Is a Behavior Support Plan Right for Your Child?

Don’t feel alone if you haven’t bounced back from our pandemic lockdown. Now, even four years later, family members are still reporting high rates of anxiety and distress, and schools are experiencing a substantial uptick of behavioral problems from children.

There have been spikes in the number of children tantruming, acting out, and exhibiting behaviors associated with severe separation anxiety and fear. At some point, you may be wondering if you should work with a behavioral specialist to help your child and your family.

If a child experiences a skill deficit in an academic area, extra support can be provided through tutoring or accommodations. And, there are competent and responsible adults who have thrived without ever having to address scholastic skill deficits like algebra or grammar.

But our hearts break a little bit when we see children with behaviors that isolate them from their peers or get them into trouble at school. Some behavior problems could lead to problems with peers feeling lonely, or worst of all, being bullied.

Considerations: Whose behavior needs to change?

It’s important to take some time to determine if the behavior is really a problem that should be addressed. Is the behavior viewed as challenging by family members, caregivers, and others?

Does the child express any desire to want to change the behavior? Does the behavior interfere with the child’s ability to learn, or enjoy their life? Is a behavior merely different from that of others, but does not interfere with the child’s everyday life?

These are significant questions that need to be considered. Every child should feel valued and important. A child’s self-determination or self-esteem should never be compromised to conform to a style that does not work for them.

Many children can hold themselves together to get through an entire school or work day, and return to home, their safe haven, exhausted and drained from the effort. Some self-reports from autistic adults indicate that suppressing behaviors that make them “indistinguishable” from others can lead to “autistic burnout” because the effort and energy of trying to fit in everyday feels like running a marathon.  

As family members, we love and appreciate our children and understand their valuable contributions to enriching our lives in unexpected ways every day. But it may take a long time for others to recognize those gifts and value them.

 Families may want to push for a behavior plan that will encourage their child not to stand out.  Although it may cause conflict not to address it, in some situations, it is more important to change the expectations of others, rather than working to change the child’s behavior. 

Has your child participated in Person Centered Planning? 

Prior to the implementation of a behavior support plan, a comprehensive Person-Centered plan should be undertaken. 

Person-Centered Planning takes a deep dive into a person’s individual preferences and dreams for the future. 

A Person-Centered Plan examines the environments where they thrive, to see if environmental changes, such as changing a schedule or who they are around can provide someone with a happier life. 

Specific attention to what works and doesn’t work with a person, what makes a good day or a bad day, and what are the characteristics of people who work well with them, often eliminate the need to go further and implement a formal plan with a team. 

Person- Centered Planning incorporates a team approach of professionals and friends and family members who are important in a child’s life. 

There are many different methods to conduct a Person Centered Plan, such as Making Action Plans (MAPS), PATH (Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope), Charting the Life Course, Essential Lifestyle planning, and many others. 

Have biological and psychological factors been considered? 

It’s important to rule out that a behavior may be caused by a biological issue, pain, fear, or anxiety. Children may not have the vocabulary to articulate the feelings that they are experiencing for invisible biological issues like headaches or ear infections. 

Maladaptive behaviors may emerge because children are truly frightened, or have a false belief about new experiences or breaking routines.

 An occupational therapist or physical therapist can also help identify physical and sensory issues that may be contributing to a behavior that seems difficult to others.

 And we can’t forget that children need a lot of food to support their quickly growing bodies. They may need a snack break to refuel until the next scheduled meal. 

Can the environment be changed?

In a school and home setting, environments may be modified to adjust to the individual sensory needs of a child, and many entertainment venues and stores are now offering sensory-friendly shopping experiences without bright lights, music, and muted walls of built-in TV sets. 

Are there simple accommodations that can be provided by others to make the child’s life easier? 

Noise, heat, fluorescent lighting, uncomfortable clothing, or being too close to others can influence behavior. Sometimes a simple change in the behavior of others can make a big difference. 

If a child is isolated, could a buddy system be established to encourage the child to participate with others? Could the child be provided with movement breaks that might benefit others as well? 

Is the effort worth the benefit?

I knew a child who was extremely tactile sensitive, and wearing clothing with waist bands, tags, or synthetic fabrics was very uncomfortable for him. In his preschool years, he chose to be naked inside the family home. 

For his family, this was viewed as quirky, but not problematic. Although his nakedness may have made outsiders uncomfortable, for their family, it was not worth the battle of addressing.

 And, when they had to leave the house, it was understood that he tolerated wearing clothes, but they were usually thrown off and left in a pile by the door the minute he got home.

In this situation, the child did not need to suffer by wearing clothes in all settings, but it was important to him (often because it was cold outside) and to his family that he be dressed outside of the home.

 And the family engaged his special interest to provide clothing that featured pictures of it so he was excited to show off and received lots of positive feedback from others. 

Does the plan help foster self-determination?

If a child is anxious about getting in trouble or displeasing adults, no matter how positively focused a behavior support plan is, it may add to stress and more anxiety. 

The child should be actively involved in setting the objective and monitoring their progress so they are excited about reaching their goal. 

Plans should be designed so that the goals are easily attainable with errorless learning strategies incorporated to ensure success. 

What does success look like?

It’s always important to make sure that the behavior being targeted for change is a meaningful one to improve the child’s quality of life. 

Will changing the behavior result in the child having better relationships with others? Better academic performance? 

A more peaceful homelife? How will you know when the child has been successful, and how do you measure it? Although parents may dream of their child becoming the class president, a child who chooses a different direction should never be considered as unsuccessful or naughty. 

If there is a mismatch between the target behavior and the ultimate goal of the plan, it may mean that the identified problem behavior is wrong, and there should be more focus on changing the environment or the expectations of others. 

For most families, hopes for their child’s future may include many different visions, but for most, having their child be happy, fulfilled, and healthy are common denominators. 

A family member can provide active meaningful input in the design of a behavior support plan that helps to provide a better quality of life and helps their child meet that vision in the long run.

Thanks to Linda Bambara, PhD. for her contributions to this article.

In addition to being the parent of a child who was diagnosed with autism, Molly Dellinger-Wray is part of the Partnership for People with Disabilities at Virginia Commonwealth University where she coordinates several projects to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities. Together with Linda Bambara, she leads Home and Community Positive Behavior Support a network of the Association of Positive Behavior Support.

A Complete Guide on Positive Behavior Support for Children With Special Needs

Additional Positive Behavior Support Help

• A Complete Guide on Positive Behavior Support for Children With Special Needs
• Empowering Independence: Positive Behavior Supports in Developing Essential Life Skills
• Family Chat: Improving Lives with Positive Behavior Support (PBS)
• Bookshelf Essential: Parenting with Positive Behavior Support
• Positive Behavior Support: How to Collaborate

This post originally appeared on our May/June 2024 Magazine