Positive Behavior Support Planning and Intervention Design
Positive Behavior Support Planning and Intervention Design tests whether you can build a coherent, function-based plan that is proactive, instructional, and data-driven. The exam emphasizes the competing behavior model and the components of a behavior intervention plan.
Core rules
- Positive behavior support is person-centered and multi-tiered; intervention intensity should match need and context.
- The competing behavior model identifies the desired behavior, the problem behavior, and a functionally equivalent replacement behavior, plus the maintaining consequences for each.
- A behavior intervention plan should include operational definitions, prevention strategies, teaching strategies, reinforcement for replacement behavior, response strategies for problem behavior, crisis procedures, data collection, and a fidelity plan.
- The replacement behavior must be more efficient than the problem behavior: it should produce the same reinforcer faster, with less effort, and more reliably.
- Plan for generalization and maintenance from the start.
Worked example
A student tears worksheets and is sent to the hallway. The function is escape from difficult work. The plan teaches "help" and "break" requests, modifies tasks into smaller chunks, reinforces requests with brief breaks and help, and ensures tearing no longer produces hallway escape. The team collects frequency data and checks fidelity.
Traps
Writing a consequence-only plan; selecting a replacement behavior that is harder than the problem behavior; using vague definitions; ignoring teacher context; and omitting crisis, generalization, or data plans.