repeat this effective means of
communication again the next time he wants to go outside.
• After many repetitions, the behavior is part of his repertoire and is difficult
to eliminate.
Types of Negative Behavior That Function as
Language
Tantrums
Self-stimulation
Property destruction
Aggression
Social withdrawal
Hyperactivity
Etc...
Examples:
• When attention is a strong motivator, running off may
produce specific attention in the form of chasing by parents or
teachers and is the equivalent of a verbal child saying, “Chase
me!”
• Verbal children receive attention and reinforcement by
interacting with others. A child who is unable to gain
attention in this way may withdraw into his own world of selfstimulation such as rocking, spinning or other repetitive
behavior where he/she controls the reinforcement that feels
good.
Usual Inappropriate Behavior of Adults in Response to
These Behaviors
• The maladaptive behaviors are not typically linked to defective language.
• They are simply targeted for reduction.
• Attempts to reduce the behavior are unsuccessful because the child MUST
have a way to communicate.
• This is an example of treating the symptom and not the function.
Language Intervention
• Early intervention by a
Speech and Language
Pathologist is greatly
beneficial for children
with language delays!
• If children are difficult
to motivate, lack the
skills to follow
directions or engage in
disruptive behavior
during sessions,
progress can be
hindered.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Language Intervention
•
Because it is well documented that
ABA is the most successful approach
for working with children with autism
and other developmental delays,
•
Specific shaping, prompting, fading,
chaining and differential
reinforcement techniques can be
highly effective when used in
conjunction with language training
and behavior reduction programs.
• BCBAs utilize a behavioral
analysis of language and a
behavioral curriculum
designed for children who
are nonverbal or limited in
their verbal abilities along
with a skills tracking system.
To Punish or Not to Punish…
• Punishment should typically only be used after positive
reinforcement strategies have been exhausted and data
indicate they have not been effective.
• Punishment procedures may include interventions such as
time-out, reprimands and response cost.
• Sometimes data may indicate that it is effective to use the
above procedures in combination with positive
reinforcement.
In Summary
Why do children with autism
behave the way they do?
They have learned to behave in ways
that allow them to get what they do
want, get out of what they don’t
want, and have some control over
their environment….just like you and
me.
What should we do about it?
– See the child, not the
disability. Don’t accept
autism as an excuse for bad
behavior.
– Seek help from qualified
professionals.
– Attend parent training
sessions and implement the
behavior plan with fidelity at
home.
– Help to facilitate
implementation of the
strategies at school, day care,
church, etc.