Managing challenging behaviour

Sometimes, the person you care for may have ‘challenging behaviours’. They might be:

• rude or socially inappropriate
• uncooperative or withdrawn
• verbally abusive
• aggressive, violent or destructive

Challenging behaviours can be a common symptom of many conditions, including intellectual disability, autism, mental health conditions or dementia. Challenging behaviours can also develop over time as a health condition changes.

You can try different ways to prevent or reduce challenging behaviours.

How to prevent challenging behaviours

To prevent challenging behaviours:

• try to reduce possible causes of the behaviour. Challenging behaviours can be triggered by:
  • pain or discomfort, such as a noisy environment
  • a break in routine or being rushed
  • tiredness
  • changes in medicines
  • changes in the living environment
  • significant life events
  • having trouble communicating, leading to frustration
  • boredom or loneliness

Getting help with challenging behaviours

You can talk with your doctor if you have concerns about challenging behaviour. They will be able to check out whether the behaviour is being caused by an illness or is a side effect of a medicine. Your doctor, social worker or other health professionals can also talk with you about therapy options.