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How do I go about
replacing a challenging behavior with a
communicative alternative? There are two types of intervention procedures: those designed to honor the function of the challenging behavior by teaching a communicative replacement and those that are designed to enhance self-regulatory skills. When an interventionist chooses to replace the challenging behavior with a communicative alternative, there must be general agreement that the function of the behavior was acceptable but the form used to achieve the outcome is unacceptable. For example, if taught to request joining his friends at recess, Ben would no longer need to engage in self-injurious behavior to obtain access to a desired activity. If Mary had a means to request a break from an ongoing activity, she may not feel the need to throw her materials around the room to achieve escape. Providing John with a way to tell others that he does not want to accept a particular item or engage in a particular activity might result in a decrease in his escape-motivated aggression. Some children who engage in nonsocially motivated challenging behaviors could also be taught functional communicative alternatives. For example, if given a means of requesting food, a child may refrain from stealing it. It is essential to determine the function of the challenging behavior before attempting to teach a child an efficient communicative replacement. If the interventionist chooses to teach a communicative replacement, they must ensure that the communicative replacement serves the same function as the challenging behavior. Why is it important to consider functional equivalency and response efficiency? The hypothesis that some challenging behaviors are engaged in to serve social functions or purposes led interventionists to the conclusion that socially acceptable behaviors that are taught must be functionally equivalent to and more efficient than the challenging behaviors. A functionally equivalent behavior serves the same purpose as the challenging behavior. For example, if a child screams in order to get attention, the communicative alternative that is taught must also serve as an attention-getter. The desired outcome, attention, must be received when the child engages in the new socially acceptable response. An efficient behavior is one that the child can produce with ease. The new socially acceptable behavior must be easier to produce than the challenging behavior while recruiting the desired outcome within a short period of time. For example, if David engages in tantrumming behavior (crying, lying on floor, stomping feet, throwing objects) in order to escape a nonpreferred activity, it is reasonable to conclude that teaching him to touch a symbol that indicates I want to take a break would require less effort than the challenging behavior. The use of this new response would also make it possible for David to escape the task sooner than the demonstration of the old behaviors. When replacing socially motivated challenging behaviors with communicative alternatives, the interventionist must decide whether or not the child's communicative function will be reinforced. For example, in some situations it is entirely appropriate for the child to have his or her communicative function honored. Consider Paula who acts aggressively on the playground because she wants to participate in a game with her peers. In this situation, Paula may be taught to request to gain access to the group (e.g., teach her to sign Play please) and it is likely that she will be reinforced (i.e., provided with an opportunity to play with her peers) each time she uses this communicative function. In other situations, it may be acceptable for the child's communicative function to be honored, but on a temporary basis only. For example, Zhining may engage in tantrumming behavior in order to gain access to soda at meal times. Initially, her parents may choose to teach her an appropriate means of requesting this preferred beverage at meal times and for a short time will provide her with soda each time she asks appropriately. However, over the course of time they plan to have Zhining choose a more nutritious beverage to drink with her meal. Finally, there are situations where interventionists are unable to honor a child's communicative intent because it may be harmful to his health or well-being. Reflect on Franco who engages in avoidance-motivated challenging behavior when approached with his daily dosage of seizure medication. In this situation, it is not appropriate for him to avoid the medication. As a result, the interventionist will not be able to honor Franco's rejecting response, whether or not it is emitted in an appropriate manner (e.g., he signs No thank you instead of acting aggressively). As a result, it is important for the interventionist to consider carefully whether or not Franco's communicative function will be reinforced prior to choosing a communicative replacement as an intervention strategy. In order to be successful at teaching an appropriate alternative replacement behavior, it is essential to assess the function of the problematic behavior. The process that has been used to obtain information regarding the function of a challenging behavior is referred to as a functional assessment (Durand, 1990; Lennox & Miltenberger, 1989; O'Neill, Horner, Albin, Storey, & Sprague, 1990). References Durand, V.M. (1990). Severe behavior problems: A functional communication training approach. New York: Guilford. Lennox, D.B., & Miltenberger, R. (1989). Conducting a functional assessment of problem behavior in applied settings. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 14, 304-311. O'Neill, R.E., Horner, R.H., Albin, R., Storey, K., & Sprague, J. (1990). Functional assessment of problem behavior: A practical assessment guide. Pacific Grove, CA: Brookes/Cole. |
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Early
Childhood Behavior Project Joe Reichle, Ph.D.,
Co-Principal Investigators |
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| University of Minnesota | ||
| Send questions or comments on the web site to Karen Anderson, Web Site Coordinator. http://pebbles.cehd.umn.edu/ceed/projects/preschoolbehavior/strategies/crintro.htm This page was last updated on November 27, 2007. © 2005 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer. Online privacy statement |
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Intro to
Communicative Alternatives
