Page 25 - Coping With Students Challenging Behaviour

softening sharp edges of furniture with foam pads, or replacing some items with softer furniture. Clothing and protective devices must be available at home/school such as padding, helmets, gloves and long sleeves. There should be continuous supervision and the staff/parents should be trained in safe ways to manage crisis situations. It is important to remember that these forms of prevention are not a replacement or treatment, because they do not teach an individual not to self-injure or to develop appropriate behaviours, in other words they do not address the cause of the behaviour. Whilst protective devices often reduce the frequency of self-injury, their use must be carefully and closely monitored to prevent negative effects for the child.
∗ Observing and keeping data on the behaviour and the environment in which it occurs. Gathering data helps to identify or rule-out various factors that contribute to the self-injurious behaviour. The data collection should include: description of the behaviour, the frequency, duration, and intensity; in addition it is important to describe the context of the behaviour: where does it occur? where does it not occur? What are the consequences of the behaviour? Identification of what happens immediately after or as a result of the self- injurious behaviour is a clue as to what the function of the behaviour is. There are three main consequences that may strengthen or maintain self-injury, and that is: (1) the self- injury is strengthened by positive rewards (to gain something, attention, comfort, and even negative attention); (2) the self- injury is strengthened because it gets the individual out of unpleasant or undesirable situations, and (3) the self-injury is strengthened by sensory stimulation. (Ristic, 2022)
MANUAL FOR TEACHERS, PARENTS AND OTHER SPECIALISTS TO PREVENT
AND COPE WITH CHILDREN’S CHALLENGING BEHAVIOUR 25