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Recognise patterns and triggers which may lead toinappropriate behavioural responses and take action to pre-empt, divert or diffuse potential flash points
It is well recognised that children react to situations and stimuli in different ways and
that depending on the child, their well-being, their developmental stage, and any
conditions or impairments that they have, that response may be more or less
inappropriate.
It is really important to remember that nothing happens in isolation. There is usually
a reason behind the behaviour, however difficult that may be to see. Behaviour
problems do not tend to be one-offs; they are more likely to be a pattern, and this
realisation can make it easier for you to understand the behaviour. Remembering
that it is a type of communication for those who are not empowered to express
themselves (either because they cannot express their emotions or difficulty with
something adquately, or because they do not feel that they are allowed to), does
help with this thinking.
Knowing the pupils is key to understanding their behaviours, but at the same time,
you should apply some of your reflective thinking skills to any situation where a child
regularly behaves inappropriately. Once you have a good understanding of what
happens, when it happens, and the possible reasons behind it, you will be better
able to make the right decisions when it comes to pre-empting the behaviour, or
diffusing it.
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Identify triggers for challenging behaviour.
Questions to help you recognise patterns and triggers
1. What is the specific behaviour that has caused concern?
2. When does the behaviour take place? Ask yourself in which situationsdoes the behaviour take place, and in which does it
3. What happens prior to the behaviour? Is there some kind of slow build
up that you can see coming or is there an unexpected explosion or
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sudden activity?
4. What happens after the behaviour? That is, who responds, howdoes the response match the situation, and does it actually make thebehaviour more likely to return?
5. What activities is the child good at? Are they popular, and get along withthe other kids? Are they good at learning things? Are they good atexplaining things, or communicating in general? What things are theynot so good at?
6. What does the child think about his or her behaviour?
7. What does the child think and feel about him or herself? Is thebehaviour likely to improve that view?
8. What do the other children in the class, the teacher, and other supportstaff think and feel about the child? Will they think and feel differentlyif the behaviour was to change?
Possible action you can take
Once you begin to understand the behaviour and the stimuli behind the behaviour,
you will be in a far better position to take pre-emptive action, or to otherwise distract
the child.
Pre-empting a situation may be as simple as you sitting down with the child as soon
as you see the situation developing. Perhaps you choose to work with them through
a few of the exercises that you believe they have difficulty with, or to support them in
another way. Your presence will make a difference to their behaviour, and your
support may mean that they are less likely to continue in the same pattern.
Avoiding the situation by distracting or diverting the child's attention away from the
trigger may also be a simple operation. Something like giving them a particular job to
do, or asking them to do something directly related to the activity that you know they
can do; either of these types of thing will be really simple to carry out and will mean
that the pupil gets the opportunity to do something positive rather than behave
inappropriately, and can subsequently be praised for it.
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