Utilizing Antecedent Strategies in Early Childhood Settings

Much has been written on challenging behavior in young children, and teachers know that that teaching new skills, particularly appropriate ways to communicate, is important when reducing challenging behavior. Strategies that focus on what occurs before the behavior happens are known as "antecedent strategies." Strategies that focus on what occurs after the behavior happens are known as "consequence" strategies. This article presents some specific strategies that can help teachers address and help prevent both what occurs before and after the behavior occurs (Conroy et al., 2005; Cote, Thompson, & McKerchar, 2005).