Are You Ready to Handle Your Child's Behaviors?

Winter is almost here, school is in session and the holidays are creeping up.

That may mean days out of school, parties, family trips, people, decorations, events, excitement, anxiety, changes in schedule and a whole lot of other things.

Are you ready for all of that?

This month I want to focus on knowing your kiddo and their precursor behaviors, so you can be ready.

What are their triggers, what sets their behaviors off?

What do they do that let's you know that a more challenging behavior is about to occur?

Do they ball up their fist, growl, grunt, pace, wrinkle up their forehead, get super quiet, yell or scream, maybe their movements become more exaggerated than usual. What are some precursor behaviors that your kiddo tends to do almost always right behavior a big behavior?

If you are unsure, take a few days to do some intentional observations. Note what triggered the event as well. These are the first steps to shifting how the behavior may play out. Knowing the precursor behaviors is a big help in preparing to handle a behavior. It allows you to identify when to intervene, if you can intervene right at that precursor level each time before they get to that big behavior. You will start to see less of the more challenging behaviors.

Say What???

Well, in man cases we are going to reinforce the challenging behaviors when they happen. That's usually why behaviors happen, because they are being reinforced some way or another, rather you see it or not. Safety is important, you're lives get busy and life just happens. And as parents or caregivers you may not see everything. So if reinforcement is already going to happen, why not do it at a level of behavior that is more manageable? The precursor level.

If you know the behavior is likely due to attention, provide attention at the precursor level. If you knoew the behavior is likely due to escape, provide them with options or the words to escape whatever sitation or task they are in. If you know the behavior is likely due to wanting something, if they can have it now prompt them to ask for it, if they can not have it now, let them know when they can, set a timer and provide options/offer alternatives of something they can do or have while they wait. If you know the behavior is likely due to sensory input, enrich their environment with options that they like or are familiar with to meet their sensory needs.

Isn't this just giving into the behaviors?

Nooooooo. It's staying safe, and if you noticed at the same time you are modeling what they can do instead when they are dysregulated. It shows them that you notice that they are dysregulated and that they want to communicate something, and that there are other options to get what they truly want without the big behaviors.

If you have not tried intervening at precursor level yet, start with intentional observation, find out what behaviors you think happen before the big behaviors that you would be able to intervene at.

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