Double Trouble. Behaviors With A Dual Function.

The complexity of behaviors with a dual function 

What do we do when a behavior has a dual function? It gets complicated, let’s debunk it.

First let's define a dual function. 

A dual function is when a behavior has two motivations simultaneously. 

For example a child is engaging in a behavior to gain access to an item and also to escape a task. Or a child is engaging in an attention-seeking behavior at the same time as an escape motivated behavior. Or a child is engaging in a behavior that is both sensory seeking and escape motivated. 

Let's make this practical. 

The four reasons that people engage in behaviors are to gain sensory feedback, escape a task,  gain attention and receive a tangible item. 

If a child is screaming because they do not want to (escape) perform a task whether it is cooperation during a therapy session, homework, cleaning up, or simply putting on their coat AND they want to get you to look at them, read them a book, hold them etc, anything that will give the child your attention. This is where we need to tease out the situation and carefully address both functions of the behavior. The escape motivated piece and the attention seeking piece. 

1. Teach functional communication training: Explicitly teach the child to ask for help. Help inherently involves attention  by receiving help, as well as escape, because the task becomes easier or shared. 

2. Differential reinforcement of an alternative behavior (DRA): Provide reinforcement, attention, for a completely different behavior, while specifically ignoring, escape, the problem behavior. For example, when the child is screaming for you to read them a book instead of doing homework, but then asks for a break, reinforce the asking for a break by complimenting it (provides attention) and providing the break (escape), but continue to ignore any screaming related to the homework and book. 

3. Planned Ignoring: No eye contact or talking to the child. This may seem mean, however keep in mind that the behavior has a dual function of both attention and escape. Talking to the child is providing attention therefore we want to avoid that.

4. Choice: Provide choices to the child to ease them into performing the task with a sense of control. With this option, you are not giving them a choice on whether to do the task or not, only where to do it, with what pen, which homework page to do first etc. The choices do not affect the end goal of completing the homework task. This does not allow the child to escape the task, but does provide other forms of attention while completing the task.

5. Non-Contingent Reinforcement: If you know a child has difficulty performing a specific task i.e. homework, proactively build in free breaks (escape) and attention into the homework process. Attention can be compliments, reinforcement, extra hand holding to complete the homework etc.  This should either be on a timed schedule, every five minutes, or a variable schedule, intermittently throughout the homework process. This will help decrease the need to escape and make completing the task more manageable.

Next time your child is trying to avoid a task and wants your attention, put 1-2 of these tools into practice.  See what happens.  You just may see a small shift in your child’s behavior.