One of the indications that children are developing either differently or more slowly than their peers is behaviour that is hard to understand or manage. This behaviour might be more intense, less skilled or just not the same as others of the same age. Often people are confused by such children and want to know why they are like that. There is not always an easy answer.
Finding out It is vital not to jump to conclusions. Spending time gathering good information enables you to put pieces of the jigsaw together. This is the essence of good assessment and includes observations, exploratory conversations and structuring situations to see what happens. It is useful to look for 'clusters' of behaviour that occur over time. Not every child will exhibit every behaviour in a category, but there should be enough indication to give an idea of the most appropriate intervention.
For example, Jake is a big, energetic, mostly cheerful boy who is nearly four years old. He wants to be friends with the children in his early years centre, but tends to wrap himself round them. When they try to escape, he retaliates by screaming and punching. He also thinks it is fun to grab what others are playing with and run away with it. Jake dislikes doing anything where he can't be physical. He does not settle to table-top activities and is restless during any group activity such as storytime, twirling himself about on the floor, poking those near him and thrusting his face close to theirs. Jake looks at you with his big brown eyes when you talk to him but does not seem to take much notice of what is said. He communicates in single words and short sentences, using pointing and gestures. He still needs help with putting on his outdoor clothes and shoes, not noticing if they are on the wrong way.
General learning difficulties In Jake's case, you might be asking parents about his early development and how he is at home. Babies sit up independently around seven months, walk at about a year and are able to communicate in short phrases by the time they are two. Markedly late milestones are an indication of ongoing learning difficulties. If Jake has siblings, his parents may have noticed he takes longer than they do to learn new things and needs reminding more often of what to do. Simple play, rather than increasingly complex and imaginative play, also indicates difficulties.
Jake's behaviour appears typical of a younger child in many ways. If adults expect him to be able to do the same things as other four-year-olds, they will be both disappointed and frustrated. To maximise Jake's learning and improve his behaviour, he needs to be given expectations and learning targets at the appropriate level and much opportunity for practising these.
Social behaviours will need to be taught rather than 'caught' and other children may also need help to communicate more effectively with Jake.
Autistic spectrum disorders There are increasing numbers of children being diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). Jake is not in this category as he is interested in other people and wants friendly interactions even if he doesn't know how to go about it. The cluster of behaviours that indicate an autistic difficulty are:
* Lack of symbolic play scenarios, very poor imagination
* Lack of interest in interacting with other people, except in a functional way
* Self-stimulating behaviours, such as twirling and hand flapping
* A marked lack of awareness of others, especially related to their feelings
* Poor communication and social skills, reluctance to make eye contact
* Repetitive behaviours
* Strong interests which border on the obsessive
* Need for routines and fear of change.
Some children on the autistic spectrum may exhibit unusual behaviour, such as smelling everything or laughing without apparent reason. Others have acute sensory sensitivity and cannot bear certain sounds or textures.
Language impairment is usually the first concern for children at the more severe end of this very broad continuum, while behaviour is often the first indication of milder ASDs. Even if you or the parents are not ready for a direct referral, it is useful to get advice from a specialist or educational psychologist if observations indicate this cluster of behaviours.
Communication difficulties There are many reasons for language difficulties. These include the difficulties described above, specific language delay or disorder, lack of interactive experiences and hearing loss. Many small children have conductive hearing loss, where they hear some sounds but not all, so are unable to make sense of what is being said. Sometimes parents will say 'she hears me when she wants to', not recognising that the ability to hear really does come and go.
It is not uncommon for children to get into trouble for not 'doing as they are told' when they have not known what to do. Whether children don't understand what is said to them or are unable to make themselves understood, the inevitable outcome is misunderstanding and frustration.
All children with a language difficulty need opportunities to communicate in as many ways as possible. This may include teaching basic signing, visual narratives in which adults sketch what they think the child may be trying to say, and providing pictures for children to point to. Children find statements easier to manage than questions. Early years practitioners can support verbal communication with gesture and other visual signals.
Encourage parents to take their child to see a speech therapist.
Trauma Trauma can be caused by many things - witnessing violence, being in an accident, experiencing abuse. Children react in different ways, but the following cluster of behaviours may indicate that something terrible has happened, or is happening, in the child's life.
* Poor concentration and fragmented attention
* Hyper-vigilance and preoccupation
* Anxiety bordering on panic at times
* Clinginess or rejection of closeness
* Tiredness, perhaps from nightmares
* Unexpected and strong fear reactions to minor or unknown triggers
* Repeatedly going over events in play scenarios
* Withdrawn behaviour and sad demeanour, or acting out behaviour and angry demeanour
* Impulsiveness and lack of control.
It is particularly challenging for early years practitioners to work with traumatised children. Acknowledge children's fears, but help them focus on the here and now as a safe place. Identify what is comforting to them and provide good models of coping by talking about how you manage difficult feelings.
Sexual abuse is a severe psychological as well as physical assault and in addition to some of the above will include indications of:
* Low self-worth
* Inappropriate knowledge, intimate touching of self and perhaps others.
If there is clear evidence of abuse you are legally obliged to make the mandatory child protection notification. Get support for yourself, too, and request specialist professional development.
Collaboration with families Wherever possible, all assessment should be in conjunction with parents, although this may be very painful for them. As an early years professional, you want the best for each child in your care and know that early intervention makes a difference. However, what you are doing may be presenting families with the loss of the child they thought they had, and with it their hopes and dreams. They may deny any difficulties, be angry or be overwhelmed with grief or guilt. It takes time for parents to come to terms with what is, in effect, much like a bereavement.
Let parents know what you are doing to support their child, and give them good news whenever possible. Do what you can within the parameters of your profession and your setting. NW
Further reading
* Roffey, S (2005) Helping With Behaviour in the Early Years. London, Routledge Falmer
* Roffey, S (2001) Special Needs in the Early Years: Collaboration Communication and Co-ordination (especially chapters 4 and 5). London, David Fulton
