Generalization and Sustainability in Positive Behavior Support
Planning for Sustainability
How do we make sure that positive behavior support plans are effective and sustainable over time?
The goal of a positive behavior support plan is to improve quality of life and prevent challenges from occurring during the routines and settings that are important to a person. This means that interventions in the positive behavior support plan may need to occur over a longer period of time and with a high level of fidelity. Fidelity of implementation refers to the extent to which a practice like positive behavior support is used in the manner intended and outlined in research.
One way to think about sustainability is as a continuous process that involves:
- Assessing the person-centered outcomes considered valuable
- Making changes to the plan to ensure these valued outcomes occur
- Implementing interventions in a way becomes part of a child or adults everyday routine
Data-based decision making is used to guide teams as they monitor a positive behavior support plan and make changes as a child or adult grows older over time.
Ongoing family and staff training and coaching helps ensure sustainable implementation as well.
The citation for this study:
McIntosh, K., Filter, K. J., Bennett, J. L., Ryan, C., & Sugai, G. (2010). Principles of sustainable prevention: Designing scale‐up of school‐wide positive behavior support to promote durable systems. Psychology in the Schools, 47(1), 5-21.
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