What’s all this talk about the four functions of behavior?
Problem behavior can be frustrating for the whole family! Especially when it feels like it is coming out of nowhere.
What if I told you that ALL BEHAVIOR SERVES A FUNCTION!
That’s right! All behavior has a purpose occurs for a reason.
Sometimes it can be really clear- I told you “no candy” and you cried. You cried because you wanted access to the candy. Other times it can be a little tricky- I pulled out two games that I thought you might like and you cry. The function may not be so clear.
Today we want to share a little about the four function of behavior and try to demystify some of the mysteries of behavior.
I like to use the acronym SEAT to remember the four functions.
S- Sensory. This function means that the behavior occurs across all environments. Let’s say you have a headache and push on your head to make it feel better. The behavior you are displaying is pushing on your head. If I gave you your favorite food, removed all work, or sat next to you as your best friend, you would likely still push on your head. Because you would display the behavior across all settings we would call this function sensory.
E- Escape. This function means that the behavior occurs in order to get out of something less preferred. Let’s say you dislike writing and I asked you to “write your name” if you engaged in behavior that allowed you to get out of the task of writing your name, or delay the task of writing your name we would say this behavior had a function of escape.
A- Attention. This function means that you engage in a behavior in order to gain access to attention. This can be tricky because it could be positive or negative attention. If a child engages in a behavior that always results in a private conversation, redirection, or peer laughter it may be serving an attention function.
T-Tangible. This function means that you engage in a behavior in order to get something. If a child hits another peer who has their toy and that results in the child getting the toy then the function may be access to tangible.
Of course, in a perfect world all behaviors would serve one function, but alas, typically they serve multiple functions. Sometimes we escape a less preferred task to gain access to a more preferred activity of peer attention. Did I lose you? No worries! That is what our BCBAs are for! Contact us today and lets increase communication, decrease behavior and improve quality of life for the whole family!