Problem Behavior Quiz
1. Which two answers best explain the reasons why babies cry and fuss?
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The correct answers are A, to let the adult know that they need something or to get their attention, and D, to get out of a situation they don’t want to be in. It can certainly sometimes feel as though they are crying on purpose to get adults irritated and angry but the baby doesn’t really know how the adult is reacting, at least when the baby is very young. Although there may be some truth to the idea that babies are exercising their lungs when they cry, the main purpose or function of crying and fussing is to let adults know they need something or want out of an uncomfortable situation. For example, if a baby is hungry, he will cry until his parents feed her. But if he is finished eating, he may become bored sitting at the table and cry to be let out of his chair. After all, for at least the first couple of years, babies are completely dependent on adults to give them food, comfort, affection, and to keep them comfortable and safe. And before they learn to talk or use their arms and hands to gesture, crying and fussing is the only way they have of communicating this.
2. Which two are more mature forms of communication than crying?
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The correct answers are C and D. When a child can point to what he wants, or make a gesture to show what he wants, or has learned a few words to request what he wants, he will usually cry, scream, or tantrum less often. Unfortunately, when children have trouble learning gestures like pointing, or words, and have tantrums instead, parents will often try hard to figure out what they want and then give it to them to stop the tantrum behavior. Although the parents are doing this with good intentions, it may make the child even more likely to have tantrums in the future.
3. What is the best way to reduce tantrums in children who tend to tantrum because they want something?
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The correct answer is D. Teach the child a better way to communicate what he wants. Giving him what he wants immediately or giving him a favorite treat when he tantrums are likely to reinforce the tantrum behavior. Punishing a child for a tantrum is also not a very effective way of reducing tantrums, since you haven’t helped him learn a better way to communicate what he needs.
4. Which of the following behaviors can be part of a tantrum?
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The correct answer is E. All of the above. Screaming, throwing things, hitting themselves and others can all occur during tantrums, and you want to avoid reinforcing them whenever possible. To teach a more effective form of communication, prompt the child to point to what he wants, preferably when he first shows signs of distress and then reinforce the pointing behavior by immediately giving him what he has pointed to. If you wait until the child is having a full-blown tantrum, he will be less likely to follow your prompt and point to what he wants.
5. A child likes to spin around and around, looking at things while he spins, and ignoring people who try to interact with her. Which three adult actions would be a good strategy to get him to do this less often?
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The correct answers are A, B and C. With A and B, you are making his spinning activity into a more social activity. In the first case, you are trying to give him some of the same pleasant sensations as part of a social game, and in the second case, you are using the spinning as a way of increasing his communication, and you are in control of the amount of spinning. The third choice, distracting the child with another fun activity, is also a good way to keep this stereotypical behavior to a minimum. Simply holding the child down is likely to just upset him and might lead to a tantrum.
6. Which is likely to be a reinforcer of repetitive, stereotypical behavior?
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The correct answer is C; both choices are especially common functions of stereotypic behavior. It is useful to try to figure out what is maintaining your child’s stereotypic behavior in order to come up with a plan to reduce it.
7. You are just starting to work on teaching your child how to make a request for a specific item. Your child wants a cookie out of the box that you just put in your supermarket wagon. He is starting to get upset and cry. What might you do?
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Although you can’t always do this, the best thing to do would be D. What a great opportunity to work on requesting behavior! Here is something your child really wants, and you can use this chance to prompt whatever means of requesting you are working on (speaking, pointing, handing you a PECS picture, preferably with eye contact). In fact, you could get in 3 or 4 great learning trials by giving him a small piece of cookie after each request, putting yourself where he looks at you and then points. Putting the box back on the shelf is likely to cause a great deal of upset, since she’ll know that not only won’t he get a cookie now, but he won’t get it later, either! And scolding him and reasoning with him about dinner will both be rather useless. When a toddler sees a sweet treat that he really wants, he will not listen to or understand your explanation about his nutritional needs. If another customer is rude enough to tell you that you are spoiling your child, you can tell them that you are following expert advice, or that you are teaching your child an important skill, or just to mind their own business!
8. You are working on teaching a new skill and your child is starting to get frustrated and bored. What might be the best thing to do for a child that cannot yet say any words?
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The correct answer is C. Use his beginning frustration as a learning opportunity in which he can learn that requesting a break is rewarded with an actual break. Later, he can learn that sometimes he has to keep going for a while and get his break in a few minutes.
9. Which are some good rules for building compliance (that is, getting your child to what you ask him to do):
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The correct answer is E, All of the above. These four steps are the important ingredients in building compliance. Make sure you have the child’s attention, by putting yourself in front of him or making sure she’s looking at you, say your instruction only once, wait a few seconds and then prompt the correct response, and then reinforce his response, even if it was prompted.
10. Which two of the following suggestions are useful ways to help a child comply with adult instructions during his learning sessions?
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The correct answers are A and B. These are two good ways of building compliance, by letting the child know what he will have to do to earn his preferred activity or treat. Threatening punishment, although it can be a very natural thing for parents to do and can be hard to resist, is not effective in improving behavior, especially in the long term. Allowing the child to become so frustrated that he has a tantrum, and then giving him the treat or preferred activity, will just reinforce the tantrum. If the child has progressed to the tantrum stage, you may have to wait until he calms down before he will follow your prompts to request what he wants by pointing, using words, or exchanging a PECS picture. In any case, once you are able to prompt her, then immediately reinforce the nice requesting.