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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