Families 10 Ways

10 Ways To Manage Behavioral Challenges

1. Be proactive. Address problematic behaviors while they’re not happening to decrease the likelihood that they will continue occurring in the future.

2. Maintain a consistent approach. Consistency is essential to behavior change.

3. Know yourself. To manage difficult behaviors, it is important to know and accept your own strengths, limitations, etc. Utilize all of the resources available to you.

4. Listen. When working with someone who is upset, don’t always seek to solve their problem immediately. Take time to listen and acknowledge that you understand. The person often will not move on until he/she feels heard and acknowledged. Then work on a solution together.

5. Remain calm and composed. You’ll be much more effective in managing the challenge, and will also project that sense of calm and safety to the other person.

6. Avoid power struggles. Success does not come from you vs. them, it comes from you working together to come to a collaborative solution.

7. Focus on positive reinforcement. Praise, rewards, and other such responses to appropriate behavior will greatly increase the likelihood that it is repeated.

8. Create choices whenever possible. This gives the individual a sense of investment in the process, and the ability to have a say in the course of action selected.

9. Be patient and willing to try new approaches. Behavior change rarely comes overnight, so don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t happen on the first try. Be creative and flexible in your approach.

10. Most importantly...KNOW the person you’re trying to help! When helping someone through behavioral challenges, it is essential to know the person well and what they respond best to.

10+1. Accept that you will not always be successful. Assisting someone with behavioral issues can be difficult and frustrating. Even when you do everything well, there may still be a disruption to harmony in the family or in a public place. So, cut yourself some slack.