- Challenging behaviour is very common amongst children with learning disabilities however it is often difficult for families to talk about it – almost a taboo
- Challenging behaviour is usually triggered by anxiety or over-
stimulation caused to the child and this is their way of dealing with it / communicating
- It is hard to understand what is causing the anxiety as when upset the child is unlikely to be able to communicate, and it is often not easy to identify the triggers
- Children often hold in the challenging behaviours at school resulting in an explosion once they reach home and a safe place to express themselves
- Using the usual approaches to challenging behaviours with a child with a learning disability has limited to no impact – telling them off, the naughty step, timeout all tend to add rather than help the situation
- Often parents of children with challenging behaviour are left trying to comfort a distraught child with little idea of how to help them
- Professionals are often dubious about the challenging behaviour described to them as the child rarely displays the behaviour in their presence
- Providing video evidence is heart breaking – a dreadful position to have to film your child whilst in a distressed state in order to show others what they are dealing with
- It is absolutely exhausting – emotionally and physically – leaving parents, siblings and other family members with little energy to face the challenges of the day
- The support for those with children with challenging behaviours is very limited, especially for pre-teens leaving parents and families unsupported and isolated.