Individual PBS Module 1:

Collaborative Teaming and Person-Centered

Planning

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Introduction

These web-based training modules are intended to assist families and professionals in accessing important information about supporting individuals with problem behavior. The modulestake about 1-1.5 hours to complete and can be accessed fromany computer with internet capability.

Note on module: Working Draft - Not to be downloaded, copied,or disseminated in any manner without the express permission of Florida's PBS Project and DOE/BEES.

If you have any difficulty accessing the website please contactflpbs@fmhi.usf.edu for more assistance. We hope that you will find the information in these modules useful and accessible.

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Introduction

Objectives: By completing this initial training module in Collaborative Teaming and Person-Centered Planning, team members will be able to identify the following:

• Steps of Florida's PBS process• Common Characteristics of PBS• Different roles on the support team• Steps of the person-centered planning (PCP) process• Themes, goals, and action steps of a PCP Process• Ways to plan effective PCP meetings

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Positive Behavior Support (PBS) Training Modules

This is the first of four PBS training modules.

1. Collaborative Teaming and Person-Centered Planning

The other modules should be taken in the following order:

2. Functional Behavior Assessment3. Instructional Issues and Strategies4. Developing, Implementing, and Evaluating PBS Plans

These modules are designed to support a team as they go through a Positive Behavior Support process with a child or adult with problem behaviors. Let's begin with the first module by reviewing the goal of Florida's PBS Project and the definition of Positive Behavior Support.

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The PBS Process

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Florida’s PBS Project

• The goal of Florida’s PBS Project is to provide families and agencies with training, support, and technical assistance  • These activities help support children or adults with problem behavior as they learn more appropriate behaviors and attain important quality of life goals through a person-centered, collaborative teaming approach

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Training FormatFlorida's PBS Project is available to provide training and

technical assistance activities to the teams and participants at each training site.

Training and technical assistance activities will include the following:• A series of four 1 hour overviews of critical issues and

activities involved in the PBS approach accessible by the web or in person

• Preparation of the team to better understand and participate in the critical PBS technical assistance activities

• A series of team meetings to plan and implement the critical activities in a PBS approach

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What is Positive Behavior Support?

• A values-based, empirically valid approach for resolving problem behaviors and helping people lead enhanced lifestyles

•  A collaborative team approach that results in an individualized support plan

•  A new applied science of behavior change

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Characteristics

Positive Behavior Support may differ significantly from other approaches to addressing problem behavior. These differences are considerable and may includethe following:  • PBS is assessment-based. Interventions are directly linked to environmental

influences and a hypothesis concerning the function of the problem behavior  • PBS produces comprehensive plans, usually involving multiple interventions • PBS is proactive, teaching alternative skills and adapting the environment • PBS emphasizes lifestyle enhancement and inclusive settings as both the

context for and long-range goals of intervention • PBS reflects person-centered values that honor the dignity and preferences of

the individual • PBS is designed for use in everyday settings using typically available resources• PBS takes a broad view of intervention success that includes

– increases in the use of alternative skills, – Decreases in the incidence of challenging behavior, and– Improvements in quality of life

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Founding ValuesThe characteristics of positive behavior support that

distinguish it from more traditional methods of addressing problem behavior are a direct result of the following underlying values and philosophies:

• People are individuals and the supports they receive should be individualized 

• People are members of families so families should be supported as consistent and important aspects of the lives of adults and children 

• Social relationships reflect the quality of a person’s life. Friends, family members, peer groups, coworkers, fellow students and other relationships form the background for personal growth and development  

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Founding Values

• Self-determination is important to people. Expressing choices and preferences in the big and small life choices is important 

• People are members of natural communities of support that play a significant role throughout the person’s lifespan 

• People have the right to be treated with dignity and understanding. The behavior supports provided to individuals should be positive, effective, and free of any components that do not treat the person with dignity or are not based on a clear understanding of the person’s behavior

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Developing a PBS Team

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Developing a Positive Behavior Support Team

Now that you have a better idea of PositiveBehavior Support and Florida's PBS Project, you’re ready to begin developing a support team.

Puzzle ActivityTake only a minute and look at the puzzle below. Count the number of squares you are able to find in one minute. After one minute go on to the next frame.

Puzzle Activity

How many squares were you able to find (select the ONE bestanswer)?Multiple Choice:a. between 30-40 d. between 60-70b. between 40-50 e. more than 70c. between 50-60

Puzzle Activity

Actually, there are more than 70 different squares! Don’t worry ifyou didn’t find that many. Most people can’t find that many, especially when they work alone. However, when they work with others in a team they are often able to find many more squares than they sawon their own.

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Advantages of Teams

Working as part of a team has several advantages when supporting an individual with problem behavior. 

Often the behaviors are frustrating and difficult to understand. A team approach enhances information that may reduce frustration and understanding of the person’s behavior.

 

Working alone, a parent or professional may not see the "big

picture" or can miss critical information of which they may be unaware. A team approach encourages an integration of information from various perspectives. 

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Behavior Support TeamsYour behavior support team will have the job of:• Gathering information, • Developing a hypothesis, • Creating a support plan, and • Implementing interventions. Therefore it is important that you have representatives on the team that meet thefollowing characteristics:• Members from all environments in which the focus individual interacts, • People who know the focus individual well and have a vested interest, • People who know supports and resources, (and methods of accessing them) as well

as potential barriers, and • Members to allocate personnel and fiscal resources.

If your team is missing a critical member (parent, teacher, etc.), it is unlikely thatyou will be successful in achieving significant quality of life outcomes for theindividual.

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Principles of Collaboration

Before your team begins to work together they should be awarethat there are some principles of collaboration that will impacttheir success as a team. These include the following: • Mutual trust and respect • Shared goals and objectives • Open communication • Effective conflict resolution • Tran disciplinary process • Equity of task distribution • Consensus decision-making • Ongoing problem-solving

*See supplemental handout to read more about these principles.

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Person Centered-Planning

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Making Person-Centered Plans

Once you have your support team established, it’s time to act on the values-base of Positive Behavior Support with some specific actions. The next section ofthe course will review some specific tools your team can use.

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The Philosophy

Person-Centered Planning is built on aphilosophy that does the following: • Takes a capacity-based perspective of the

individual • Uses natural resources to fulfill a vision • Builds a circle of support for the individual

that includes friends, family, and service providers

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What is Person-Centered Planning?

Person-Centered Planning is a way for diverse people, who share a common need to align their :

• Vision, purposes, and goals; • Understanding of the focus person’s past, present and future

life; and,  • Actions for change, mutual support, personal and team

development, and learning.

Person-Centered Planning is, first and foremost, a planningprocess. But PCP can also be seen as an assessment tool, in thatit evaluates where the person has been, what their environment is like now, and where they would like to go in the future.

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What is Person-Centered Planning?

PCP can also be an intervention. Frequently the process of PCP identifies for participants areas where their behavior needs to change to better meet the needs of the individual. As aresult of the process, the participants informally change their behavior (intervention) and the individual's behavior subsequently changes, too.

PCP also has the ability to motivate the team because they seethings differently, come to a common vision, and feel supported in making necessary changes. As a result, PCP has the potential to create and build a strong and effective team dedicated to supporting the individual with problem behavior, as well as each other.

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What Person-Centered Planning is NOT:

• An easy, one-shot process • The answer to all problems• A replacement for an IEP • A quick fix solution to complex human and/or organizational

problems • Something to be done and forgotten • A guarantee

PCP starts a process that requires commitment and effort over a substantial period of time. Make certain that your team is

willing to commit time to a process that may take several months and 6-10 meetings to complete.

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Activity 2

One of the central activities of the PCP process is to identify the individual and family’s goals for their future. This may seem like a simple activity. It may

be harder than you had anticipated!

Take a few minutes to think about your goals for the future. Don’t move on to the next screen until you have REALLY thought about what you would like to beand do in the next few years.

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Activity 2

So, how hard was it to think about your own future?

Sometimes it is hard for people to think past today. Sometimes they have had little time to experience and plan for the future. And, sometimes discussions about the future are emotionally charged.  For instance?

How do parents of a kindergarten-aged child with autism communicate that their goal is to have their daughter in a general education setting this year?

How does an 18 year-old young adult tell his family for the first time that he would like to live in his own apartment?

 Person-Centered Planning may address challenging and important issues, but may also require a supportive and safe environment for all participants to

share their hopes and fears for the future.

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Why is Person-Centered Planning so important to your

team?Sometimes a support team begins to focus on the person’s behavior and loses sight of the person/family and their goals for the future. The PCP process retains the focus on the person and sets the stage for “the team” to be the driving force in pursuing the person’s dream for the future.

PCP also looks at the person’s entire environment and how it impacts every aspect of their life. When the team takes time to understand the person and their life better, they are likely to develop support plans that fit the person’s life and are more effective. When you understand the context of a person’s life, it is much easier to develop an array of effective supports for them.  Finally, PCP has the capacity to change the perceptions and motivations of participants. They can get excited about the future and collaborating with the team.

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Five Essential Goals of Person-Centered Planning

The following five essential goals are central to the development of a future vision for the adult or child:• Being present and participating in community life • Gaining and maintaining satisfying relationships • Expressing preferences and making choices in

everyday life • Having opportunities to fulfill respected roles and

live in dignity • Continuing to develop personal competencies  

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Team Members Talk About the Process

Team members at Person-Centered Planning meetings have terrific things to say about the process.

The following are comments from a parent, teachers, and aides regarding their participation in a Person-Centered Planning process for a young man with autism.

Parent on Collaboration- “We were already a team before we began the PBS process. We were a good team and we worked well together because we went through the Person-Centered Planning process before PBS.

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Team Members Talk About the Process

On Person-Centered Planning:

“Without Person-Centered Planning, the team is not able to think about the person holistically. Instead they become focused on the behaviors and this limits their ability to make the focus person’s needs a priority.”

  

“Without Person-Centered Planning, I never would have agreed to PBS because I wouldn’t have thought it would work.”

  

“It (Person-Centered Planning) helped us become a team. PBS challenges everyone involved to think about themselves critically related to how they interact with Mark. You need to trust everybody on your team to open yourself up at that level.”

  

“Person-Centered Planning is about believing in someone. You come out of it with a better understanding for what the person wants, how you can help them get it, and then believing that they can achieve it.”

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Different Approaches

here are at least six or more techniques for conducting a Person-centered Planning process. The most common approaches that you are likely to encounter include:

Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hopes (PATH)

Takes about 3 hours, Team should have some idea of goals, Team is cohesive and knows the focus person

  Making Action Plans (MAP)

Takes about 1-2 hours,  Team should have well-formed goals, a cohesive team knows the focus person

 

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Different Approaches

 Personal Profiling and Futures Planning Takes more time. Team does not know focus person well.

Comprehensive.  For the Positive Behavior Support Demonstration Project, we

will be facilitating a unique Person-Centered Planning process that shares some features with each of the above approaches. A sample of this process will be introduced in the next few frames.

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A Sample Person-Centered Plan

Britney

Sample Organizational Chart

The above chart describes the types of information (dreams, goals, etc.) that we will gather and the sequence of activities to gather that information (1-13 steps). Although a skilled facilitator will assist a team to go through this process in 1-2 hours, you will have an opportunity to review Britney’s plan as you prepare for your own PCP process with your team.

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Activity 4

Take a few minutes and review the frames from Britney’s PCP.Think about the main themes or issues that were identified in

the process. See if you can list 3-5 important themes for Britney’s team to address.

You may want to print a copy of the frames to assist you in

answering some questions about the sample frames. 

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Britney’s

Person-Centered Plan

•With this frame we want to help the person identify their dream for the future, including all the ideas, values, people and things that are important to them.

•List anything that is important for the person to realize the kind of life they desire.

D R E A MTHE

Have friends Communicate her wants and needs

Be independent Sleep over her friend’s house

Stay involved with her dance group

Attend a friend’s birthday party

Have fun!!! Go to college

Stay included Stay on grade level

Join girl scouts Live a healthy life

Stay involved with the church

Hopes

Fears

•Identify the hopes and fears you have for this individual.

•Under “Hopes” list what is possible if we do the best we can.

•Under “Fears” list what is possible if things do not improve or get worse.

•Joins girl scouts

•Attend a community recreational (summer) program

•Communicate with others

•Understood by others

•Always successful!!

•Not understood by other people

•Doesn’t have the appropriate social skills

•Not accepted by children her own age

•Never has a friend

•Behaviors get worse and she gets kicked out of dance class and/or church

•Behaviors get worse and her placement gets changed

•Classroom work will continue to frustrate her and she will not be successful

PEOPLE

Friends

Family

Community

•List the people who are present in the person’s life.

•Place their name in the appropriate section of the circle.

•Place the name of individuals who are closest to the person in or near the inner circle.

Agency

•Grandparents

•Aunt and uncle

•Mother

•Father

•Gracie

•Mary

•Outside Speech Therapy

•Outside Occupational therapy

•Teacher

•Classroom assistant

•Up with Downs Group

•Ballet teacher

•Church group

•Neighbors

•Mom and dads friends – Nicole and

Bill

•Mrs. Jones – Church

•Jessica – little girl from Ballet class

P L A C E S•Indicate activities in which the individual participates in the school.

•Indicate activities in which the individual participates in the home.

•Indicate places in the community that the individual participates on a consistent basis.

•List only 4-5 primary activities in each setting.

School

Home

Community

•Participates in regular

classroom activities

•Enjoys being on the playground with other kids

•Speech and OT

•Music

•Library

•PE•Sunday school

•Ballet class

•Church

•McDonalds

•Plays outside on the swing set with her

sisters

•Swims with her sisters

•Watches Barney movies

•Eats dinner as a family

Medicines

HEALTH

•Describe the individuals health by listing any positive or negative conditions.

•Indicate any medications the individual is currently taking.

•Hearing loss due to

middle ear infection

•Fine motor difficulties

•None at this time

•Good appetite

•Good vision

•Appropriate activity level

for age

HISTORY Born:

Today

•Indicate some of the critical events that occurred in the person’s life from birth until today.

•Put a “*” next to any positive events.

•Put a “-” next to any negative events.

Younger sister wasborn. They have a good relationship.

BritneyBorn 6/23/93

and diagnosed with Downs Syndrome

Middle ear infection –

hearing loss detected

Began Speech Therapy

Started Preschool. It was a great experience

Began Kindergarten – school became

concerned about behaviors In 1st grade

working with PBS project

Personal

Academic

•What choices can the individual make within his/her personal and academic life?

• Identify what choices are presented to the individual within both areas.

Choices

•Snack

•Breakfast

•Clothes

•Toys to play with

•Movies

•Books to read

•Centers

•Food during lunch

Respect! Gains

Loses

•List any behaviors or characteristics of the person that cause him/her to gain or lose respect or his/her peers or adults.

•Under “Gains” list those things you really like about the person.

•Under “Loses” list those behaviors that you do not like to see.

•Smart

•Sense of humor

•Friendly

•Reads words

•Good memory

•Hits others

•Throws her alpha smart

•Throws herself on the floor

•Runs around the classroom

•Doesn’t listen at times

•What strategies work well for the individual?

•What strategies have not been as successful or cause the challenging behavior to increase?

What Works!!!

What Doesn’t Work!!!

Positive praise Star system

Going to the library Chocolate

Computer Listening to music

Going outside Barney Toys

Helper at home or in the classroom

Tickles Rub her backYelling

Paper and pencil task

Anything that has to do with MATH

Time-out Loud places

Stern voices

Scolding her and pointing your finger at her while

you’re screaming

•What are some barriers and opportunities for this individual and his/her team?

Opportunities

Barriers•Communication barrier

between the team

•IEP goals are unrealistic

•Teacher has a difficult time communicating to family that Britney is frustrated with class

work

•Family wants Britney to do the same things (work, activities) as

the other children with NO modifications

•Supportive school-based team

•Administrator and school believe in

INCLUSION

•Currently in an inclusive setting

•Family is very supportive

•Family follows through with homework, extra

activities, practices with Britney, etc..

•Team has committed to the PBS process

•Team has Britney’s best interest at heart

•Identify any patterns or themes you found throughout this process.

•List at least one main point from each of the other frames that you want to share with the team.

Themes

Communication

•Difficult to understand at times

•Hard time communicating to others

•Expand communication

Peers

•No friends

•Doesn’t seek attention from her

peers

Curriculum

•Too hard for Britney

•Frustrated

•Not successful

•Needs one-on-one assistance

•List the goals that you would like to see achieved one year from today.

•Think about what might be possible if everyone tries their hardest.

•Consider any outcome as long as it is POSSIBLE and POSITIVE.

Goals

1. Express frustration appropriately

2. Revise IEP goals and discuss transitions for next school year

3. Increase independence (academic seat work, lunch time, large group time)

4. Have a friend at school

5. Hearing (ear) problems would be resolved – live a healthy life

6. Move on to second grade with peers in an inclusive setting

Firs

tStep

s•What actions can be taken immediately?

•These steps can be small

1. Do a Functional Assessment to identify why and when she is getting frustrated

2. Plan a meeting with appropriate team members to address IEP goals

3. Implement peer buddy system in class in order to decrease the reliance on the assistant

4. Identify someone in her class that she likes to be with

5. Get ears rechecked by the ENT

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ThemesListed Themes The completed THEMES frame identifies three major themes

the team identified for Britney and several sub themes, including:

 Communication:Difficult to understand at timesHard time communicating with othersNeed to expand communication Peers:No friendsDoesn’t seek attention from peers 

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Themes

Curriculum:Too hard for BritneyFrustratedNot successfulNeeds one-on-one assistance These themes and issues served as the foundation forthe short and long-term goals the group identified for Britney.

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Activity 5

Take a few minutes and think about some possible goals for Britney. These might be broader goals that might be achieved in ONE year. Think about what might be possible if everyone on the team does their very best. Consider any outcome as long as it is POSSIBLE and POSITIVE.  If you did not print a copy of the frames return to slides 38-50. Move on to the next frame after you have thought of at least 2-3 goals for Britney.

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Activity 5Did any of the goals you selected include:

1.   Express frustration appropriately

2.   Move on to second grade with peers in an inclusive setting

3.   Increase independence (academic seat work, lunch time, large group time)

4.   Have a friend at school

5.   Hearing (ear) problems would be resolved ? live a healthy life?

If you developed any of the above goals:

Great! You are beginning to understand how the process works to help identify important goals that theteam will work on in the future.

If you did not have any of the above goals: These are goals identified by Britney’s team. You might still have identified other important goals. To determine whether the goal you identified is important, check whether it is mentioned several times

during the process or addresses one of the main themes

Listed Goals

Britney's Team listed the following goals to address in the next six months:

1. Express frustration appropriately. 2. Revise IEP goals and discuss transitions for next school year. 3. Increase independence (academic seat work, lunch time, large group

time). 4. Have a friend at school. 5. Hearing (ear) problems would be resolved ? live a healthy life. 6. Move on to second grade with peers in an inclusive setting.

These are not the only goals that could be identified from the PCP process.  However, these are the goals that Britney's team could come to a consensus on addressing in the next several months.

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Activity 6

Now think about 2-3 action steps that can be taken in the next 48 hours to begin work on the goals you identified. These steps may be small and can be initiated or completed by a team member. 

If you did not print a copy of the frames return to slides

38-50. Move on to the next frame after you have thought of at least 2-3 goals for Britney.

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Activity 6Did any of the first steps you selected include:

1. Starting a functional assessment to identify why and when Britney is getting frustrated2. Planning a meeting to revise IEP goals and discuss transitions for next school year3. Implementing a peer buddy system in class in order to decrease the reliance on the4. assistant5. Identifying someone in her class that she likes to be with6. Scheduling to get ears rechecked by the ENT?  

If you developed any of the above:

Great! You understand how the process works to help identify first steps that the team can start to work on in the next few days.

 If you did not have any of the above:

These first steps were identified by Britney’s team. You might still have identified other first steps. To determine whether the first step you identified is important, check to make certain that it matches one of the Goals the team identified.

First Steps

Based on the overall goals, Britney's team decided to initiate the following activities in the next 48 hours.

1. Do a Functional Assessment to identify why and when she is getting frustrated. 2. Plan a meeting with appropriate team members to address IEP goals. 3. Implement peer buddy system in class in order to decrease the reliance on the

assistant. 4. Identify someone in her class that she likes to be with. 5. Get ears rechecked by the ENT. There are certainly other first steps that could meet the identified goals, but these made sense to the team.  Although each goal may not have a first step that has to be completed in the next 48 hours, there are at least 3-5 activities that the team can get started on immediately.  

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Application Activity

  1. Each team member should review and complete the blank Person-Centered Planning form.  The blank forms are the last slides of this Power Point.

2. Team members should identify frames that are essential for discussion at the Person-Centered Planning meeting.

3. Identify at least two possible dates for your PCP meeting.

4. Communicate the agreed PCP meeting date to all team members.

Person-Centered Plan: Sample Organizational Chart

First Steps

Goals

Dream

People Health Choices Strategies Barriers

and

Supports

Places History Respect Hopes

and

Fears

Themes

•With this frame we want to help the person identify their dream for the future, including all the ideas, values, people and things that are important to them.

•List anything that is important for the person to realize the kind of life they desire.

D R E A MTHE

PEOPLE

Friends

Family

Community

•List the people who are present in the person’s life.

•Place their name in the appropriate section of the circle.

•Place the name of individuals who are closest to the person in or near the inner circle.

Agency

P L A C E S•Indicate activities in which the individual participates in the school.

•Indicate activities in which the individual participates in the home.

•Indicate places in the community that the individual participates on a consistent basis.

•List only 4-5 primary activities in each setting.

School

Home

Community

Medicines

HEALTH

•Describe the individuals health by listing any positive or negative conditions.

•Indicate any medications the individual is currently taking.

HISTORY Born:

Today

•Indicate some of the critical events that occurred in the person’s life from birth until today.

•Put a “*” next to any positive events.

•Put a “-” next to any negative events.

Personal

Academic

•What choices can the individual make within his personal and academic life?

• Identify what choices are presented to the individual within both areas.

Choices

Respect!Gains

Loses

•List any behaviors or characteristics of the person that cause him/her to gain or lose respect or his/her peers or adults.

•Under “Gains” list those things you really like about the person.

•Under “Loses” list those behaviors that you do not like to see.

•What strategies work well for the individual?

•What strategies have not been as successful or cause the challenging behavior to increase?

What Works!!!

What Doesn’t Work!!!

Hopes

Fears

•Identify the hopes and fears you have for this individual.

•Under “Hopes” list what is possible if we do the best we can.

•Under “Fears” list what is possible if things do not improve or get worse.

•What are some barriers and opportunities for this individual and his/her team?

Opportunities

Barriers

•Identify any patterns or themes you found throughout this process.

•List at least one main point from each of the other frames that you want to share with the team.

Themes

•List the goals that you would like to see achieved one year from today.

•Think about what might be possible if everyone tries their hardest.

•Consider any outcome as long as it is POSSIBLE and POSITIVE.

Goals

Firs

tStep

s•What actions can be taken immediately?

•These steps can be small

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End of Module 1. Please move onto

Module 2: Functional Behavior

Assessment