What Is The Message Behind A Behaviour? - Fact Sheet

Asking ourselves the critical question "What Is The Message Behind A Behaviour?" can lead to dramatic results in responding effectively to challenging behaviours following acquired brain injury.

• A complex or challenging behaviour communicates three things
• An Example Of Finding The Message
• Expression of mood
• Unmet need
• Other Common Messages

All behaviour serves a purpose, and therefore communicates a message. This simple statement can work wonders in situations that may otherwise leave you feeling powerless, frustrated and angry.

Instead of seeing a particular behaviour as an annoyance, looking for the underlying message is the first step to resolving the causes.

A complex or challenging behaviour communicates three things:

• an unmet need, such as social, attention, emotional discomfort or physical discomfort
• expression of mood, such as sadness, anger or frustration
• response to stimulation, either lack of stimulation (e.g. boredom) or too much stimulation (e.g. a noisy crowd).

AN EXAMPLE OF FINDING THE MESSAGE

Helen often screams loudly when her family members are talking with her. This was seen as bad moods or attention-seeking behaviour by her family until they looked closer for the purpose of her behaviour and realised she usually screamed when someone completes sentences for her.

Expression of mood: Screaming is Helen's way of expressing her frustration at being interrupted.
Unmet need: Helen wants to be able to express herself and resents having control of her own communication taken away.

While this message appears to be very obvious, it is surprising how often we fail to see the message behind certain behaviour. Helen needs time to gather her thoughts and express them because of her brain injury, but family members thought they were helping Helen by finishing sentences for her because it took so long to finish a sentence.

I'm bored!
Behaviour specialists working in the Acquired Brain Injury area report that the most common message behind challenging behaviours is "I'm bored". A brain injury can potentially leave one without work, with the loss of old friendships, and difficulty establishing new friendships. Some behaviours may simply be a way of breaking the boredom of another day in front of the television set, based on the principle of "any attention is good attention".
This does pose problems for family members, as often the caring role is so demanding that little time and energy may be left for finding recreational activities for their loved one. The Brain Injury Association in your State may have a list of community activities available in your area.

OTHER COMMON MESSAGES

• There are too many demands being put on me at once!
• This is an unfamiliar environment/activity and it's freaking me out.
• I've got sensory overload from too much noise/light/overcrowding.
• I'm tired.
• I haven't got the social skills to cope with this situation.