1) Inappropriate behavior serves a purpose.
2) Determining the function of the problem behavior is key. This is done by conducting functional assessments (direct, indirect, or experimental) that look to evaluate the antecedents that occasion behavior and the consequences that may maintain behavior.
3) Treatments should seek to replace the function of the inappropriate behavior by teaching/reinforcing appropriate alternative responses.
4) Some common functions (reasons) that inappropriate behavior occurs are escape from demands, access to adult/peer attention, access to preferred items/activities, and automatic reinforcement, that is the behavior provides its own reinforcement.
5) Catch your child being good!
6) Antecedent treatment modifications may include offering choices, reducing demands, providing more attention, eliminating environmental distractions, providing noncontingent reinforcement, and creating enriched environments.
7) Reinforcement based interventions look to increase/teach functionally equivalent alternative behavior such as requesting attention, break, or an item, or teaching the child to wait. Differential reinforcement procedures such as DRO, DRA, DRL can be extremely effective.
8) Punishment based procedures should only be used after less intrusive procedures have alone proved ineffective, and the behavior warrants these additional measures. Punishment such as the use of time-out should always be paired with reinforcement based procedures.
9) Data should be collected on targeted behaviors and used as a method for evaluating treatment effectiveness.
10) Behavior intervention programming should include baseline data collection on behaviors to be targeted, functional assessment, developing a function-based treatment plan, training all caregivers, an evaluation of effectiveness with objective data collection, and making needed adjustments.