5 Tips For
Supporting Through
Challenging Behavior
All children have their own challenging behaviors they are working through.
As a loved ones in their lives, it’s important they feel safe. Learning to respond instead of reacting is not a normal response for everyone; this is something that must be learned over time. It’s important to meet the child where they’re at to help them work through the challenging behavior in order to learn alternative coping skills. Here are 5 tips to help support your child through challenging behaviors.
1) Acknowledge your child’s roadblocks
Even though your child might not be able to articulate what they’re feeling, they still need to know that you understand. No matter how angry or frustrated you are, just remember: Your child is going through something and it’s important that they know you support them. Take a step back, take a deep breath, and respond to the situation, rather than react. Tell them, I can see how hard it is for you. I know it hurts right now but we can get through this together.
2) Have realistic expectations
All children can perform a variety of challenging behaviors. If you’re not prepared to handle these behaviors, raising a child can feel like an uphill battle. Realistic expectations are important here: while your child will likely make progress over time, it’s important to remember that some of these behaviors may never go away entirely. Using ABA therapy can help you and your child determine what reasonable expectations are and how to create an environment that promotes safe learning.
3) Don’t fight fire with fire
4) Celebrate achievements
In order to increase a behavior, we want to provide immediate reinforcement to motivate the child to perform that target behavior again. This can be as simple as a “Good job!” or a trip to their favorite ice cream place. People are motivated to perform behaviors that bring about a preferred consequence. Acknowledging progress is one of many things’ parents can do to help support their children.
5) Establish consistent routines
Consistency is one of the biggest tools parents have to help their kids cope with challenging behaviors. Many children find comfort in knowing what’s going to happen, when it’s going to happen, and how it’s going to happen. For that reason, establishing a consistent routine helps them handle situations such as mealtime and bedtime better than if things were more fluid or random.
6) Bonus Tip! Engage with child in their preferred activities
While you can’t always predict when and how challenging behaviors will occur, you can do your best to reduce their frequency by engaging with your child. Try scheduling fun outings or engaging with them in a favorite hobby, like arts and crafts or playing a game. This is also a great time to connect one-on-one by asking them about their day or talking about interests they have.
There’s a lot more that goes into supporting your child than just challenging behaviors, but it can be difficult to know where to start. Although these tips may not be an end-all solution, they are a solid way to start dealing with challenging behaviors. Hopefully, these resources will help you find what works best for your family and provide you with tools to better cope as time goes on. We are Mandt Certified to increase relationship building and decrease restraints. To learn more about the Mandt System, click here!
Learn More about ABA Therapy
ABA Therapy combines Functional Communication Training and Script/Script Fading strategies to empower children with autism to express their needs effectively and connect with others in meaningful ways.
Setting realistic goals in ABA therapy is a collaborative and dynamic process that combines professional expertise with family insight. By focusing on the child’s developmental stage, prioritizing meaningful and measurable goals, and maintaining flexibility, families can create a roadmap for success. With patience, persistence, and partnership, these goals become steppingstones toward greater independence, improved quality of life, and a brighter future for the child.
Emotional regulation involves the ability to monitor, evaluate, and modify emotional responses to meet the demands of a given situation. It encompasses recognizing emotions, understanding their causes, and implementing strategies to manage them. For individuals with ASD, emotional regulation difficulties may manifest as heightened reactivity, impulsivity, or meltdowns when faced with stressors. These challenges are often rooted in difficulties with communication, sensory processing, or coping mechanisms. ABA interventions focus on breaking down emotional regulation into teachable components, using reinforcement and other behavior-modification techniques. The goal is to equip individuals with the tools they need to navigate emotional experiences and respond constructively.