Irrational Behavior?

Often the behavior of children with autism “makes little sense” to us, and even appears irrational. However, all behavior is “rational” (makes sense) if we can see the world from the eyes of the child. When you can see the world how the child is experiencing it, the behavior usually “makes sense!” I learned this lesson when I was an intern. I was working with a young man... who was brought in for running down the street screaming and stripping his clothes off. At first thought, this behavior seemed truly irrational; no apparent reason for its occurrence, no obvious adaptive function that it served. However, after gaining the person’s trust, he relived the experienced, telling me that his clothes were on fire and he was screaming and trying to get the burning clothes off from himself. He was in his words “freaking” because his clothes were burning.” So, what initially looked like a very irrational behavior, now made more sense. Although he was hallucinating and delusion, he was responding to an experience that was very real for him. From that moment on, I realized that we must first see the world from how the person is experiencing it to truly understand the behavior and help the person.

Once we understand what function the behavior serves and what the child is trying to communicate with the behavior, it makes sense. We need to “make sense” of the behavior, identify what function the behavior serves, in order to truly help the child. Once it does “make sense” that it is a lot easier to try and teach more appropriate alternative responses. Because of this we must listen, observe, and investigate closely in order to understand and “make sense” of the behavior. We must be able to see the world the way the child does, for the behavior to “make sense.” We have to know the child’s sensitivities, vulnerabilities, and current skill level to grasp how they are experiencing the world, and responding to it. We often make the mistake of jumping in and trying to “change” the behavior, before understanding it. Not only do we often guess wrong, but we often invalidate the child, by trying to change him, rather than teach more appropriate ways of meeting his needs. So when we first see a behavior that seems irrational to us, take your time to listen, observe, and understand it before trying to change it.

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