Help understand

My 8 yr old son posably has azburgers and we are having trouble with the school dealing with him behavior wise. I was wondering if they dont keep a rutine and keep changing it will that aggrivate the azburgers?

[Richard B. Graff, PhD, BCBA-D]

When a child emits behavior problems at school, it is crucial that the school conduct a functional behavioral assessment.  This will help the teachers identify why the behavior problems may be occurring, which is crucial in determining what needs to be done to decrease the problem behaviors.  For example, some behavior problems occur when a child is asked to do difficult academic work, and by emitting the problem behavior, the child can avoid doing the work, at least temporarily (e.g., if you act out when given difficult work and get sent to the principal's office, you get out of doing that work).  Other behavior problems may occur because it allows the child to get attention from the teacher or other students, and getting attention is very reinforcing for many children.  It's also possible that behavior problems occur when child's schedule is unpredictable, or when a routine changes unexpectedly.  The results of the functional behavior assessment may tell the teachers why your son is acting out--once they know why the behaviors are occurring, they will have a better idea how to react when behavior problems occur.  If they don;t know why your son is acting out, it becomes very difficult to know how to fix the problem.

If the school has not yet conducted a functional behavior assessment, I would strongly encourage you to ask that this be done. If there is no one in the school who has the expertise to do this, you might suggest that the school consult with a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with experience in dealing with behavior problems in school-aged children, as this individual can guide the school in how this should be done,

Good luck!

Rick