One of the biggest challenges of being a teacher, special education or not, is dealing with behaviors. Over the years, there have been countless studies and tons of theories on dealing with behaviors; and a million and one excuses and/or reasons as to why behaviors occur. Over the years, we have somewhat established what is considered appropriate and what is considered inappropriate behaviors in typical children. But, for some reason, we want to separate what is not appropriate for typical kids and make it ok for kids with disabilities.
Case in point… Would you allow your typical five-year-old son to have the freedom to run around your house, climbing on furniture, TV stand, kitchen table, and breaking/destroying/tearing up anything and everything he can get his hands on? Of course not! In a typical child, those behaviors are not considered appropriate behaviors within the home. We teach our children very early on about what is considered appropriate inside the house as well as outside of the home. We teach them boundaries and respect of other’s property. They learn rules and guidelines and are expected to live by them. They also learn that there are consequences.
So, why would a behavior therapist, working with one of my students and his family in the home, tell them to allow their five-year-old son with a disability to do exactly that? Let him run around the house; it’s OK if he climbs on the furniture; don’t worry about him getting into his brothers room and tearing up his “stuff.” After all, we must allow him to express himself! Needless to say, my family was flabbergasted, frustrated, and angry!
Another case in point… I was told that one of my new students, a beautiful five-year-old girl with major behavior problems, had a processing disorder; that a lot of her behaviors came from her not understanding what was expected of her. There was this behavior plan in place to work on those behaviors that impeded her learning. But, what I noticed, almost immediately, was that her behaviors only occurred during certain parts of the day and only centered around certain activities. If she was told that the class was going out to recess, she was the first in line; time to play, she was ready; and at lunchtime, she was the first at the lunch table. No need for time to “process” what was asked of her because her responses were immediate. But, tell this same child it’s time to go “potty”, to clean up, or do her work, and she would get this blank look on her face and let the battles begin!
What I have found is that too many individuals believe that what is expected of a typical five-year-old is not expected of a five-year-old with a disability; what is capable in a typical ten-year-old is not in a ten-year-old with a disability; that what is understood by a typical eight-year-old is not understood by an eight-year-old with a disability.
I write all of this to express my case in point!!! How about we lay a firm foundation of understanding, capabilities, abilities, expectations, rules, consequences and watch our students rise to the challenge!