Biting and Hitting Behaviour in Early Years | Dave Smallwood

In this episode, Clare talks to Dave Smallwood, Principal Team Teach trainer and Director at SENse Training and Consultancy, about supporting biting and hitting behaviour with early years children.

They explore some of the underlying reasons for biting and hitting, and suggest different ways to support young children.

Dave has worked in special schools for both the local authority and the National Autistic Society, and has extensive experience of supporting young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities.

As a staff development co-ordinator for the National Autistic Society, he developed and delivered training in autism, and equality, diversity, and rights.

You can find Dave on LinkedIn.

He also shares three tips during the episode:

• • Planning and preparation are key. Write and communicate plans with the wider team, be aware of hotspots, and ensure that strategies are agreed in advance.

• • Consider personal space and our own body language, thinking about how these could help reduce the likelihood of biting or hitting behaviour.

• • Remember that biting and hitting behaviours are a form of communication. We need to ‘play detective’ to work out what the underlying need is.

The Team Teach podcast shares the latest thinking in behaviour, all in handy 15-minute (ish) bite-sized chunks. Each episode features a new guest chatting about a different aspect of behaviour and leaves you with three handy tips to use in your setting.