Responding to Challenging Behaviour

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Responding to Challenging Behaviour

• Keriba Garywdoemin
• Presentation for Parents and Carers
• By Cathy Nixon
• Head of Special Education Services
• Malu Os
• September 2007

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The Nixon family
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• 910 930
• Challenging behaviours
• 930 1000
• Challenging Behaviour that are Sensory Behaviours
• 1000 Morning Tea
• 1030 1100
• Challenging Behaviours and Communication
• 1100 1130
• Summary and making plans

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What is a challenging behaviour?

• Any behaviour that affects a persons health and
  quality of life

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Talking Time
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Ever Wish We Had One Of These?
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All behaviour

• Seeking to GET something
• Get access to a favourite activity
• Get sensory feedback
• Get control over own life

• Seeking to AVOID something
• Avoid work
• Avoid a person
• Avoid arousal or anxiety

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When problem behaviour happens this is one of the
things we wish we could do
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Hard Facts
2 of the time

• Behaviour is learned and serves a specific
  purpose.
• Behaviour is related to the context in which it
  occurs.
• For every year a behaviour is in place it takes
  at least one month for that behaviour to have a
  significant change.
• Children comply with the rules 80 of the time.
  However they are complimented for their behavior
  less than..

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We can do this!!!

• Understand and Talk about the behaviour
• Work as a team
• Make a plan be Proactive
• Remain Cool, Calm and Collected
• Stick to the plan

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Talking Time
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THE 5 SENSES (Information from the environment
around us)
Smell
Vision
Touch
Taste
Hearing
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2 Internal Senses(information from within our
bodies)

• Body awareness (proprioception) where
  information is received from the muscles, tendons
  and joints, and provides us with an awareness of
  our bodies position in relation to our
  environment, gravity and space.

• Movement and Balance (vestibular) information is
  received from the inner ear, and relates to
  movement, gravity and balance.

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Optical Illusions and Visual Phenomena Want to
confuse your eyes and brain a bit? Yes? Then
you might want to have a look at the following
pics ..
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It ...
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... parallel or not?
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WHAT IS SENSORY PROCESSING?

• When a child picks up their first shell on the
  beach
• Use vision - to spot the shell, identify colour
  size and shape.
• As the child bends down to pick up the shell the
  child needs to be aware of where their fingers,
  arms, head and body need to be placed so that
  they are able to reach the shell.
• At the same time the child needs to keep their
  balance as they move forward and downwards.

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WHAT IS SENSORY PROCESSING?

• As the child picks up the shell they feel the
  texture as being either smooth or rough, and
  determine whether the shell is heavy or light.
• The child might put the stone to its mouth and
  nose, tasting and smelling the salt from the sea
  and listening to the sound of crashing waves.
• The whole time that the child is exploring and
  enjoying their new experience, their sensory
  processing system is hard at work.

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Sensory Modulation
The information taken in through the senses is
organised in our central nervous system (brain
and spinal cord) in order for us to be able to
understand, react and interact appropriately with
the world around us.
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Sensory modulation
Over-aroused - stressed, anxious, distractible!
Optimal level of arousal for learning Alert and
interested
Under-aroused - drowsy, lethargic
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Sensory modulation in children with ASD
Over-aroused - stressed, anxious, distractible!
Optimal level of arousal for learning Alert and
interested
Under-aroused - drowsy, lethargic
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Why do we need sensory processing?

• Our brain, through our senses, needs a
  balanced diet (sensory diet). We need to
  experience a variety of sensations each and every
  day in order to keep our brain energised,
  organised, alert or calm. With a regular,
  balanced sensory diet we are better prepared to
  respond appropriately to the demands of the world
  we live in.

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Self-Regulation

• Our sensory needs fluctuate throughout the day.
  Just like food, some times we need a substantial
  meal, other times a light snack.
• As appropriately functioning adults we are able
  use activities to self-regulate our brains
  alertness levels.
• Children also need to be to learn to use
  activities to regulate their alertness levels.
  Typically children learn to seek out activities
  themselves in order to do this. However when
  children are having difficulties with
  self-regulation, adults may need to assist these
  children to find the right type of activities to
  attain the appropriate level of alertness for
  their situation.
• How is your engine running? program aimed at
  assisting students in this area.

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Calming and Alerting

• In order for children to focus their
  attention, their bodies need to be in an
  appropriate state of alertness in relation to the
  demands of the environment.
• If they are not in an appropriate state of
  alertness then their attention may be directed
  towards the wrong cues or may fail to alert at
  all.
• A balanced sensory diet containing both calming
  and alerting activities will help children
  maintain appropriate levels of alertness.
• Monitor the children to identify which activities
  work best. However be aware that the same
  activity may be calming at one time and alerting
  at another e.g. chewing gum to calm oneself when
  stressed or to alert when tired.

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Activities that can have an alerting affect

• Drinking cold drinks
• Eating crunchy food, semi frozen fruit pieces or
  ice to chew on
• Tasting foods with strong flavours such as lemon
  and salt
• Smelling strong scents such as vinegar, garlic,
  parmesan cheese
• Sucking or blowing through a straw
• Chewing on sugar free gum
• Having bright lighting where children work and
  play
• Vigorous swinging
• Running, jumping, hopping, skipping
• Bounce a child on your knee
• Riding on a trike or bike
• Encourage children to splash cool water on their
  neck and face
• Play with ice in a water trough
• Allow children to run under a sprinkler
• Fast paced action songs such as head and
  shoulders, knees and toes
• Play loud, fast paced music

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Activities that can have a calming affect

• Warm drinks
• Chewing on sugar free gum
• Smelling soft scents such as lavender, melon,
  fresh bread
• Snuggling up in big blanket or sleeping bag
• Soft, low level lighting
• Soothing, rhythmic music
• Speaking softly in whispers
• A tepid bath or a warm face washer on the hands
  and arms
• Slow rhythmic rocking or swinging
• Carrying heavy objects
• Lying or sitting on a vibrating cushion
• Gently applying deep pressure to a childs
  shoulders, back and legs
• Gently squashing a childs trunk between two
  large cushions
• Massaging hands and feet with body lotion

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Talking Time
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We can do this!!!

• Understand and Talk about the behaviour
• Work as a team
• Make a plan be Proactive
• Remain Cool, Calm and Collected
• Stick to the plan

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