Free sample · Session 5 family page and daily sheet, from the Case 7A sample packet. Back to the curriculum
Phase 2 · why behavior happens
Before you land on any explanation for a behavior, check the boring ones.
A behavior explanation is only worth having once a physical reason has been ruled out. Any time behavior gets suddenly worse, or a behavior that was fading comes roaring back, check first: pain, illness, constipation, poor sleep, real hunger, or a change in medication.
Teeth, ears and stomachs are the usual suspects, and none of them announce themselves. Uncorrected vision belongs on the list too, because a child who cannot see the task will not start the task.
A sudden change in who he is, not a bad week but a genuine change in character, is a call to his pediatrician rather than an adjustment made at home.
Before you write anything in the before column of the tracker, ask the body question. If any of the six applies, note it on the sheet rather than treating the day as behavior.
On any day that goes badly, write down what he ate, how he slept, and whether anything hurt, before you write down anything else.
Write the behavior we are watching in whatever words you would use. Next time we turn it into something two people would count the same way, which sounds fussy and is the difference between a month of useful sheets and a month of guesswork.
Tracker
Under a minute. If it takes longer than that you will stop doing it, and a sheet you stop doing is worth nothing.
Check the boxes. Only write something if a box does not cover it. Fill it in the same day, because memory rewrites the before column overnight, every time. A day with nothing on it is data. Do not fill it in in front of him.