Behavioural Problems

Common characteristics of students exhibiting behavioural problems include

• deliberate destruction of property
• frequent lying
• serious violation of rules
• skipping school
• outburst of anger, low tolerance for frustration, irritability
• reckless, risk-taking acts 

                                          Image credit: www.tes.com
In the Special Education in Ontario: Policy and Resource Guide (p. A14), a behaviour exceptionality is defined as follows:
A learning disorder characterized by specific behaviour problems over such a period of time, and to such a marked degree, and/or such a nature, as to adversely affect educational performance, and that may be accompanied by one or more of the following:

1. An inability to build or maintain interpersonal relationships.
2. Excessive fears or anxieties.
3. A tendency to compulsive reactions.
4. An inability to learn that cannot be traced to intellectual, sensory, or other health factors, or any combination thereof.

Examples of underlying reasons include: 
■  family context (doing what has been taught or modelled at home)  
■  social context (doing what has been necessary for survival outside of school)  
■  differences between school and home/neighbourhood expectations (e.g., structure, routines, rules)  ■  need to “build a wall” or push people away to pr otect oneself 
■  fear or threat, especially for students who have experienced any form of maltreatment or abuse; what looks like overreacting is adaptive in the face of real threat but maladaptive in the absence of threat
■  need for attention, recognition; seeking these in ways that may have worked elsewhere (but are not acceptable at school)  
■  poor interpersonal skills; may misread facial cues, other non-verbal communication, or v erbal communication; not taking the current context into account; impulsive reactions; may not know how to act in the current situation  
■  cover for weakness; acting in a way that makes others see them as “bad” rather than “dumb”  

Strategies in the classroom (Reithaug, 1998):

 

Credit: education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources

• structure, predictability, and consistency
• immediate, frequent and specific feedback with consequences
• academic success
• responsibility and independence
• positive problem solving
• poistive alternatives to current behaviours
• enhanced self-confidence
• positive school-to-home support systems
• evidence that he or she is making changes for the better