What does misbehaviour really mean?

“Classrooms across Australia are under more pressure than ever before, with teachers increasingly navigating complex behaviour challenges alongside already stretched workloads. But what if those behaviours are not problems to manage, but signals to understand? After more than 25 years as a paediatric occupational therapist working with children, families and schools, I’ve learned something that continues to reshape how I respond to students: If a child can do well, they will. That is not just a platitude; it’s a principle that should fundamentally guide how we respond when a student disrupts a lesson, refuses a task, or melts down in the middle of class. Because when we see behaviour as a choice, we respond with consequences. And when we respond with consequences, we miss the point entirely. Neuroscience has taught us to see behaviour through a different lens. A child ’ s challenging behaviour is not a character flaw or a deliberate provocation, but rather a signal that they are struggling. Challenging behaviour is a child’s way of communicating a difficulty they do not yet have the words or the regulation to express. The question that frames it all is not ‘ how do we manage this behaviour? ’ It is ‘ what is this behaviour telling us? ’ For educators wanting to better understand and support their students, many of the practical, evidence-informed strategies used by occupational therapists can be readily applied in the classroom. These approaches will be explored in more detail at Occupational Therapy Australia’s 2026 OT Exchange conference, as well as during my national workshop tour of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth throughout June and July. In these workshops, I’ll be providing hands-on, practical strategies that educators and clinicians can apply immediately in school and community settings. Be early, not reactive Timeouts, detentions and suspensions share one thing in common: they are all late. The behaviour has already occurred, which means the opportunity to support the child has already passed. If we want to improve behavioural difficulties, the most effective strategy is to get ahead of them. This approach is much more achievable than it sounds for one simple reason: we often already know the challenges students face, which means we can anticipate them. If a child consistently struggles to get started on written tasks, it shouldn’t be a surprise on Tuesday morning when they seemingly refuse to begin their schoolwork. Recognising these patterns allows us to step in before frustration peaks. When we do arrive late, the best starting point is for the adult to own it. Rather than attributing the student ’ s reaction to poor behaviour, acknowledge that they were not supported in time. That accountability can be the beginning of genuine de-escalation, repair, and trust-building between child and educator. This is not about adding to an already stretched teacher ’ s workload. Overcrowded classrooms and constant competing demands make this work genuinely hard. But a lens change, even a small one, tends to pay back quickly. Once you have that first ‘win’ of being early, the approach becomes more intuitive and, over time, you actually spend less of your day managing disruption. Notice the difficulty, not the behaviour The way educators perceive and respond to student challenges is important. There is a meaningful difference between ‘ I noticed you ’ re having difficulty writing that paragraph ’ and ‘ Why did you cross that out? Now you have to start again. The former acknowledges a child’s difficulty and signals that you want to help, while the latter shows that you are frustrated. This is important because children feel the emotional weight and unspoken meaning behind our response, and they react accordingly. When we notice a child ’ s difficulty rather than reacting to their behaviour, we open a door to collaboration. Imposing a solution – such as telling them not to cross out their work – rarely produces lasting change. But inviting a child into the problem-solving process gives them agency, and that agency creates genuine buy-in. Children want to do well. When we give them some say in how they get there, they are far more likely to follow through. Match the energy to the task We speak a lot about teaching children how to regulate their emotions, but many people fundamentally misunderstand what this actually means. Regulation is not simply about being calm and quiet; it is when your energy matches the energy level of a task. For example, a child with high energy heading into a gym class for basketball may do exceptionally well. That same child heading into silent reading in the library is facing an energy mismatch, and without support, they are likely to end up in trouble through no fault of their own. When children are distracted, restless or struggling to follow directions, the answer is not to push through, discipline them, and hope that they will do better next time. Instead, educators should stop the activity, name the difficulty they are noticing, help the child regulate, explain why they are taking a regulation break, and then return to the task. For over two decades, children have reminded me of this principle every single day: if I take the time to address the energy in their bodies before I try to teach their brains, I get better outcomes – and I get them faster. Addressing regulation first creates the conditions in which learning can actually happen. This process teaches children what it looks like to be ready to learn and helps them recognise energy mismatches – in the classroom and beyond. When taught early, it’s a skill they will take with them throughout their entire life. As educators continue to face rising complexity in classrooms, the opportunity to rethink behaviour through this lens has never been more important. Greg Santucci. Picture: Supplied. When we shift from managing behaviour to understanding it, we don’t just reduce disruption – we create classrooms where more students are ready, able and supported to learn. And that is a win for every teacher and every child. Greg Santucci will be speaking at Occupational Therapy Australia’s (OTA) OT Exchange 2026 in Brisbane from June 23-24. He will also be undertaking a national workshop tour this June and July. While focused on occupational therapy practice, Greg’s teachings and techniques can be applied by educators across early childhood and school settings. EDUCATION REVIEW DISCOUNT OFFER OTA is offering Education Review readers a 10 per cent discount on the national tour workshop registrations in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Just use the code EDREVIEW10 via this link .

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