Why some children face greater developmental challenges than others

Challenging Children: Behavioral Problems and Teaching Strategies

While it is the ultimate goal for educators to provide an equally effective education for all students, giving them the same opportunities to learn and progress, in reality this is never entirely possible. Differences in learning abilities and styles can and should be accounted for extensively in different lessons and teaching strategies, but these adjustments can never be perfectly efficient in keeping up with changing classrooms and changing student needs. Other problem arise when interpersonal difficulties arise between the student and the teacher that might not have anything to do -- at least not directly -- with the student's learning style or abilities. When teachers encounter especially challenging children, it can be difficult to achieve the necessary quality of education not just with the challenging student but with the class as a whole. Understanding why such challenges might arise and effective strategies for handling them is highly important for educators of children.

Research has shown that there are both biological and environmental/psychological risk factors in the development of challenging behaviors such as increased aggression and violence, and some of these risks can interact in surprising ways (Kaiser & Rasminsky, 2002). A specific gene has been identified that creates an enhanced risk for the development of aggressive behavior, and it has also been demonstrated that abuse and other exposures to violence can lead to the acting out of similar behaviors in children, but it is when these occur in combination that an exponentially greater risk occurs (Kaiser & Rasminsky, 2002). A lack of experience with effective communication, which can occur for many reasons, can also lead to many challenging behaviors as children try to cope or achieve their desires through means other than the communication styles that would be desired (Conroy, 2004).

The genetic risk factor identified does not appear to influence behavior directly unless it is paired with environmental factors such as exposure to abuse or other regular and/or extreme violence, and then it leads to the development of aggressive and other challenging behaviors (Kaiser & Rasminsky, 2002). The environmental risk factors identified -- i.e., the abuse/exposure to violence -- has been demonstrated to have an effect without the presence of the genetic factor, however the increased probability of aggressive behavior development in such children is only slightly higher than in children that do not have the same environmental risk factor, meaning the genetic factor is of great impact (Kaiser & Rasminsky, 2002). The lack of communication learning can lead to behaviors such as aggression brought about through frustration, inappropriate behaviors used as substitutes for asking questions or verbally expressing displeasure, and a variety of other issues (Conroy, 2004).