Just redirect that behavior?

Written by Wayne Sager, M.A., BCBA

Have you received advice that you should just redirect your child’s problem behavior?  If you assumed that you were supposed to convince the child to do an alternative behavior, you were right.  A redirect is simply stopping an inappropriate behavior, directing the child to another more appropriate behavior, and acknowledging when the child engages in the appropriate behavior.  It’s teaching the child what they should do in the situation.  Read on to find out how what is a redirect, how to do it, and what separates a great redirect from a good redirect.

When:

First of all, when should you use a redirect?  Redirect can be used with two types of inappropriate behavior.

•  Harmful behavior, which includes any behavior that is harmful or potentially harmful to oneself, others, animals, or property (e.g. coloring on the wall, throwing hard objects indoors, hitting, pushing, pulling the dog’s ears).
• Junk behavior, that occurs when the child hasn’t learned another way to get that particular need met.  Junk behavior is any behavior that is inappropriate and annoying, but not harmful to oneself, others, animals, or property (e.g. screaming to get attention, interrupting you on the phone by repeating, “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy,” speaking loudly in a library).

Note: If your child does know the appropriate behavior (you have showed them what to do in the past, and they have done it successfully many times before) then Junk behavior should just be ignored.  For more information on Ignoring junk behavior, see “How to Manage Junk Behavior.”

How:

Following these 6 steps will put you on track for a good Redirect.

1.  Get close, within arm’s reach of the child, before saying anything.  
2. Make sure the child stops the inappropriate behavior (use gentle physical guidance if necessary). e.g. Let’s say that your child is coloring on the wall with crayons, you should first get close to the child and remove the crayon(s) before saying anything. 
3. Calmly say something like, “Hey (child’s name), I want you to (state the positive alternative behavior).”  e.g. “Hey Jay, let’s draw a pretty picture over here on this paper for Mommy.”
4. Give an opportunity for the child to engage in the appropriate behavior on their own. If the child does not begin to initiate the suggested activity within 3 seconds, model or gently guide her/him to do the activity.  e.g. “I’ll draw a tree and you can color the grass.”
5. Acknowledge when the child does the appropriate behavior.  e.g.” I like when you color on paper, Mommy’s really going to love this picture.”
6. Stay Focused (avoid reacting to their junk behavior).  If they engage in some crying or whining during the redirect, just continue the redirect as if they never said it – don’t let them sidetrack you with junk behavior.

Tips for a Really Great Redirect:

Think about why the inappropriate behavior is occurring (what is the child getting out of the behavior or what have they gotten out of the behavior in the past).  This will give us a clue as to what we need to teach the child.

• Is he jumping on the bed again because he’s been cooped up inside all day due to the rain, or does Dad always come in and tell him to stop and then wrestle with him to “show him what will happen if he tries it again?”  If you think that he is just doing it for the jumping, it would be best to redirect him to jumping on a trampoline, jump rope, or some other energetic activity.  If he is doing it for Dad’s attention, it would be better to redirect him to ask Dad appropriately to play with him.
• We may need to teach a child to ask for help, ask for a break, ask to have a turn with a toy (the other child may need to learn to give a turn), get attention appropriately, or just engage in an activity in an appropriate manner (e.g.”We hold the scissors like this”).
•  The better we are at figuring out why the behavior is occurring, the more successful our redirects will be.  For more information, see the blog on determining the function of behavior using the ABC’s of behavior here.
• Avoid redirecting the child to an activity that the child enjoys more than what was previously going on.  Your child may learn to engage in the inappropriate behavior in order to have a chance at a more preferred redirected activity.  The redirected behavior should be something they had access to regardless.
• Always get close and stop the behavior prior to saying anything.  In many situations, when we say something first, the child will be able to continue the behavior because we are not close enough to intervene.  This could be dangerous, but also can give the child the opportunity to continue the behavior and get a great payoff (e.g. continued time engaging in inappropriate behavior) for not complying with your directions.
• During the entire redirect, remain calm and say the least amount possible in a firm, neutral tone.  Exaggerated facial expressions, yelling, and repeated directions give the child too much exciting/intense attention, which can make the inappropriate behavior occur more often in the future.  Negative attention is often more preferred by children than neutrality.

Using redirect can be a great way to teach your child what is expected in a situation.  By determining what the child typically gets from their inappropriate behavior, and providing an alternative behavior that can appropriately get their need met, we maximize the likelihood that our child will engage in that appropriate behavior the next time the need arises.  A great redirect will ensure that we do not have to continue to redirect the same behavior over and over again.

Need help figuring out the function of your child’s behavior?  Is your child engaging in a particularly persistent or dangerous behavior?  Please feel free to contact us directly at info@bcotb.com.