POSTOJI LI ALTERNATIVA IZAZOVNOM PONAŠANJU DJECE I OMLADINE U AUTISTIČNOM SPEKTRU?
IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE TO CHALLENGING BEHAVIOUR OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM?

Summary/Abstract: Challenging behavior is often regarded as certain specific, mostly disturbing behaviors. These might be fighting, biting, spitting, screaming and any other kind of behavior that feels offensive to or challenge the people dealing with persons on autism spectrum. Challenging behavior is, not just in regard to autism spectrum in the focus of research and there are many books on the market about how to change these behaviors, often using cognitive behavioral methods. That is not the aim of this article. The aim of this article is to contribute to understanding challenging behavior in a person on autism spectrum, as well as to understanding of the persons showing the challenging behavior. The understanding of challenging behavior and the purpose of such behaviors is a prerequisite for preventing and managing those behavior. Each and every behavior has a purpose – therefore is of the utmost importance to understand the purpose of behavior, the person is showing in a certain situation. For the person showing the challenging behavior, is that behavior subjectively purposeful and therefore correct, even if the people dealing with persons on autism spectrum perceive the same behavior as inappropriate, dangerous of intimidating. Bo Hejlskov Elven (2015:17) defines the challenging behavior as “behavior that causes problems for people around the person on autism spectrum”. Persons showing challenging behaviors are mostly expected to change and adapt – in order to get rid of challenging behavior. This is certainly a very difficult task for most of the persons on the autism spectrum. Person showing a certain (challenging) behavior, must not have a reason to change the behavior (behavior has a good purpose from the subjective point of view) or the person doesn´t have the competencies necessary to change and adapt the behavior, perceived as challenging. In both cases it is OUR task and responsibility to change (something) in order to provide the setting suitable for changing or preventing the challenging behavior.

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