Steve, a second-grade student with an emotional disturbance and a severe intellectual disability, shows frustration by throwing objects and making noises. The most appropriate first step for teachers is to:

Steve, a second-grade student with an emotional disturbance and a severe intellectual disability, shows frustration by throwing objects and making noises. The most appropriate first step for teachers is to:

• A. Define the most challenging behavior and take careful notes before, during, and after with an eye to proposing an intervention
• B. Create a plan immediately to stop the behavior
• C. Ignore the behavior to avoid reinforcing it
• D. Provide external reinforcement after incidents

Answer: (A)

The first step is to understand why the behavior is happening by collecting clear, observable information about it. This means defining exactly what Steve is doing and watching what happens before, during, and after the incidents to see patterns. When you record these details over time, you can infer the function of the behavior—whether throwing objects or making noises is a way to get attention, escape a task, or access something he wants. This data-driven picture is essential because it guides the next steps with a plan that teaches a safer, more effective way to get his needs met. In practice, you’d document the behavior each time it occurs, noting the setting, what task or demand preceded it, who was present, and what happened after (Did the adult respond with attention? Was the task removed? Was a demand lowered?). From that pattern, you can design supports such as adjusting tasks to be more doable, adding predictable routines, or teaching a communication or coping strategy as an alternative. Jumping straight to a plan without data, ignoring the behavior, or reinforcing it after incidents can all backfire, either missing the underlying need or unintentionally strengthening the very behavior you’re trying to reduce. So, defining the behavior and collecting data first is the most effective starting point.

The first step is to understand why the behavior is happening by collecting clear, observable information about it. This means defining exactly what Steve is doing and watching what happens before, during, and after the incidents to see patterns. When you record these details over time, you can infer the function of the behavior—whether throwing objects or making noises is a way to get attention, escape a task, or access something he wants. This data-driven picture is essential because it guides the next steps with a plan that teaches a safer, more effective way to get his needs met.

In practice, you’d document the behavior each time it occurs, noting the setting, what task or demand preceded it, who was present, and what happened after (Did the adult respond with attention? Was the task removed? Was a demand lowered?). From that pattern, you can design supports such as adjusting tasks to be more doable, adding predictable routines, or teaching a communication or coping strategy as an alternative. Jumping straight to a plan without data, ignoring the behavior, or reinforcing it after incidents can all backfire, either missing the underlying need or unintentionally strengthening the very behavior you’re trying to reduce. So, defining the behavior and collecting data first is the most effective starting point.