Topics > Self-Injurious Behaviors

Understanding

Self injurious behavior (SIB) it is difficult to understand.  After all, why would anyone choose to hurt themselves?  Doesn’t the child feel pain?  The child does it alone, so how could it be reinforced? Anyone who has witnessed a child engage in SIB has asked themselves these same questions.  SIB is hypothesized to occur for one or a combination of the following reasons:

As a result of illness (i.e. ear infection)
To avoid and/or escape a task
To get attention from others
To gain access to something (i.e. toy, edible)
To fulfill a sensory need
To cause pleasure/internal arousal
To release frustration

A thorough medical/neurological evaluation from the child’s doctor is the recommended first line of treatment.  After ruling out an infection, parents should immediately seek behavioral services. Butterfly Effects Behavior Programs are successful in treating SIB, for our intervention plans provide prevention, replacement, and intervention strategies.  Based on the function of the behavior, we give parents the information they need to know how and when to react.