Problem behaviour or communication breakdown?

Aim: To assist a regular class teacher in a remote village in Negara Brunei Darussalam to support a child's transition from the prelinguistic to the more symbolic stages of communication development. Method: The researcher evaluated teacher use of functional communication training (FCT) to replace and enhance prelinguistic behaviours in a young child with autism. Initially, the child's behaviour was considered by teaching staff to be a behaviour management problem. After a baseline assessment phase, the teacher received training on implementation of FCT. Intervention was designed using a simple AB time series design. The class teacher was trained by the researcher to teach the child how to use a replacement behaviour using a positive behaviour management strategy. Results: This study went beyond analysing the child's current disruptive behaviour. It examined how one child's regular class teacher interpreted the challenging behaviour of a seven (7) year old male child as communicative. The study shows how this initial information could be used to enhance the child's communication skills by teaching a replacement behaviour to the child, through the use of positive behaviour management. Conclusions: Recommendations for the use of functional analysis and communication training to overcome a child's challenging behaviour, will be discussed.