Module 10: Parenting Strategies for Managing Challenging Behavior

This module is about managing your child’s non-compliant behaviors during mission plan activities. Has your child been refusing to participate in steps of their mission plan even when you use the rewards consistently? Do they always argue with you or try to get out of it? We have some tips on how to encourage your child to participate in activities as much as possible in this module. If this module is not relevant for your family, feel free to move on to a different module.

Most of this module was written by Dr. Rachel H. Fein, Ph.D., BCBA and Emily Jellinek, our collaborators at the Texas Children's Hospital, and edited by the rest of the LUNA team. Dr. Fein and Ms. Jellinek are experts in helping parents manage challenging and non-compliant behavior. We deeply thank Dr. Fein and Ms. Jellinek for their contribution.

Some children may display challenging behaviors, such as defiance, noncompliance, physical aggression, and/or tantrums. Children engage in challenging behaviors for several reasons including to get attention from others, to escape or avoid a task or situation, or to get access to something they want to have. Sometimes, when children are experiencing anxiety, their symptoms may look like challenging behaviors. Remember, anxiety and fear are emotions that tell us something bad is about to happen. To protect ourselves from the bad thing, our “fight or flight” reaction might kick in - we either run away from the bad thing or prepare to fight it. When the “fight” reaction kicks in, children may become angry, irritable, or act out more than usual to escape or fight anxiety-provoking situations. In these situations, challenging or problem behaviors are common such as throwing tantrums, interrupting, asking a lot of questions, moving around a lot, not following instructions, and defiance.

Let’s turn to Neil for an example.
 
Neil’s mom has noticed that bedtime has become increasingly difficult. During bedtime, Neil refuses to follow his bedtime routine instructions. When it’s time to go into his bedroom at night, Neil will throw himself on the floor, cry, and scream at his mom. In response, Neil’s mom allows Neil to delay bedtime and eventually he is allowed to sleep in her room. While Neil’s behaviors are challenging, they are better explained as symptoms of Neil’s anxiety. Neil may be overwhelmed and uncomfortable because of his anxiety (being separated from his mom and the dark).
 
Often when children are unsure how to explain or cope with these feelings, they communicate through their behaviors. Challenging behaviors can create challenges at home, school, and in community settings. In LUNA, there is a high chance you have faced challenging behavior during mission plans. In this module, we are going to discuss how to manage challenging behaviors. To do this, we first need to talk about how behaviors are learned.