APPROACHES BEHAVIOUR PROBLEMS SPECIAL EDUCATION

Approaches Behaviour Problems Special Education

Approaches Behaviour Problems Special Education

Introduction

In a broader sense, psycho-education refers to the education given to people living with emotional problems. Through socio-emotional skill training, the individual's own strengths and coping skills are reinforced, so that the person becomes the main contributor in his or her own emotional improvement. The theory behind this is that, with stronger knowledge and skills, the better able the person becomes to cope with emotional problems. In the 1970's, when psychological theories were first applied to education in a more systematic way, psycho-education arrived to the classroom. Currently used in special education settings to deal with emotionally troubled and behaviorally disordered students, psycho-education is an approach to changing the behavior patterns and interpretation of events of children who are not adjusting well to the school environment. In schools, psycho-education is a skill- building training that helps disruptive and acting-out students understands how their troubling feelings and emotions relate to their school difficulties and behavior problems. In considering the socio-emotional issues of the troubled student in the process of behavioral change, psycho-education teaches the student positive attitudes and socially appropriate alternative behaviors, involving the student in the development of better coping skills.

Approaches Behaviour Problems Special Education

When a child's behaviour has been identified as challenging, it is essential that a rationale is first provided as to exactly why it is challenging. Indeed, a problem for one person is not always a problem for another person. Sometimes the question must be asked, “Whose problem is it?” This is not to suggest that a difference of opinion should be ignored. Indeed, the fact that one person believes a behaviour to be a bigger problem than someone else, may simply reflect a limited knowledge about child development, or unrealistic expectations about how the child should behave. In this respect, some information and/or supportive counselling may be helpful.

It is also important to consider the degree of intent that may lie behind the behaviour. Challenging behaviour in people with severe learning disabilities is not necessarily deliberate or planned. Rather, in situations of need, people with severe learning disabilities may simply behave automatically in ways which have been successful in the past.

When trying to understand the reason(s) for a child's challenging behaviour, a medical investigation should be sought in the first instance, to check for any possible underlying health influences. Common conditions such as ear infections, tooth-ache, constipation, urinary tract infections or epilepsy may all cause, or contribute to someone's challenging behaviour.

A functional assessment of the behaviour may provide some answers, or at least some theories, about the causes of an individual's behaviour. As noted in the Challenging Behaviour Foundation's 'Basic Information about Challenging Behaviour' information sheet, a functional assessment (sometimes referred to as a functional analysis) aims to shed light on the particular needs which a person gets met through their behaviour.

"It is not a matter of what causes self-injury or what causes aggression or what causes stereotyped or repetitive movements but ...