Iwata and his colleagues also identified a special kind of behavior that is learned through internal cues and consequences. These behaviors occur because they feel good or are inherently enjoyable for the person performing them. The conditions that trigger these behaviors and the consequences that maintain them occur inside of the individual, and thus are more complex to assess or control. Everyday examples of this type of behavior might include scratching an itch or taking a pain reliever. An observer cannot see the itch or the headache, nor can she document the consequences of removal of the itch or the headache. However, these behaviors are learned based upon the same principles as externally controlled behaviors, and numerous strategies exist to help address them.
By examining patterns of what happens before and after problem behaviors, Iwata and his colleagues were able to identify a number of communicative messages that challenging behaviors might convey. In other words, they identified the purposes that these behaviors were serving for the individuals performing them. These different purposes that behaviors serve are called “functions” of behavior and are described in Chapter 2. A quest to identify the functions of different problem behaviors was born, leading to the emergence of the field we now know as “functional behavior assessment.”
Why Are Problematic Behaviors So Common among Individuals with ASD?
While all people, children and adults, typically developing or disabled, may have behavior problems, they are more common among individuals with autism spectrum disorders. When you think about the specific areas of disability associated with this group of disorders, the reasons for this relationship become clear.
Difficulties with Communication Skills
First of all, individuals with autism spectrum disorders often have impairments in communication. Consider Anthony, described in the Introduction. Recall that Anthony was nonvocal. Also recall that his family distracted him from head banging with a special box of beads. In order to keep the beads exciting for Anthony, his family had made the beads off-limits for him at other times. Therefore, Anthony was repeatedly exposed to the following sequence:
1. I have no beads.
2. I bang my head.
3. I get beads.
Anthony’s head banging brings beads into his environment. Since Anthony lacks the communication skills to ask for the beads, he may have learned that banging his head is the best way for him to communicate a request for them. Even if he could request them some other way, they are off limits to him unless he is banging his head.
In a similar scenario, a colleague worked with one nonverbal student who engaged in aggressive behaviors so severe that numerous staff who worked with him had required medical attention for problems as serious as a broken nose. For safety reasons, each time he became aggressive, he was restrained in a cushiony restraint on a soft mat. A functional behavior assessment revealed that his aggressive behaviors were actually his way of requesting access to this restraint. To reduce his aggression, he was given a picture card that he could use to request the restraint. Once he mastered this communication, his aggressive behaviors virtually disappeared.
This is not to say that individuals with ASDs who can speak or sign are immune from exhibiting problem behaviors. Some people can communicate but doing so is so challenging that a problem behavior is simpler. For example, a child with communicative challenges who would like a break from her class work faces two options: 1) Identify a cue from the teacher that it is okay to raise your hand, raise your hand, wait to be called on, formulate a sentence requesting a break, and wait to see whether the teacher says yes or no; or 2) Bang the materials on your desk loudly and get sent immediately to time-out. The latter behavior seems much more efficient for the child.
Difficulties with Social Skills
Individuals with autism spectrum disorders also have social skills deficits. This means they do not engage in social interaction as easily as other people. Similarly, they may not be as skilled at interpreting social responses from others. Therefore, any social reaction they evoke may be rewarding for them. Consider Grace, our second grader who was assaulting her peers. Lacking the skills to have more meaningful social interactions, Grace may settle for the yelling and hitting that her peers are doing in response to her aggression if she cannot evoke friendly responses.
I (BG) was called in to consult with teachers about a preschooler with autism who was exhibiting a similar behavior pattern. This child was a bit larger than the other students in his segregated preschool classroom and was also more interested in socializing than his classmates were. He would often try to approach them appropriately, but would get no response. He then moved on to “belly-bopping” them, bumping them roughly with his belly. Unfortunately, this inappropriate behavior was sure to get his classmates’ attention. Although the attention was often in the form of crying or yelling, for the “belly-bopper,” this was preferable to no response at all. Despite his behavior problem, this child was transferred to an integrated preschool classroom where the other children were more socially aware. In this setting, where the other children responded to his more appropriate initiations, his “belly-bopping” disappeared without any other specific intervention.
Challenging behaviors can also stem from a child’s desire to avoid or escape social contact. Think back to Jamaal, who made odd faces or adopted strange postures whenever his peers approached him. Jamaal’s behavior quickly taught the other children to leave him alone and may have been Jamaal’s way of asking them to go away. Although Jamaal’s educational programming likely focused upon approaching other children and extending interactions, failing to teach children how to end or avoid social interactions is a common teaching oversight. Similarly, Robert, the teenager described above who swatted and poked his siblings to get them to keep their distance, could probably benefit from instruction in social skills for getting out of interactions appropriately.
Restricted Interests
Finally, a restricted behavioral repertoire is associated with autism spectrum disorders. This means that children with ASDs have fewer areas of interest and may focus on parts of an object or activity, rather than the whole thing. This phenomenon has been described as viewing the world with a laser beam rather than a flashlight. Darra’s interest in One-D, described in the Introduction, provides a good example of this keen focus. While other preteens may have a number of pop icons who consume their interest, Darra has only One-D. Additionally, other preteens often have other interests beyond pop icons, such as sports, dance, puzzles, books, etc. Darra’s range of interests is not as broad.
When a child with ASD has a narrow range of interests, it is bound to lead to a variety of problems stemming from repetition. Rather than engaging in a variety of behaviors, the individual is doing the same thing over and over again. As for Darra, this hyperfocus may lead to social problems. She is like a record with the needle stuck in a groove and keeps playing the same section of music. In other individuals, this constricted focus may play out as repetitive actions, such as hand flapping or rocking, which may be stigmatizing or even dangerous. The individual, stuck in a groove, is repeating the same behavior over and over.
Finally, some individuals may pursue their interests so single-mindedly that it leads to risky behaviors or an infringement on the rights of others. Darius McCollum, a man on the spectrum who is fascinated with transportation, provides a famous example of this possibility. Darius grew up in New York City and always loved trains. He focused so intently on subways and commuter trains that he became knowledgeable enough to “steal” subway cars and busses by posing as the driver and making all of the correct stops. At the time of this writing, he has spent over eighteen years in jail from twenty-eight arrests due to these thefts. Furthermore, he reports that he has