Youngistan in the 21st century: Behaviour & Challenges

The term “challenging behaviour” has been used to refer to the “difficult” or “problem” behaviours which may be shown by children with a learning disability. Such behaviours include aggression (e.g. hitting, kicking, biting), destruction (e.g. ripping clothes, breaking windows, throwing objects), self-injury (e.g. head banging, self-biting, skin picking), tantrums and many other behaviours (e.g. running away, eating inedible objects, rocking or other stereotyped movements). Characteristically, challenging behaviour puts the safety of the person or others in some hazard or has a significant impact on the person’s or other people’s quality of life. Children’s behaviour often poses challenges to teachers at school and for parents at home. Sometimes such behaviour causes irritation to the teacher teaching a large class with varying abilities. At other times the behaviour of certain children disrupts the normal operation of the classroom or school for a time. However, teachers may also have to deal with behaviour which challenges their ability to provide an education for a child or their peers. In addition to this, teachers increasingly find themselves challenged by behaviour associated with a disability, or where the children’s social norms are different to that of the teacher.

“Adolescence is a time of rapid change for teens both physically and cognitively.”

Teen behaviours

Problem 1: Your teen seems to hate you
Problem 2: Increased use of communication devices and social media
Problem 3: Staying out for party or with friends late in the evening
Problem 4: Hanging out with friends you don’t like
Problem 5: Drastic changes in appearance
Problem 6: Too inclined towards social media
Problem 7: Attitude and impatience
Problem 8: Egoistic, restless and hyperactive
Problem 9: Arrogance and anger
Problem 10: Defying rules and argumentative

Challenging behaviour, of course, is not limited to those with learning disabilities but has been termed particularly in this context. The sternness of challenging behavior can vary greatly and, in some cases, urgent action is required to limit or reverse the effects. In many cases, however, the term is used to refer to behaviour which does not have such immediately serious consequences but is, nonetheless, very distressing, disrupting or traumatic.

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