Jessica Bannister—Reflection Paper: Children with Challenging Behaviors or Disabilities

As early childhood educators, it is our responsibility to provide all children with quality

care and education to the best of our ability. We know that all children learn at a different pace

and develop in different ways, and sometimes this is especially true for children with disability.

A child with a learning or physical disability is just like any other child, and it’s our duty as

teachers to be informed and patient enough to teach these children appropriately.

When a teacher is presented with a student who may be exhibiting challenging behaviors,

it is our role and responsibility to address this and take action. This action is to make sure that the

child and the children around them are safe, and then observe to see how these behaviors are

triggered. With the proper training, I believe it’s possible for us to be able to see the difference

between challenging behavior and behavior that may be linked to a learning disability. With

persistent challenging behavior, it may be necessary to involve administration and obviously the

parents. Teachers and families are a team when it comes to the care for a child and when you

have a strong relationship with your families, there should be an open line of communication for

when circumstances such as challenging behavior occurs. In this way, we can see what the

child’s home life is like, parents may want to involve a medical professional, and families may

feel comfortable with you bringing in a specialist who is an expert in childhood behavioral

issues. As a team, teachers and families can address challenging behavior and act appropriately

in the way that is best for the child.

Challenging behavior is challenging not only for teachers and parents, but for the children

as well. The other children in a classroom may sometimes become fearful of a child with

behavioral issues, and that makes school a scary and unsafe environment in their minds. Above
all, this behavior is challenging for the child in question as well. This is likely a child who is very

frustrated and may have trouble conveying their emotions, and who may also be suffering from a

learning disability or disorder that affects their behavior and how they treat others. When either

of these are the case, it’s important for us adults to support the child and let them know we’re

there for them and only want what’s best. With that being said, there are some behaviors that are

unacceptable and if they cannot be corrected, it’s no longer safe for the child to be in the

classroom. This may be due to the teacher: sometimes some teachers just cannot connect with a

child in a way where the child feels comfortable and safe and this is not the fault of either. It may

also be due to other children or the design of the classroom: perhaps there are children who

trigger the child or “set them off,” or even just encourage the behavior. Sometimes the classroom

may be overstimulating and is not the correct environment for the child in question. Then it may

be the child: this brings us to the main topic of this reflection, which is that the child may have a

disability causing them to act out. Regardless of the cause, as a childhood educator the behaviors

I would expel a child from my program for are violence (unwarranted, unprovoked violent

actions that result in harm done or injury to other children or staff) and abusive language (would

more likely be seen in children older than toddler age, but could involve threats of harm or

violence to staff and other children). Firstly, I’d like to say I would do all in my power to help

this child so as not to disrupt their development and education, but I also know where I would

draw the line to keep this child and the other children in my care safe.

To be able to support children with behavioral issues and disabilities, schools should have

connections with outside resources in the community and in the realm of early childhood

education. I also believe that both early childhood educators and teachers in K-12 should have

better training for caring for these children. By having experts who can evaluate these children,
trained teachers who can better identify and handle challenging behavior, and by providing the

correct resources to parents who are probably very concerned, or even confused and scared, we

can be seen as a solid starting point for addressing and identifying behavioral problems/disorders

and learning disabilities in young children.