A.C.
Hi –
There are 4 reasons why a behavior occurs:
1) attention seeking
2) avoiding/escaping
3) access to a tangible object
4) to fulfill a sensory need
That being said in order to eliminate an unwanted behavior there are several things you need to keep in mind. First, you MUST replace that behavior with another more appropriate behavior (otherwise you may get a worse behavior). Next think about the ABC’S
A (antecedent) – condition that occurs before the behavior which trigger the behavior (? Does the other child have a toy your child wants? Are they grabbing at a toy your child has? Are they bothering him in some way? Is he bored?
B (Behaviors) – observable actions that immediately follow antecedent (in this case “Biting”)
C (Consequence) – what happens after the behavior occurs as a result of ( or in response to) the behavior (natural consequences, staff/peer responses) *make sure the consequence matches the behavior – when he bites what happens? Is the other child removed (if he was bothered by the other child this would be a reward – does he get attention (negative attention can be just as good as positive attention)
S (setting events) – events that occur at a different point in time that may influence or set the stage for the likelihood of a behavior occurring or having an effect on how the person responds to the antecedent (sleep? Is he hungry? Sick? Headaches? constipated?, etc)
Questions to think about:
1) how is her communication?
2) When the behavior occurs – what is occurring right before?
3) What is your reaction (e.g. do you give in – ever – even 1x?)
4) when does this behavior NOT occur (e.g. does she not melt down in the AM? during group play? Arts and crafts? Etc. )
Then in order to get rid of a behavior you need to figure out how to replace it with a more appropriate response (e.g. is she is biting, hitting, screaming b/c she is mad – see if you can show her to say “I’m Mad!”. You can validate her feeling when she has her temper tantrum “I see you are mad, but you can’t have X” you can try redirecting: if she needs to get her shoes on to leave and she melts down you can say “do you want your tennis shoes or crocs?” (then repeat the choices in a matter of fact – non-emotional voice).
if she is bored - structure the day to provide choices that she can engage in to prevent her behavior.
Here are a couple of other thoughts.
* If there is anything she LOVES place that item in time out
* make a rule chart with words and pictures that say what she SHOULD do (e.g. "i will keep my hands to myself; I try to use my words; I will listen; I will use my mouth for words; I will keep my feet on the floor” – then place pictures that describe each “rule” these pictures can be gotten from google images or clip art) (*** I have had EXCELLENT success with this with a 25 month old)
Good luck!!