To understand how to create an effective behavior plan* a crucial piece is to understand why a behavior occurs. Without this piece of information, accurately determined, a behavior plan will simply not work.

It is more complex than it might seem to figure out why a child does what they do, obvious answers can often be wrong. The IEP team needs to know how and what to teach as a replacement behavior that meets the same need as the problem behavior.

As a parent, your input into this process is vital because you know your child better than anyone.

It becomes very helpful to the IEP team, and to your child, to know why a behavior occurs, it can greatly reduce the emotional response that many of these behaviors can generate in caregivers.

Once you know why something is happening, it's much easier to emotionally accept it. You can start analyzing and problem solving instead of reacting.

See the transcript for links to citations and resources.

* Note: you may find that behavior plans can have somewhat different names such as Positive Behavior Support Plan (PBSP), a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) or a Behavior Support Plan (BSP)

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