Maryland Positive Behavior Support Training

Deciding on Key Interventions Together

5 people working together in a work setting.

After the brainstorming session was complete, Andy and his team reviewed each of the ideas the team came up with and put a star next to each idea that they decided to include in Andy’s PBS plan.

The team agreed that no matter what happened, if Andy presented the card indicating an ”invitation to talk and spend time,” that each person would honor his request right away.

Andy also agreed that once this communication was working really well, that people could respond to the invitation card by asking him to wait for a short period of time. Together Andy and the person he wanted to talk to would set a timer on their phone so that Andy could hear when the timer went off signaling his wait time was over. At first, the time Andy needed to wait was very short but over time, Andy learned to wait for longer periods so that other people could finish what they were doing before talking to him.

The team talked about how important it was that they change how they were responding (the consequences following behavior) so that Andy’s invitation was more effective and efficient than the challenging behavior he was using in the past. Andy and the team agreed to a plan that involved ignoring the challenging behavior with the understanding that they are not ignoring Andy, just the challenging behaviors. Instead, the team will wait until the challenging behavior is not occurring and then prompt him to use his invitation card to request time to talk or spend time together.

Take some time now to read other strategies that Andy and the team included in the plan from the visual on this page.

A form and a flow chart. The flow chart is the same as the the previous page. The form is filled out as follows: first column is: Setting Events Intervetions and list three items 1) Create more opportunities for strctured activities in the afternoon when Andy gets home 2) provide Andy with more ways to interact socially so that he does not spedn long periods of time by himself 3) If you know Andy is my himslef for a whle, reorganize his schedule so that his social interactions naturally follow periods of time alone. The second column is Antecedent interventions: Hand Andy the invitation card during unstructured time periods. Remind andy that he can use his invitations card when he wants to talk or plan. Include Andy in conversations when it is natural to do so during unstructured time periods. Suggest Any connect with a friend online during time when he is alone and before any challenges occur. The next column is Teaching New skills. Teach Andy to use a card to invite another person to play or talk. Teach Andy to tolerate delays over time so that people can finish what they are doing. Acknowledge the request to set a timer. The last column is consequences interventions. There are three items listed. 1) Ignore the challenging behavior when it occurs. Wait until behavior is not occurring to prompt Andy to use the invitation cared if he wants to talk or play. 2) Respond immediatley with a positive, excited energy when Andy presents the card. 3) Make sure the card is more effective and efficient than the challengeing behavior.

Adapted from Freeman, R., Matthews, K., Griggs, P., & Quick, S. (2013). Functional behavioral assessment. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas, Schiefelbusch Institute for Lifespan Studies.