At 8 years old, Skylar has been suspended from her school for throwing objects at and making verbal threats repeatedly towards peers and teachers in the classroom setting. The school has indicated that to continue her enrolment, they require additional support to develop a plan that will support a reduction in these behaviours of concern.

Initially, a meeting is arranged to discuss the behaviours of concern with Skylar’s classroom teacher and the school’s principal. Some limited information to identify the types of situations where the behaviour occurred and what current consequences were being provided for the behaviour are gathered. Based on this preliminary information a set of strategies is developed to address the behaviour concerns. With school approval, behaviour technicians are allowed into the classroom setting with Skylar, providing direct support to identify opportunities to diffuse or redirect challenging behaviour early to ensure it does not escalate as well as to teach and practice the skills to replace Skylar’s need to engage in the behaviours. Data is collected and reviewed weekly by the behavioural consultant to ensure that the support plan is effective, delivered accurately and adapted when necessary. Eventually the classroom teacher and aides are trained to implement the same procedures with similar effectiveness so that this support is able to be faded.