Can I Punish Kids Who Have Disabilities?

As a consultant, one of the questions I get asked the most is, "Is this behavior because of his disability, or is it just bad behavior?"

My answer is usually the same, "Does it matter?"  As a child with a disability, all problem behavior should be addressed through a positive behavior support plan.  Such a plan will include consequences for when the child exhibits appropriate behavior, as well as consequences for when the child is inappropriate.  Educators often worry about consequencing a child for "disability" behavior. They do not want to be blamed for "punishing" a behavior that is related to the child's disability.  The process of developing a behavior plan must be a team effort -- all consequences should be decided by the team.  If one consequence is not effective, others will need to be considered.

It is important to note that there are certain behaviors that should NEVER be tolerated in school by ANY child.  Even children who are very disabled can learn that we don't hit, kick, punch, bite, or spit in school.  Behavior interventionists who are trained in applied behavior analysis can and should write positive behavior plans to address these behaviors and teach  new replacement skills.

In applied behavior analysis, there are two types of consequences.  Consequences come AFTER the behavior occurs.  These two types are reinforcers and punishers.  Reinforcers, if they are truly reinforcing to the child, make the behavior of concern stay the same or increase in frequency.   There are also two types of reinforcers:   positive reinforcers (what I add to the environment after the behavior occurs that causes the frequency of that behavior to stay the same or increase) and negative reinforcers (what I take away from the environment after the behavior occurs that causes the frequency of that behavior to stay the same or increase).  As an example, let's say on-task behavior is the behavior of concern.  If I apply a sticker on the child's chart after he completes a task, and this causes him to increase his on-task behavior, this is a positive reinforcer.  Or, if I take away recess because he has not completed his work, and this causes the on-task behavior to increase, I have applied a negative reinforcer.  Any behavior that is reinforced is likely to continue, thus reinforcers are very powerful in changing behavior.  A tip for you is that you always want to reinforce the good behavior!  

There are also two types of punishers.  Punishers, if they are truly punishing for a child, make the frequency of the behavior go down.  Positive punishers are what I add to the environment after the behavior occurs that causes the frequency of that behavior to decrease.  Negative punishers are what I subtract from the environment after the behavior occurs that causes the frequency of that behavior to decrease.  Let's say the behavior of concern is a child who touches electrical sockets.  If my toddler is about to stick his fingers in an electrical socket and I yell, "Don't touch that!" and he stops, I have used a positive punisher (the addition of my loud voice command caused him to stop the behavior).  If, however, I take away his favorite toy because he touched the socket, and this causes him to stop touching the socket, then I have used a negative punisher because I removed something from the environment that caused the frequency of the behavior to go down.

In conclusion, the process of finding reinforcers and consequences that work may be trial and error. As educators, you may feel that a child should receive a certain consequence for problem behavior, but the point is, if the behavior decreases with another type of consequence in place, you have achieved the same outcome!   And, there will be some children where reinforcing only appropriate behavior will serve to be so effective that a punishing-type consequence will not be needed.  Be flexible; try to get past the idea that all children should receive the same reinforcers and punishers. If you hang on to that belief, you will always have difficulty with kids who don't 'fit the mold.'  Kids with special needs are just like kids who are typical -- what works for some does not work for others. Allowing for individualization when dealing with problem behavior, is crucial.