Practitioner Network Session Slides – December 2024

What are distressed behaviours?

Distressed behaviours are behaviours that can make children feel challenged, anxious, upset, angry or even powerless. This can be exhibited by different children in different ways, including;

-meltdowns (an out of control state which can include shouting, crying, throwing/breaking things and physical/verbal aggression towards others)

-self-injurious behaviours, like head banging, hitting and biting

-shutdowns (a state in which a child retreats to an area that feels safe, children may hide or curl up into a ball, and they may stop communicating, eating and/or playing)

 

What might be going on?

Distressed behaviours can be caused by different things that can occur in a child’s life such as trauma, sensory processing difficulties, communication difficulties and neurodiversity. Distressed behaviours can also occur through normal development and a child not comprehending the way that they are feeling.

COVID has also impacted children and the way that they perceive situations. Many children missed out of key experiences to help social interaction development due to the widespread lockdowns and the inability to meet up with other people for an extended period of time.

Distressed behaviours are always considered a way of communication and the child expressing a need that remains to be met. This could be from not understanding an emotion or having the words to accurately tell an adult what they need or want. It can also be linked to dysfunction or misunderstanding of the autonomic nervous system.