WHY DO CHILDREN WITH AUTISM BEHAVE THE WAY THEY DO

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WHY DO CHILDREN WITH AUTISM BEHAVE THE WAY THEY
DOAND WHAT WE SHOULD DO ABOUT IT

• By Melissa Richardson, M.Ed., BCBA
• Board Certified Behavior Analyst

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Why do children with autism behave the way they
do? Usual answer

• Developmental, neurological disorder
• Brain size and structure are different
• Information processing is different
• Sensory systems are different

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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.

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Circular Reasoning

• Focusing on the characteristics gets us nowhere
• So instead of talking in circles, lets stop and
  ask ourselves another question..

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Now were getting personal!

• Why do you and I, as adults, behave the way we
  do?

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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.

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As human beings (adults, children, male, female,
etc.)

• We all want the same basic things
• Attention
• Escape from things we find aversive
• Control of our environment

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Furthermore..

• We like to do what were motivated to do, what we
  find enjoyable, and what is reinforcing to us.

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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

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Remind me again what it is that we want.

• Attention
• Escape from things we find aversive
• Control of our environment

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So youre 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 dont want and ultimately to have some
  control of their environment.
• Thats right. However, their methods of doing so
  often involve inappropriate behavior

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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.
• Lets focus on the facts

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Its a fact..

• Just as there are scientific laws that govern the
  universe, there are scientific principles that
  govern behavior.
• Lets talk about some behavioral principles.

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Deal or No Deal?

• I have a one acre lot and it needs to be mowed.
  Ill pay you 10.00 to mow it!
• Interested in doing the job?

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Deal or No Deal

• I have a one acre lot and it needs to be mowed.
  Ill pay you 200.00 to mow it!
• Interested in doing the job?

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Whats the Difference?

• The size of the lot didnt change and the task
  demand didnt change.
• Why was the second offer more appealing?

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Motivation and Reinforcement

• Although you were motivated by the idea of
  earning money, the reinforcement (money) for the
  first offer just wasnt 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.

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Where Would You Go?

• If you wanted something to eat..restaurant or
  doctors office?
• Why?
• How do you know?

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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 relationshipIf 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.

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Whos 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?
• Dont worry.youre not alone!

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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 childs maladaptive behavior and individually
  prescribed, research-based interventions should
  be implemented by highly qualified professionals
  in order for appropriate functioning to take
  place.

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• If inappropriate behavior is happening, it is
  being reinforced by someone.somehow

• These scientific measures will reveal how the
  inappropriate behavior is supported and/or
  maintained in the childs present environment.

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• WE MUST CHANGE OUR BEHAVIOR
• IN ORDER TO CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOR!

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It is essential to determine the function of the
behavior because.

• We treat the function, not the behavior.

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One essential determination

• Does the child want to get OR
• something
• activity
• item
• attention
• self-stimulation

• Does the child want to get out of something
• escape
• avoid

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Social Positive Reinforcement

• Attention

• Preferred Items

• Look at me!

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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.

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Social Negative Reinforcement

• Escape

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Automatic Positive Reinforcement

• Sensory Stimulation

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Automatic Positive Reinforcement

• Movements or activities of our bodies that
  produce a feeling that makes the behavior that
  produced it more likely.

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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.)

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Automatic Negative Reinforcement

• Pain Attenuation

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Automatic Negative Reinforcement

• If you are unable to turn the behavior on and
  off, it could very well be a medical issue.

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Automatic Negative Reinforcement

• We all establish alternative pain reduction
  responses.
• When you have a toothache, the best solution is
  the dentist. If you cant 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 dont get relief.
• Doesnt alleviate the problem, but makes the pain
  less obvious.

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Its 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.

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Understand the variables of the behavior

• Discover the cause-effect relationships in order
  to

• Understand
• Treat
• Prevent

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The most probable functions of specific behavior
disorders are

• 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

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• Functional Behavioral Assessment

• A systematic method used to identify sources of
  reinforcement for problem behavior

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Functional Analysis

• Use of a scientific, experimental model to
  identify environment-behavior interactions.

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Functional Analysis

• Enables BCBAs to determine what makes behavior
  worse and what specific interventions to
  implement in order to make it better.

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• Scientifically Speaking

• Reinforcement Based Approaches to Behavior
  Reduction

• Eliminate the behaviors antecedent through
  Noncontingent Reinforcement
• Eliminate the behaviors maintaining reinforcer
  through Extinction (no reinforcement of the
  target behavior)
• Replace the behavior with an Alternative Response

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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.

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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.

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Types of Negative Behavior That Function as
Language

• Tantrums
• Self-stimulation
• Property destruction
• Aggression
• Social withdrawal
• Hyperactivity
• Etc...

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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
  self-stimulation such as rocking, spinning or
  other repetitive behavior where he/she controls
  the reinforcement that feels good.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 dont 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. Dont 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.

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