This may sound obvious but is one of the main reasons a behavioral focus can be advantageous. When working with a student to be able to better affect change it is important to look at why they are behaving in the manner they are, and often asking them can be insufficient. When looking at behavior we look at three things, Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence (ABC), or the three-term contingency. By looking at behavior in this manner, we can see what happens immediately before a behavior, the behavior itself, and the consequence, meaning whatever happens after a behavior that gets it to stop. Through looking at actions in this manner we can determine why someone may be acting in the manner they are, and what is the driving force, what is the function (functions are described on the next page). We cannot always understand our own actions or the actions of others, and often our actions are driven by how we view the world.

By looking at a behavior we can determine function without looking at other factors which can give us a path toward more direct intervention. For students and adults it is important to know that although we cannot change the behaviors of others, we can change our behavior in a manner that affects others and leads to change. We look at behavior to find positive lead in’s to working with others in an adaptive and functional way.