Message from the Executive Director

Perspective（38） "The Formation of Behavioral Problems -Let's Respect The Individual's Wishes"

Behaviors which cause worry such as self-injury, aggressive behaviors, and obsessive behaviors often appear in each period of life including infancy, school-age, young adulthood, and adulthood. There are some cases in which their behaviors grow in intensity, and they have a difficult life. No one has problematic behaviors from the beginning, so let’s think about the background to these problematic behaviors and how we can provide support. 　 To begin with, let’s confirm the fact that if people have inner stability, they would not hurt other people or themselves. It is possible that problematic behaviors reflect the person’s feelings of instability: discomfort, frustration or anxiety caused by something. 　 If the people close to the child don’t notice they are in trouble or don’t think it’s a big deal and keep training or interacting with them against their will, the problems will increase. If you can stand in the individual’s position and figure out which experiences were involuntary in their life, look back at their growth process, and track back when, where, and what kinds of experiences they had, their background will become clearer. Behavioral problems are most certainly created. Typical examples are: ・ They were forced to suffer from various training such as independent living, language, study, exercise, and discipline. ・ They were forced to eat as part of a thorough training regime to correct picky eating, despite resistance like not opening their mouth or throwing up. ・ They were inflicted suffering in “an eye for an eye” style, because of their aggressive behaviors. 　In many schools and institutions, the thinking that “Disabilities are things to overcome and obedience and perseverance are necessary for independent living” was natural, as well as guidance and training to make children work harder. (There was even training that might now be considered as violation of human rights or abuse!) The problem was that human dignity and individual will and feelings -the most important things in life- were ignored or downplayed. Guidance that forces people into focusing on the goal of being able to do something, whilst saying that it’s for their sake, as a result damages the individual’s independence and puts them in a difficult situation. Communication and support which understand the individual’s intentions and feelings from their facial expressions, attitude, and behaviors, and nurtures “self-esteem” is in need. 　There has been a decrease in forceful guidance and training as previously stated, along with the familiarization of the principles of Normalization and Inclusion, but this trend still remains in fields of support such as childcare, education and therapeutic care. It is difficult to realize the significance of ignoring a child’s will and feelings, so we must be careful, because the power of adults is superior to those of a child in childhood. It can be a big burden to children even though it is unintentional according to the adult. Therefore, it is important to focus on the child’s thinking and always be aware of how they react to an adult’s movements. 　 People with problematic behaviors are not special people who cannot connect with others. They have their own will, emotions and inner world. If we continue to persevere in supporting them by putting ourselves in their position and respecting their will and feelings, the situation will improve even though it may take time. 　 Prevention of behavioral problems is possible, if supporters and guardians work together and focus on how the individual feels, whether they understand the situation, what they are troubled with, and what they wish for, and give consideration to their circumstances so that they can feel at ease.

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