Oftentimes a team may try one thing after another, or try a bunch of tools all at once, hoping that something's gonna stick. But then nothing seems to work. The behavior doesn't change or maybe things even get worse. This can be referred to as the kitchen sink approach. We're just going to try and throw everything at the behavior and hope that something sticks. Unfortunately this is usually pretty ineffective. It's important that interventions and behavior plans are tailored to the specific needs of the student, the context, and the function of the behavior. This doesn't mean that the tool you tried isn't effective or that the student is just bad. It just means that you haven't found the right match. The tool is effective in the right context, and the student will respond or the behavior will change when we find the tool that matches the needs of the student and the function of the behavior.
So this is why thinking functionally is so critical, prior to responding to a student's behavior, selecting interventions, or developing a behavior intervention plan. One of our favorite quotes, comes from Edward J Flanagan, who is the founder of Boys Town in Nebraska. And that is, "There are no bad boys. There's only bad environment, bad training, bad example, bad thinking." So as an educator, you have the power to change behavior. You just have to choose the right tool.
