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Ms Kadayer's knowledge and skills in the area of Verbal Behaviour (VB) is extremely relevant in the field of autism and her continued presence within our community would be of great benefit to all families touched by this disability.

Mr Smith, Herts
Louise is very accurate in her analysis and catching every opportunity to motivate new learning - not only on the child's side but also for the "grown-ups" around. Our son's programming could not be in better hands.

Anonymous, Norfolk
Under Louise’s guidance Omi has made significant and remarkable progress, his eye contact has improved dramatically, his periods of social isolation has decreased and he has begun to enjoy the company of others.

Dr Jones, Berkshire
I have known Shelley Brown for 6 months through the work she has undertaken with my autistic son. She has made a significant contribution towards my son’s language acquisition and I have no hesitation in referring her to other families.

Mrs Christine Labios
Louise has provided us with hands on education and has visited our home many times to demonstrate with our son practical ways of interacting with him.

Dr ASM Ziaul Hoque
Louise first came to our home in December 2006 and within just four weeks we had seen remarkable progress in our 3 year old son.

Gareth & Sarah Squire
Verbal Behaviour Consultants

Aggression

Aggressive behaviour in children is common, but any form of aggressive behaviour is unacceptable and has to be addressed in a positive manner. There are many reasons that children can behave aggressively – they may see aggression around them within their social group and assume that this is an acceptable form of behaviour, but the most common reason for aggressive behaviour is an inability to communicate effectively in non-aggressive forms.

What causes aggressive behaviour?

Aggression can be the physical manifestation of a range of trigger points and is obviously disruptive to the learner’s social group and can lead to a great deal of stress and tension within a family unit. Finding the underlying reason for that aggression is key to altering the learner’s behaviour.

Human language skills invariably develop as we get older – our repertoire of expressions and range of vocabulary develops at an exponential rate. However, young children have not yet mastered the art of communication and it may be this lack of an ability to make themselves understood or to communicate effectively that leads to frustration. This can consequently manifest itself in violent and aggressive behaviour. The ability to communicate effectively is essential to the healthy development of a child. Although children develop their language skills at different rates, an underlying problem can be detected relatively early on and simple Verbal Behavioural therapy can help a child to advance rapidly, expanding their ability to communicate effectively.

Another source of aggressive behaviour can be what children see on television or in their family unit. ‘Horseplay’ may be a fun pastime but if a child’s distinction between what is acceptable and what isn’t becomes blurred, that horseplay may manifest itself in inappropriate situations. Similarly, what a child sees on television may influence their behaviour without them understanding that what happens on television is for the purposes of entertainment and isn’t acceptable in a real-life situation. The boundaries of acceptable behaviour need to be reset in this instance and the child needs to be able to understand the distinctions and learn to use language skills to express themselves, rather than resorting to physical tactics.

A child may also be angry at an event in their lives, such as the break-up of their parent’s relationship or a deeply emotional trigger point such as the loss of a loved one. The child may not have the verbal capacity to express their feelings adequately without resorting to aggression. Children also need to feel as if they have some control over their environment and may use aggressive behaviour to garner a particular response (often submissive) from an authority figure such as a parent. This is often referred to in the popular press as ‘pester power’ but can take on much more aggressive forms. If this behaviour is allowed to continue, the parents can quickly find that the child is controlling social situations to an unacceptable degree.

How can aggressive behaviour be redirected?

The first step in bringing aggressive behaviour under control is to find out exactly what triggers the behaviour in the child in the first place. If, as is often the case in younger children, the trigger is an inability to communicate effectively, this can be tackled using Verbal Behaviour which engages the child in effective communication techniques. As the child learns to express itself without having to resort to aggressive behaviour, it quickly leads to a modification of their behaviour patterns and a less disruptive social situation.

A child needs to understand that feelings of anger and frustration are part of normal life, but how they react to these feelings has a direct consequence and a very powerful bearing on how others react towards them. Resetting these boundaries of acceptable behaviour is a two-way process, and at VBC we don’t just work with the learner to understand this process, we work closely with the family too. In this way we can help everyone involved improve their communication skills which will reduce the necessity on the part of the learner to resort to aggressive behaviour. If the child feels that they are being understood and listened to, the need to resort to unacceptable behaviour is reduced.

For more information on aggressive behaviour, call us in confidence and discuss your needs with one of our experts.