Understanding the Function of Challenging Behavior and Related Intervention and Strategies

People with intellectual disability or related neurodevelopmental disorders may present the full range of psychiatric and behavioral disorders seen in the general population. In fact, research has shown that they are more susceptible to presenting psychiatric disorders and/or challenging behaviors. When a person with intellectual disability or a related neurodevelopmental disorder exhibits challenging behaviors, it is important to identify the underlying causes. These causes may be multifactorial. In this article we briefly discuss the elements of conducting a comprehensive assessment of the function of presenting challenging behaviors. This multifunctional assessment must include assessing for the presence of physical health problems, an undiagnosed oral health problem, psychiatric disorders, the level of sensory stimuli in the environment, and conclude with an evaluation of antecedents and consequences that may be contributing to a learned behavior. An important resultant of the information gained from this comprehensive functional assessment are intervention strategies that should target the function of the challenging behaviors and lead to reducing these challenging behaviors by addressing the need that they serve.