Forum
Welcome to the Waldon Forum — a collaborative space to explore, question,
and share ideas around the theory and practice of the Waldon approach to learning and development.
The application of Waldon theory to education and learning
Waldon talks about self-handicapping behaviours and retardation behaviours: what are the differences? And how could one define them?
@sibylle Waldon frequently refers to ‘handicap’ and ‘retardation’ behaviours (Understanding Understanding, pp 8-9, https://waldonassociation.org.uk/introductory-papers/ )
‘Handicap’ behaviours are self-protective in nature: they are generated when the child feels in some way at a disadvantage. This most often happens when an excessive demand – an overdemand - is made on their understanding. The resulting anxiety, if it cannot be dissipated by the child re-engaging in appropriate play, may lead to the child escaping from the situation, physically or emotionally, or deflecting the unwanted demand, or producing compensatory self-delighting behaviours that make the situation tolerable.
‘Retardation’ behaviours are typically seen in the under-motivated child, who tends to minimise effort and take short cuts, and so gains less reinforcement from this reduced level of activity, which in turn decreases motivation, and so on in a downward spiral. This is the exact opposite of what is needed for optimal learning-development.
There are also the ‘cul-de-sac’ habits: as the name suggests these are dead-end activities which lead nowhere, developmentally. They may be seen as a special case of ‘retardation’ behaviours.
One behaviour may perform all these functions. For example, spinning objects, a 12 months level behaviour (although, as Waldon points out, it is often regarded as more 'advanced' than this) may be a self-delighting (‘handicap’) behaviour, mobilised to rapidly produce posiforcant to counter an access of negiforcant (sudden anxiety). It may be a retardation behaviour, reaping significant reward for very little effort, and frequently indulged in by the child with a severely limited repertoire of behaviours. And it is a classic cul-de-sac habit.
It is therefore sometimes necessary, for the sake of clarity, to speak of the ‘handicap’ or ‘retardation’ functions of behaviours, rather than using the stark terms ‘handicap behaviour’ or ‘retardation behaviour’.
This matter is also addressed in 'The Waldon Approach to Education – summary and reference document', pp 28-29 and 35-36 https://waldonassociation.org.uk/introductory-papers/
Terry
In the paper titled Distinction between Fundamental & Exploitational Understanding - https://waldonassociation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/waldon-associates-distinction-between-fundamental.pdf Waldon summarises his argument in such a concise way that I thought to post it here for people’s attention.
Referring to early development, and to its simulation in the asocial lesson, he writes:
"... the child’s evolution in understanding is such that every later stage ... grows out of and depends upon an earlier one. Every later aspect of understanding contains, so to speak, the earlier and when an activity is exercised the activity relives or rehearses the more fundamental [earlier one] …
Therefore when we come to teach we aim at exercising the lower levels of the child’s understanding, leaving the energy and momentum involved to produce an excess of variations which tends to consolidate and enrich the previous state of understanding as well as carrying the limits of the understanding forward to higher levels.
The object then is to have the child set out to do more of what he can already do, for longer, with more vigour and with more variations, etc. One aims then not at the child’s highest levels of functioning but at all levels below and up to these."
Terry
