Triggers

 –  What  Sparks  Challenging  Behavior  

Dana  Rooks,  MEd  &  Emily  Graybill,  PhD,  NCSP  

Center  for  Leadership  in  Disability  
 
When  thinking  about  challenging  behaviors,  the  positive  behavior  support  process  first  has  us  consider  
what  a  child  may  be  trying  to  communicate  through  a  behavior  –  why  the  child  is  engaging  in  the  
behavior  or  what  the  child  is  accomplishing  through  the  behavior.    As  you  read  about  Kaleb  and  Brittany  
below,  consider  what  they  may  be  communicating  through  their  behaviors.  

Kaleb,  age  9,  has  recently  begun  cursing  in  the  classroom.    Many  of  his  classmates  laugh  at  him  when  he  
curses,  and  his  teacher  typically  threatens  to  send  him  to  the  assistant  principal’s  office  if  he  continues  to  
curse.      

Brittany,  age  2,  has  always  been  a  picky  eater,  but  her  mother  notices  it’s  becoming  worse.    She  
struggles  with  her  mother  at  mealtimes,  throws  food  on  the  floor,  and  her  mother  often  ends  up  letting  
her  have  applesauce  in  front  of  the  television  just  to  get  something  in  her  stomach.  

Another  important  piece  of  information  about  the  behavior  is  what  may  be  triggering,  or  causing,  the  
behavior  to  emerge.    A  trigger  could  be  anything  about  the  environment  or  the  situation  that  “sets  off”  
the  behavior.      

Common  triggers  for  challenging  behaviors  in  children  include:  

Home   School  
Being  asked  to  do  something  they  don’t   Being  told  to  begin/stop  a  task  
want  to  do  
Being  told  “no”  they  can’t  do  something  or   Interactions  with  adults  they  do  not  like  
have  something  
Parent  attention  to  another  sibling  or  adult   Moving  between  or  changing  activities  (e.g.,  
From  circle  time  to  center  time.)  
Sibling  comment  to  the  child   Tasks  are  too  hard  (e.g.,  Reading  passages  
that  are  above  the  child’s  reading  level.)  
Change  of  medication/side  effects  of   Teacher  attention  to  other  students  
medication  
Birth  of  a  new  sibling   Unwanted  peer  attention  
Irregular  sleep  schedule   Peer  comment  (e.g.,  “You’re  so  stupid.”)  
Anxiety  about  school  or  friends   Noise  level  (e.g.,  Echoing  and  shouting  in  
the  gymnasium.)  
Depression   Lighting  (e.g.,  Fluorescent  lights  that  are  
aggravating  or  overstimulating.)  
Parent  Separation/Divorce   Seating  arrangement  
Some  triggers  occur  right  before  the  behavior,  and  can  be  identified  by  observing  and  taking  note  of  
what  is  going  on  around  the  child  when  the  behavior  begins.    For  example,  your  two  children  always  get  
into  a  shouting  match  with  each  other  when  you  tell  them  to  come  to  dinner.    The  next  time  you  tell  
them  to  come  to  dinner,  you  pause  outside  the  living  room  door  to  observe,  and  you  hear  your  daughter  
say  to  her  brother,  “I’m  going  to  beat  you  back  to  the  X-­‐Box  after  dinner!”    Her  comment  to  your  son  is  
the  trigger  for  the  shouting.      
 
Other  triggers  occur  long  before  the  behavior,  and  can  be  identified  by  questioning  those  who  are  with  
the  child  at  other  times  throughout  the  day  (e.g.,  lack  of  sleep  the  night  before  may  trigger  tantrums  the  
next  day).    By  identifying  triggers  for  a  behavior,  it  may  be  possible  to  prevent  or  at  least  limit  the  impact  
of  the  triggers  so  the  behavior  is  not  “set  off”  at  all.    Read  more  about  Kaleb  and  Brittany.  
 
Kaleb’s  teacher  asks  the  school  psychologist  to  observe  him,  as  the  cursing  seems  to  be  random.    The  
school  psychologist  noted  that  the  student  seated  behind  Kaleb  would  quietly  whisper,  “Say  it,”  right  
before  Kaleb  cursed.  Kaleb’s  teacher  had  not  realized  this  commenting  was  occurring,  triggering  the  
cursing  behavior.  
 
Brittany’s  mother  decided  to  talk  to  her  pediatrician  about  her  eating  difficulties.    He  made  some  
parenting  suggestions,  but  also  decided  to  run  some  additional  lab  tests.    Through  the  testing,  Brittany’s  
pediatrician  discovered  she  was  allergic  to  wheat  products,  and  determined  that  she  was  probably  
experiencing  discomfort  from  eating,  which  was  triggering  the  mealtime  behaviors.  
 
Kaleb’s  teacher  and  Brittany’s  mother  both  took  the  time  to  gather  more  information  about  the  
children’s  behavior  before  reacting  to  it.    Kaleb’s  teacher  might  have  automatically  used  a  more  
traditional  discipline  method,  such  as  sending  him  to  the  principal,  which  could  have  stopped  the  cursing  
momentarily,  but  would  have  done  nothing  to  stop  his  classmate  from  urging  the  behavior.    Similarly,  
Brittany’s  mother  might  have  refused  to  allow  her  to  leave  her  highchair  without  eating  her  meal,  in  
essence  making  her  eat  food  that  made  her  feel  bad.    They  instead  searched  for  the  things  that  were  
going  on  before  the  behaviors  and  were  able  to  discover  the  triggers  that  sparked  them.  
 
Read  the  next  article  to  learn  more  about  how  your  reactions  to  your  child’s  or  student’s  behavior  could  
be  making  the  behavior  worse.    For  more  information  about  positive  behavior  support,  visit  the  Positive  
Behavior  Videos,  which  is  a  free,  online  resource  for  families,  educators,  and  community  service  
providers.    www.positivebehaviorvideos.org  
 
 
 
Dana  Rooks,  MEd,  worked  as  the  Positive  Behavior  Support  Associate  for  the  Center  for  Leadership  in  
Disability  at  Georgia  State  University.  She  has  10  years  of  experience  in  special  education,  in  both  
instruction  and  identification  of  children  with  learning  differences.  

Emily  Graybill,  PhD,  NCSP,  is  a  faculty  member  in  the  Center  for  Leadership  in  Disability  at  Georgia  State  
University.  She  is  a  school  psychologist  by  training  and  worked  as  a  school  psychologist  for  six  years.  She  
currently  trains  educators  around  the  state  on  individualized  positive  behavior  supports.  Contact  Dr.  
Graybill  with  inquires  about  positive  behavior  support  training  egraybill1@gsu.edu