Typical causes of problem behaviors:

• child has problems transitioning snack or lunch area.
• child cannot understand the need to wait in line or at the table.
• child is bothered by noise and confusion of the situation.

Some strategies to try:

• give the child a transitional object symbolizing the event (such as a spoon. cup. lunch box) to hold on the way to the snack or lunch area (both to illustrate destination as well as to keep the child organized or focused on the upcoming event during the transitional period).
• arrange the child's seating so as to limit distraction and noise level such as on the end of the table or next to helpful and calm peers.
• provide the child with something to do while waiting for others to finish.