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Understanding Challenging
Behavior Through a Multifactor Assessment Model Treating and managing the behavior of persons with developmental disabilities has been a chronic challenge faced by psychologists, behavior specialists and varied other treatment staff. A significant portion of the professional literature addresses the management of severe behaviors through the discussion of techniques (i.e. differential reinforcement, discrete trial instruction), and philosophies (i.e. Applied Behavior Analysis, Gentle Teaching). An issue which has commanded much less attention, however, is the daily struggle that direct support staff, parents and other family members experience when attempting to manage challenging behaviors in the natural settings in which they live and work. The anxiety and danger associated with many behavioral presentations such as aggression and self-injury is combined with the crisis-driven desire for immediate change. Consultants are often placed in the position of being asked to make behavioral suggestions by parents/staff without adequate information in order to "fix" the behavior before it becomes untenable. This "reactive" approach to addressing behavior, especially in the natural setting in which many variables impact on the behavior's presentation, dooms intervention to failure in many cases. This paper will present an expanded model in which to understand the "target" behavior, one which necessarily includes the individual, the natural behavior managers (parents/staff), the environment in which the person lives and the system at large. It is believed that such an assessment model is critical in the development of a comprehensive treatment plan that addresses serious behavioral challenges in the natural setting. Keywords: behavioral support, community integration |
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