I know my child engages in behaviors that interfere with progressing skills. What should I do?
First things first, take a deep breath.
Next, I want you to remember the functions of behavior: escape, attention, access, and sensory.
There is some information you’ll need to take down in order to determine what the function(s) are for the behavior you’re focused on. This information is referred to as ABC data.
The use of ABC data is helpful to review and make an educated guess on why a behavior is happening. Remember, we can only guess as your child is not likely to simply state why they’re engaging in a behavior.
Most children will not simply say something like, “I’m yelling to get your attention and look at me.”
Let’s take a look further into ABC data and what it is exactly.
Identifying ABCs of behavior can lead to determining the function of a behavior. Subscribe here to get notified of new posts!
The ABCs of Behavior
When we look at collecting ABC data, we are look at three things in a behavioral situation.
- Antecedent — what happened right before a behavior occurred. This is about 30ish seconds before a behavior happens.
- Behavior — what actually happened. Try not to put “my child aggressed at sibling”. This doesn’t provide objective information, and therefore different people may view aggression differently.
- Consequence — what occurs IMMEDIATELY after the behavior. This could be something as simple as a person turning and looking at the individual engaging in the behavior.
Each part of ABC descriptions is important for us to see what the reason could be for a behavior to occur.
The antecedent section when talking about ABCs of behaviors helps us to see what could be triggering a behavior.
Describing the behavior itself helps to eliminate misunderstandings/communications. Clear descriptions keep everyone on the same page.
Identifying the consequences after a behavior happens will help us understand why behaviors are occurring. When I talk about the consequences, I’m not referring to how we think of “consequences” like the “consequences of our actions”, but rather what is simply happening right after a behavioral episode.
Take Aways
Alright, grab a piece of paper and don’t be afraid to take some notes on behaviors for ABC descriptions.
Remember to always stay objective in your statements. It doesn’t help to have “my child felt upset”. This wouldn’t tell someone reading it anything about what a was actually happening.
Leave emotions out of the descriptions out of your summaries. When we look at behaviors, we need to look at what was happening. When we include emotions it becomes difficult to determine what was the real cause of behavioral episodes.
Let’s talk about behaviors here on this blog!
Take a deep breath… You’re got this!