Parents of children with certain disabilities of mental health issues have behaviour concerns about their child when at school. These behaviors can lead to punishment, suspension or at worst expulsion. These behaviors are particularly prevalent in children that suffer from Autism Spectrum Disorder, ODD or ADHD. Behaviours of concern become a problem when they are of such intensity, frequency or duration that the physical safety of the sufferer or those around them is placed in jeopardy. These behaviours can also seriously limit or deny access to the use of ordinary community facilities such as schooling.
The causes of behaviours of concern can be psychiatric, medical and/or environmental and do not demonstrate that a child is bad. Simply punishing those behaviours is ineffective and possibly detrimental.
For young people with disabilities their behaviors are often caused by their inability to communicate, frustration, avoidance, sensory difficulties and a host of other factors. The key to helping them is to find out what the function of the behaviour is — why the child is acting out these behaviors. It is only then that the behaviours can be addressed effectively.
Parents of children that have behaviour concerns find the child behaving in challenging ways. These behaviors can be a problem for other people as well as the child. Sometimes they involve hurting themselves, other people or damaging objects. This can stop them being able to do things that other people take for granted such as going to work or seeing their friends. Following are various types of behaviors of concern:
• Hurting themselves by cutting, scratching or hitting themselves.
• Hurting others by hitting, pinching or biting another person.
• Breaking things
• Refusing to do things such as activities they once enjoyed or refusing to take medicine
• Obsessively repeating the same act over and over
• Doing things that are unacceptable such as screaming, swearing or taking their clothes off
• Avoiding social contact and hiding away from others.
If a person has behaviour concerns about someone it is important to remember that it is the behaviour that is the problem and not the person themselves; they are simply trying to express something and do not have any other ways to do so. It is not a disease and the person who is behaving this way is not a bad person as such, they simply have a mental issue or disability that they are trying to deal with.
