Where I First Learned That Behavior is Communication

If behavior is the answer, what is the question?

Long before I began graduate study in animal behavior, I learned one of the most important lessons of my career while working as a Behavior Support Professional for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

On my first day, I met a non-verbal young woman who spent much of her time rocking her wheelchair back and forth. Staff described this as one of her "behavioral problems." Their concern was understandable—they worried she might fall out of her wheelchair, so a seat belt had been added for her safety.

As I watched her, I found myself asking a different question.

Not, "How do we stop the rocking?"

Instead, I asked,

"Why is she rocking?"

I was told that she enjoyed being out of her wheelchair and rolling around on the floor.

That answer immediately changed the way I thought about the situation.

Rather than focusing only on preventing the rocking, I wondered whether we could safely provide the opportunity she appeared to be seeking. I suggested allowing her to spend supervised time rolling on padded mats in an unused room and later incorporated this into her behavior support plan as part of her daily routine.

It was an unconventional suggestion, especially coming from someone on their first day. However, my concern was not simply stopping a behavior—it was improving her welfare while reducing the need for a behavior that could place her at risk if her wheelchair tipped.

After this opportunity became part of her routine, the rocking behavior decreased substantially and was no longer observed in the same way it had been before.

That experience fundamentally changed the way I think about behavior.

The rocking itself was never the real problem.

It was information.

It was communicating that something in her environment or daily routine needed to change. As she is non-verbal she was communicating a need through her behavior.

Rather than asking how to stop the behavior, we asked what purpose the behavior might be serving—and then looked for a safe, humane way to meet that need.

Years later, as I pursued graduate education in Applied Animal Behavior and Welfare, I realized the same principle applies to animals.

A dog that digs, barks, growls, jumps on visitors, or pulls on the leash is communicating something through its behavior. That does not mean every behavior should be allowed to continue, nor does it mean every behavior has the same cause. It does mean that behavior is often our first clue that an animal has a need, a motivation, or a concern worth understanding.

That experience shaped the philosophy that guides my work today:

Before asking how to change behavior, first ask what the behavior may be communicating.

When we understand the reason a behavior occurs, we are far more likely to develop solutions that are effective, humane, and supportive of both welfare and the human-animal relationship.