Challenging Behavior (Reflective Account)
Introduction
Challenging behaviour proofs stressful for parents, guardians and teachers, they experience behaviours of children that might be as being odd. However, challenging behaviour should not be confused as being a diagnosis, but it only a challenge to teachers and parents who have to encounter this person with a learning disability (Paterson 42). Behaviour may be limited to the environment, and the same Behavior is not always considered challenging in some cultures and setting. Research shows that an individual engages in challenging Behavior because they gain sensory stimulation or to gain attention. Challenging Behavior is also dependent on the environment to which the child was brought in; this includes children brought up in an environment with limited social interaction tend to have challenging Behavior. Descriptions of an incident, effects of challenging Behavior, the care plan of such individuals are discussed in details below.
Case Description of Behavior
Studies obtained in hospitals and Psychiatric institution always produces robust results, this is because people have been admitted with severe challenging Behavior and the hospital settings such as the low engagement level may trigger behaviours that are considered challenging. The most common hospital study is the Oliver and colleagues of 1987, where the subjects of the survey portrayed self-injurious behaviour. In the total population with people with a learning disorder participating in the study of 12% in the survey adults-only comprised of only 3%. Different studies have different parameters; in this case, they decided to study a single behavioural case (Paterson 38). Had they considered non-injuring Behavior they might have gained lots of data likewise if considering a more prolonged time into the study like a period of a year and other parameters such as aggression they might have gained significant figures. Most of the studies ask carers for their opinion to count prevalence.
Effects of Challenging Behavior
However, this method proves unreliable because it depends on observational power, and some staff claims not to recall some behaviours leading to observational bias. Likewise, there is a variation in this phenomena; it depends on the environment, including the social environment. Such practices are problematic to the staff; therefore, different people will report a variation in rate. Considering the discussed provisos the accepted range in the Behavior that challenges ranges between 5% of the people with learning disabilities. These figures were obtained from the survey of the total population of people with a learning disability.
Challenging Behavior is a source of all sorts of problems for the individual, their families and carers and the entire society at large (Paterson 38). Exemplary examples include: Adults with Challenging Behavior tend to live independent lives that are characterized by low socialization, and limited access to community-based resources, they have low employment status and the residential living. Additional negative impact includes an increased susceptibility to chemical restrain and injury to the person giving the care. Challenging Behavior interferes with learning, and it can inhibit the acquisition of adaptive behaviours and socially acceptable practices. They also cause a burden to society since they require additional specialized services such as specialized education, adult segregated residence, financial resources and other services necessary to manage Challenging Behavior.
The burden endorsed on caregivers is gruesome, Behaviors that challenge usually cause a high level of stress to the parents and caregivers and it ceases lifetime opportunities a good example is a parent has to quit lifetime opportunities such as a dream job to take care of their son or daughter due to the severity of the Behavior (Paterson 32). The other effect is the susceptibility of other siblings and the full family at large as they may end up being the victims of the aggression: this is mainly attributed due to the different home environment such as reduced attention from the parent. Adults with Challenging Behavior tend not to acknowledge their significant other they are found to be less loving, and most of the time they have a weak social interaction. It may seem like one’s ego is in control of him, and he cannot let go.
Trying to communicate to one of the adults who had severe self-injury turned out to be futile, He remained silent: this turned out to be an essential variable to understand the underlying relationship between communication and the behaviours that challenges. The subject also appeared to have low mood he appeared drooped and not motivated to do anything. However, when his favourite caregiver came into the room, he cheered up and I could see him smiling. It seems like they had attachments to their caregivers. A study conducted by (Schuengel 342) it was shown that young people with poor attachment show more Behavior that challenges, and it is independent of factors such as Autism. While expressing my concern, he changed his expression. He was unable to control his emotion, and in the long run, he was to face detention alone in a room, this seemed not to bother him it looked like he was used to this routine this Behavior was perennial, and he was unable to change his trait.
The method of intervention used was referred to as negative punishment, where the desire to be free is taken away from him by locking him alone in a room. B. F. Skinner theorized negative punishment as a method of operant conditioning. The goal of this punishment is decreasing specific unwanted behaviour. Skinner found that this form of punishment is sufficient; however, it has some through back it requires a consistent application to make it finally settle in. It is usually followed immediately by a response that can be termed as being rude. The other disadvantage is that while it does not provide information on more appropriate action and it is also good to note that once the punishment is withdrawn, the Behavior is much likely to set in. The individual was given continuous guidance, and he was consistently adviced against his Behavior which is unappropriated. It is the one that has made him fall into the predicament, besides he was informed that unless he corrected his Behavior and ask for forgiveness, he will remain inside the room for a long time.
The Environmental Cause
The environment plays a crucial role in promoting Behavior that challenges; therefore, we should be concern about the environment rather than the individuals. The environment further supported by the fact that there is high challenging Behavior in higher institution of learning as there are few activities and feeble social support (Paterson 42). The hospital environment played a vital role in promoting challenging Behavior in our individual in that due to the presence of a weak social connection. The environment might have invoked stress on the individual that made him act irrationally due to the difficulty in adaptation to the environment. However, a change in the environment may result in a slight shift in the Behavior.
Team Work Approach
Carers and staff play display exemplary teamwork to ensure that people with challenging behaviours are understood, and they aim to improve. A ‘carer’ is a person who provides full attention to a partner, family member or friend with a learning disability it is not a term used to refer to individuals who are paid for their service but who whose solemn activity is entirely out of compassion. A staff are social healthcare workers whose work is professional; they include a psychologist, and therefore they can be referred to as paid carers (Paterson 35). All these work as a team to correct the challenging Behavior. The order of caring starts when the caregiver reports unusual Behavior to the staff members, and the staff members then use a psychological criterion to analyze what might be the cause of the Behavior considering most of the parameters including the environment (Paterson 36). After analyzing the Behavior and having a hypothesis on what might be the cause of an appropriate strategy to counter the Behavior is adopted and then implemented by the caregiver with minimal participation of the staff members. Only in a problematic situation is when the physical assistance of the caregiver required.
References to Legislation and Policy
Emerson was among the first scholars to use the term Challenging Behavior through his definition as: “Behaviour of such an intensity, frequency or duration as to threaten the quality of life or the physical safety of the individual or others and is likely to lead to responses that are restrictive, aversive or result in exclusion.” (Emerson 2001) it is known that Behavior that challenges can coexist together with more than one psychological trait, a study carried out on the same reveals that two-thirds of the people who show challenging in Behavior have an additional mental condition.
Conclusion
Although quantifying the cost of challenging Behavior, it is best to understand them and give support to rectify their Behavior. The effort of carers does not go in vain, as always it is the Behavior tends to seize with time through the continuation in learning. Even though caring for those afflicted with the challenging behaviours is stressful caregivers should not give up instead strive for improvement.
Works Cited
Paterson, Alan. “Understanding And Supporting Behavior”. CB4369, 2008, pp. 34, 36, 39, 42.,
Accessed 4 June 2020.
Schuengel, Harry. “Challenging Behavior And Learning Disability”. Ncbi.Nlm.Nih.Gov, 2017, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK355392/#ch2.s8.