Request Assistance

A request for assistance is a communicative utterance produced by the child in order to indicate the desire to have an individual provide him/her with help while engaged in a task. For example, a child may require assistance in removing his/her clothing, manipulating materials (e.g., scissors, glue bottles, or jars) or gaining access to food items (e.g., opening a wrapper, cabinet, or refrigerator).

Who would benefit from being taught to request assistance?

The request for assistance response can be taught as a communicative replacement for a variety of functions of challenging behaviors.

Access-motivated: Situations in which an individual requires assistance in order to gain access to a preferred item or an activity. For example, a young child may tantrum to obtain help from an adult when trying to loosen the lid of a peanut butter jar. Another child may whine to gain assistance in accessing a preferred toy placed on a high shelf. Each of these children can be taught a more functional means of requesting assistance (e.g., pointing to a graphic symbol or signing Help, please).

Escape-motivated

Difficult task: Situations in which an individual requires assistance to speed escape from a difficult task are also excellent opportunities to request assistance. Consider Jimmy, who tends to stop working when he reaches a step in an activity that he finds difficult. Upon stopping the activity, Jimmy becomes restless and starts to pinch the children sitting nearby. One solution to this problem may involve teaching Jimmy to request assistance when he reaches a difficult step in the activity, if the difficulty of the activity is the basis for his escape-motivated challenging behavior.

How might a child use a socially appropriate response to request assistance?

A child may produce a request for assistance in three ways: speaking, using a graphic symbol, or using a gesture. A child might say Help me, point to a symbol Help, or produce an American sign language sign for help.

Getting Ready to Teach Requesting Assistance

Step A. Determine the function served by the challenging behavior.

Early Childhood Behavior Project
Center for Early Education and Development (CEED)
University of Minnesota

College of Education and 
Human Development