The Behavior Code: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching the Most Challenging Students

by Jessica Minahan

quick responses work with most students because their behavior seems logical and fits with common patterns that are easy to recognize and anticipate. Most students have the fundamental skills that are required to act appropriately, so with help and support, they are capable of self-correcting.

With challenging students, however, the intent of the behavior can be unclear and confusing to teachers and does not necessarily fit into known patterns.

Teachers can also overestimate a studen...

students who are anxious, oppositional, or withdrawn or who demonstrate sexualized behavior can be especially baffling to even the most experienced teachers and specialists.

making an incorrect assumption

can lead to an inadequate response and repetition of the behavior.

For example, one day, Jimmy, a second-grade student, pushed Devan off the computer. When the teacher saw this, she assumed Jimmy pushed Devan to get a turn on the computer faster. Her logical response, based on this assessment, was to ban Jimmy from using the computer for the remainder of the day. Although it wasn’t obvious at that moment, after she looked at patterns of Jimmy’s behavior over time (his pattern of aggressiveness toward Devan during social times and picking him as his partner during science and physical education time), the teacher realized that rather than pushing Devan to get a turn on the computer, as she had assumed, Jimmy was trying to engage Devan socially. Banning Jimmy from the computer was not a response that encouraged Jimmy to learn more appropriate ways of interacting with peers....

challenging behavior can often be counterintuitive

some children seek any kind of attention, even if it means provoking teachers to yell at them.

a suitable replacement behavior

If the replacement strategy being taught is too difficult for the student to master, these interventions fail.

Students with trauma histories, impulsivity, oppositional or inflexible behavior, depression, or anxiety can fluctuate in performance and ability according to their current internal state.

Teachers can believe that students are more capable than they actually are at a given moment, thinking,

These complicated students can also have an uneven profile, where sometimes they are sophisticated and age-appropriate, yet at other times they can’t complete simple tasks that a much younger child can do.

This inconsistency can lead a teacher to have unrealistic expectations for the student.

• Misbehavior is a symptom of an underlying cause. • Behavior is communication. • Behavior has a function. • Behavior occurs in patterns. • The only behavior teachers can control is their own. • Behavior can be changed.

underdeveloped skill

have a high tolerance for a student who uses a wheelchair and who needs extra help in P.E. class, because this student has a visible disability. However, since the nature of an emotional and behavioral disability can manifest itself in difficult, disruptive, aggressive behavior, most people do not react sympathetically.

But it is vital to understand that the student is disabled. This student’s brain is wired in a way that results in maladaptive, irrational behavior in moments of anger, frustration, and anxiety.

Some students are born with this brain wiring, but others have developed these brain changes from damaging life events. Some challenging students may be oversensitive to stress...

What we want to emphasize is that some students in our classrooms can’t behave optimally.

With effective, comprehensive behavior intervention plans tailored to their unique circumstances, these students can change, even if they have a low threshold for anger, frustration, and anxiety.