Flopping

Defining flopping behaviour

Flopping behaviour is defined as the sudden and abrupt action of deliberately going down. Flopping could look like suddenly sitting or falling on one’s knees or lying down on a surface and refusing to move.

Flopping behaviour as a part of normal development

Almost all children have displayed flopping behaviour in the early stages of development (up to five years of age). For example, a child who gets refused a lollipop in the shop despite their requests may feel disappointed and fall to the ground and refuse to move. A child who is trying to build a train set but the magnets in between the trains keep pulling apart may out of frustration  lie down on the ground on their stomach with their face down with flailing arms and feet kicking. A child who is told they have to stop playing at the beach and need to go home may in anger sit down, scream and refuse to move.

When children mature and with adult guidance, they develop appropriate ways of communicating their needs, interacting with others, problem-solving, coping with their emotions and controlling their behaviours, which helps them outgrow the flopping behaviour.

Flopping behaviour of concern

Flopping behaviour in children of all ages becomes a concern when the following occur:

• the frequency (i.e. how often a child exhibits flopping behaviour) becomes excessive,
• the duration (i.e. how long each incident of the flopping behaviour lasts) becomes excessive,
• the intensity (i.e. the strength of the flopping behaviour) escalates from minor behaviours into extreme behaviours, and
• the flopping behaviour negatively impacts the child’s participation in activities, interaction with others, their day-to-day functioning and development.

Behaviour Help App for Flopping Behaviour

Behaviour Help App provides a structured approach to assessing, managing and preventing flopping behaviour.

Assess

Assessing flopping behaviour—where an individual suddenly drops to the ground and refuses to move—often requires a thorough understanding of the underlying causes.

The Behaviour Help App enables you to complete a functional behaviour assessment by providing various tools such as an individual profile, behaviour data collection forms and A-B-C incident forms that can be completed by data collectors across all settings.

By collecting this data what happens before the individual flops can be identified i.e. is it triggered by a demand, sensory overload, transitions, or frustration?  Also, the data may help identify when and where the behaviour occurs.

For example, does flopping happen more often in new environments, during transitions, or after instructions are given?  This analysis can help determine the purpose of the behaviour. The function could be escape/avoidance, attention-seeking, or sensory regulation.

Manage

Based on the functional behaviour assessment, develop behaviour management strategies to effectively respond to flopping behaviour include firstly, remaining composed. One’s reaction can either escalate or de-escalate the situation.

By keeping a neutral tone and staying calm you can avoid increasing the individual’s anxiety or resistance. Quickly assess what might have triggered the behaviour.

Are they overwhelmed by noise, tired, or trying to avoid a task?

If realistic address the triggers. Don’t force the individual to go get.  Allow the individual time to process, calm down or collect themselves before they’re ready to move again.  Offer encouragement without demanding action.

For example, say “When you’re ready, we can walk to the classroom together.” Give a choice: Offering choices can help them feel more in control.

Example: “Would you like to stand up on your own, or do you need my help?”

Use visual aids: If they have difficulty processing verbal information, use visual supports or gestures to communicate the next step.

When they get back up or begin to cooperate, offer praise or rewards. Focus on the effort they made. Engage the individual in a preferred activity or topic to help shift their focus and reduce tension.

Use the Behaviour Help App to track the effectiveness of recommended behaviour management strategies to address flopping behaviour. If the frequency, and intensity of flopping behaviour decreases, it indicates that the strategies are working.

If there is little or no improvement, use the app to adjust strategies based on new data. Continuous monitoring allows for a dynamic approach to data driven behaviour management.

Prevent

A range of preventative strategies can be used to address flopping behaviour. Provide a clear visual schedule of the day's activities to reduce anxiety around transitions.

Reinforce desired behaviours, such as walking to a destination without flopping, by using praise, tokens, or other motivators.

Create a calm and predictable environment. Reducing sensory stimuli and providing a quieter space can help prevent overwhelm.

Give the individual advance warnings before transitions, using both verbal cues and visual aids like timers or pictures.

Incorporate preferred activities or items during difficult tasks or transitions as motivation to move forward without flopping. Teach the individual alternative ways to express their needs, such as using a communication device or signing when they feel overwhelmed or need a break.

Ensure that the individual has regular breaks and opportunities for physical comfort (e.g., sitting down for a rest before transitions).  Use the Behaviour Help app to regularly monitor and record incidents of flopping and track changes over time.

Adjust prevention intervention strategies based on data collected, ensuring that strategies remain effective in reducing the behaviour.

By using a combination of assessment, management, and preventative measures, flopping behaviours can be reduced over time.  The Behaviour Help App can play a vital role in tracking progress and making data-informed decisions.

Impact of Flopping Behaviour

When a child begins to persistently exhibit flopping behaviours, the climate of the context (e.g. childcare, preschool, kindergarten, school, disability support and youth service) can change dramatically. A considerable amount of time and energy can be spent on the child showing the flopping behaviour, which can have a deleterious effect on the quality of the educational experience for all children. Research consistently shows that managing behaviour is linked to staff experiencing high levels of stress, burnout, and job dissatisfaction.

Example

Ms Smith is having trouble with nine-year-old Frank, a child with Down syndrome in her class. When asked to move from one location to another he often flops. Ms Smith has observed this happens especially if he is asked to move from the playground back to class at the end of recess or lunch. He will often flop to the ground and lie on his stomach and refuse to stand up and go to his classroom. When Frank flops on the ground it can take up to 20 mins or longer to encourage him to get up and walk to class. Sometimes duty staff in the playground can encourage him to get up but most often it means that Ms Smith has to leave her classroom and the other children to guide Frank back to class. Even when he does start walking he may drop to the ground and the whole process of getting him to stand up and walk starts again. This term Ms Smith would like to start taking all the children on different weekly outings to help them practise travel training skills such as journey planning, getting about, behaving appropriately and staying safe. However, she is concerned about how Frank’s behaviour on these outings as these will be new and stressful situations that involve lots of transitions (arrive at school → walk to the classroom → walk to the bus stop → go on bus → get down from the bus → walk around the different shops in the shopping centre → have lunch → walk to the bus stop → go back to school).

Hence, flopping behaviour affects everyone involved and the child who is flopping requires necessary help to learn positive ways of behaving and managing their emotions.

Positive behaviour support resources for flopping behaviour

Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) focuses on evidence-based strategies and person-centred supports that address the needs of the individual and the underlying causes of behaviours of concern, to enhance the quality of life for both the individual and those that support them.

PBS recognises that there is no single cause for flopping behaviour. It is a complex behaviour that is a product of the interaction between multiple factors contributing to its development and persistence.

Flopping behaviour is like the iceberg so it is essential to look beneath the surface to work out the why before we can address the problem. Behaviour Help resources are at hand such as the Behaviour Help App and F for Flopping: Positive Behaviour Support.