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

By: Melissa Richardson, M.Ed., BCBABoard Certified Behavior Analyst

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

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.

Circular Reasoning

Circular Reasoning

• Focusing on the characteristics gets us nowhere

• So instead of talking in circles, let’s stop and ask ourselves another question…..

Now we’re getting personal!

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

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.

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

Furthermore…..

We like to do what we’re motivated to do, what we find enjoyable, and what is reinforcing to us.

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

Remind me again what it is that we want….

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

So you’re 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 don’t want and ultimately to have some control of their environment.

That’s right. However, their methods of doing so often involve inappropriate behavior

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….

Let’s focus on the facts

It’s a fact…..

• Just as there are scientific laws that govern the universe, there are scientific principles that govern behavior.

• Let’s talk about some behavioral principles.

Deal or No Deal?

• I have a one acre lot and it needs to be mowed. I’ll pay you $10.00 to mow it!

• Interested in doing the job?

Deal or No Deal

• I have a one acre lot and it needs to be mowed. I’ll pay you $200.00 to mow it!

• • Interested in doing the job?

What’s the Difference?

• The size of the lot didn’t change and the task demand didn’t change.

• Why was the second offer more appealing?

Motivation and Reinforcement

Although you were motivated by the idea of earning money, the reinforcement (money) for the first offer just wasn’t 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.

Where Would You Go?

• If you wanted something to eat..restaurant or doctor’s office?

• Why?• How do you know?

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 relationship…If 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.

Who’s 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?• Don’t worry….you’re not alone!

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

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 child’s present environment.

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

It is essential to determine the function of the behavior

because….

We treat the function, not the behavior.

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

Social Positive Reinforcement

Look at me!

Preferred ItemsAttention

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.

Social Negative Reinforcement

• Escape

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Automatic Positive Reinforcement

• Sensory Stimulation

Automatic Positive Reinforcement

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

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.)

Automatic Negative Reinforcement

• Pain Attenuation

Automatic Negative Reinforcement

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

Automatic Negative Reinforcement

• We all establish alternative pain reduction responses.When you have a toothache, the best solution is the dentist. If you can’t 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 don’t get relief.

• Doesn’t alleviate the problem, but makes the pain less obvious.

It’s 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.

Understand the variables of the behavior

Discover the cause-effect relationships in order to:

• Understand• Treat• Prevent

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

Functional Behavioral Assessment

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

Functional Analysis

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

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

Scientifically Speaking…Reinforcement Based Approaches to Behavior Reduction

• Eliminate the behavior’s antecedent through Noncontingent Reinforcement

• Eliminate the behavior’s maintaining reinforcer through Extinction (no reinforcement of the target behavior)

• Replace the behavior with an Alternative Response

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.

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.

Types of Negative Behavior That Function as Language

TantrumsSelf-stimulation

Property destructionAggression

Social withdrawalHyperactivity

Etc...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In SummaryWhy 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 don’t 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. Don’t 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.