Topics > Accepting No

Treatment Options

The first step of treating a child who can not accept "no" for an answer is to determine the function of the behavior that follows being told "no." Does the undesirable behavior function to gain access to the denied item? Does it serve an attention purpose? OR Does it happen for both reasons? The second step is to determine what variables influence the behavior. What is the child's communication level? Are other choices presented when denied access? Does it occur with one parent more than another?  What settings does the behavior occur in?  Once these questions are answered an intervention plan that addresses prevention strategies (ie. preventing alternatives when denied access), as well as more appropriate replacement behaviors (ie. accepting an alternative presented, learning to wait, and/or accepting "no"), and intervention strategies (ie. redirection to more appropriate behavior, ignoring those incidents that occur for attention, and/or not allowing access to denied item) should be developed.