Challenging Behavior In Early Childhood Essay

Challenging Behavior in Early Childhood
JoAnn Friend
ECE 201
Amy Kennedy
March, 26th 2012

Challenging behavior in an early childhood classroom can be common.   These children are at an age where they may not have learned to control their emotions yet.   Sometimes there are others issues involved.   Challenging behavior may be caused by a disorder of the brain such as; autism or ADHD.   Some of the children that will enter our classroom may come from undesirable environments.   As early childhood educators it is our responsibility to find strategies that will help those with autism, ADHD, and other environmental issues, to change their challenging behaviors into one that would be more suitable for learning.
Children with autism have challenging behavior because their brains deal information in a different way.   These children have a hard time learning to take turns and sharing with others.   Autistic children are known for self-stimulating behavior such as; flapping of their arms when upset.   Their facial expressions may not match what they are saying, for instance; they may smile when they should be sad.   These kinds of behaviors will often cause other children to avoid playing with them.   Some to the children with autism can speak quite well, but have difficulty listening.   Autistic children are easily upset and prone to over react, even the slightest change in their routine may invite a tantrum (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010).
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), is a fairly common problem in the schools today.   Children with ADHD most commonly have suffer from inattention and are easily distracted.   These children would also suffer from impulsive behaviors.   When it is time to be quiet the children with ADHD are hyper-active and therefore, find it difficult to set still.   They are often impatient and act without thinking about the consequences.   Daydreaming is a common occurrence when the child should be paying attention;...