Hi there! How are you? It’s so nice to see you here!

We’re friends here now, so do you mind if I ask you a question? You don’t? Ok, good -

What does it mean when someone tells you, “behavior is a form of communication?”

You aren’t sure? Ya, I wasn’t either when I was first told this.

Here’s what I’ve learned as a special educator and BCBA:

Everything we do as human beings serves a purpose.

And that purpose serves as a way of telling others what our wants, needs, and desires are.

Sometimes we use our words to do this, and sometimes we use our bodies to tell others what we need.

And it’s so incredibly important to identify “they why”:

Why are they yelling?

Why are they throwing?

Why are they running away?

Why are they grabbing?

Why are they pushing?

Why are they biting/hitting/scratching?

Why are they swearing?

etc, etc. etc.

There is always a reason.

And that reason is to communicate something - a want, a need, an emotion, etc.

In the behavior world, this “reason” is something we called the function.

FUNCTION, you say? Yes, the function, a.k.a the purpose the behavior serves.

4 Functions of Behavior — Behavior serves 4 main functions:
**Sensory**, **Escape**, **Attention**, and **Tangible**

So come on over and take a S. E. A. T. - let’s crack the codes on functions of behavior.

S) SENSORY

What are they?: Sensory maintained behaviors occur when a learner engages in a specific action (or series of actions) because it feels good. Sensory behaviors do not require interactions with others.

Sensory behaviors are maintained automatically because it makes the learner feel good.

Why do they occur?: These behaviors occur because at some point along the road, when the learner engaged in the behavior, they were reinforced, a.k.a. they felt good.

“Good” is different for everyone and can simply mean that they enjoyed how the sensation made them feel.

Learners will use sensory behaviors as a way to “re-regulate” their bodies when feeling overstimulated or dysregulated. In the future, the behavior is “maintained” by their ability to feel something that is “good” to them.

What could they look like:
(Disclaimer: these are examples, they are not the only sensory behaviors out there; all behaviors are unique.)

- Repetitive movement: moving an item up and down (arms, papers, etc.), moving item quickly in front of eyes,
- Jumping
- Spinning
- Repeatedly rubbing hands on various textured surfaces

E) ESCAPE

What are they?: Escape maintained behaviors occur when a learner wants to escape something they do not want to do or be a part of.

Why do they occur?: These behaviors occur because at some point along the road, when the learner engaged in the behavior, they were reinforced, a.k.a. they were able to leave or escape from what they did not want to participate in or be a part of (activity or event.)

Therefore, in the future, the behavior is “maintained” by their ability to leave or escape.

What could they look like?:
(Disclaimer: these are examples, they are not the only escape behaviors out there; all behaviors are unique.)
- Eloping (running or walking) away and staying within a room (minor) or leaving the room, building (major) to get away.

- Asking for breaks (either repeated breaks, breaks every day at the same time, etc.)

- Yelling as a way to verbally refuse to escape from an activity or event

- Throwing items to get others away from them (if escaping from interactions with others)

A) ATTENTION

What are they?: Attention maintained behaviors occur when a learner is seeking a specific response, interaction, feedback, etc. for the purpose of social acknowledgement.

Why do they occur?: These behaviors occur because at some point along the road, when the learner engaged in the behavior, they were reinforced, a.k.a. another individual provided the social feedback they were looking for.

Therefore, in the future, the behavior is “maintained” by their ability to get that interaction.

What could they look like?:
(Disclaimer: these are examples, they are not the only attention behaviors out there; all behaviors are unique.)

- Crying to get another individual to look their way or come towards them

- Calling Out, Yelling, Screaming to get other individuals to look their way

- Throwing Items towards another individual

- Aggression (hitting, pinching, biting, kicking) to get another individual to look at them and engage in a verbal response.

T) TANGIBLE

What are they?: Tangible maintained behaviors occur when a learner wants to gain access to something physical (an item or activity) of interest within their environment.

Why do they occur?: These behaviors occur because at some point along the road, when the learner engaged in the behavior, they were reinforced, a.k.a. they obtained access to that item or activity.

Therefore, in the future, the behavior is “maintained” by their ability to get what they wanted.

What could they look like?:
(Disclaimer: these are examples, they are not the only tangible behaviors out there; all behaviors are unique.)

- Grabbing the item out of another’s hand

- Aggression (hitting, scratching, kicking, etc.) used on another person to get past the other person and towards the activity or item of interest

- Screaming, yelling, calling out: repeatedly stating the interest in an activity or item with an increasing volume

- Crying to be picked up

When you’re looking at the behaviors of those around you, keep in mind these things:

1) What does the behavior look like?

2) What purpose (or function) is the behavior serving?

3) Is the learner getting what they want when they engage in the behavior?

Be sure to follow us this week on Instagram @coffeemugsandclipboards as we bring these functions to lif