BreakingThePatterns
Breaking the patterns
Imagine that a fictional person, Bob, bites his hand in response to feeling pain. When he does this, suppose that carers ask “what’s wrong? Do you want to go out and play cricket?”, because Bob is a person who loves to play cricket, and carers naturally want to stop him from injuring himself.
Now suppose that Bob later wants to play cricket, but his carers are too busy. If Bob asks “can I go outside?” he will get the answer “no”. However, if he remembers what happened earlier, and bites his hand again, he may well be taken to play cricket to stop him from hurting himself.
The behaviour could very quickly become the most effective way of getting a game of cricket. It can be very difficult to avoid these patterns from building up, because the priority is to keep the person, and others, safe by stop- ping the behaviour as quickly as possible.
The problem is that the quickest way to stop a behaviour is also often quite rewarding for the person showing it. These patterns can be difficult to break once they’re estab- lished – but it is possible.
If behaviours have become severe or persistent, it might be helpful to ask for a referral to someone who specialises in Challenging Behaviour, such as a clinical psychologist working in the area. If you would like a booklet and DVD on managing challenging behaviour, please send us an e- mail (our e-mail address is at the end of the article).
CdLS Reaching Out UK & Ireland, BEHAVIOUR SPECIAL REPORT; GROWING UP WITH CdLS, published on 1 May 2011
