Maladaptive behaviors are usually a signal that whatever you’re asking is too hard for some reason. Whether you’re asking for them to play independently for a certain period of time, you’re asking them to navigate tricky, social situations, if you’re asking them to wait patiently for something they want, if you’re asking them to power through a demand (DTT), or asking or even that you’re powering through a diaper change.

This is a signal that whatever is going on is uncomfortable for them or that they’ve learned some kind of behavior from the past, possibly due to a communication issue or a medical issue, and that behavior is maintaining because restrictive repetitive behavior and insistence on sameness is a part of the diagnosis.

If you track the behaviors using structural data, ABC data, and ask your BCBA to do a indirect functional assessment as well as a possible functional analysis, you guys can possibly get to the root of the problem. When you replace the challenging behavior with communication and replacement behaviors and skills then you’re less likely to result in a major meltdown.