No student is difficult all the time. CPS shows that challenging behaviour happens when the demands of a situation outstrip the student’s ability to respond to it in a socially acceptable manner.

With this in mind, pick a student and reflect not on what their behaviours are but when they happen

· In what situations do the student’s challenging behaviours occur?

· Who is the student with when a challenging behaviour occurs?

· What expectations are placed on the student when a challenging behaviour occurs?

Can you find a common link between the behaviour and the demands of the situation or environment?

Almost no student is challenging at all times – they are challenging in reaction to a stimulus.

Our first job is to determine the explicit condition or trigger that elicits these challenging behaviour responses.

According to the research, what skills are behaviourally challenging kids lacking? Those related to executive functions and problem-solving, language processing and communication, emotional regulation and frustration tolerance, and cognitive flexibility and adaptability. Executive function skills, for example, impact hindsight and forethought­—the brain’s ability to reflect on past experiences to help solve current problems and to project potential solutions into the future to determine the best way to proceed.

When we recognise that kids are lagging in these essential skills, it is easy to understand why they are likely to have unresolved problems and thus respond with challenging behaviour.​CPS identifies and acknowledges these skill deficits and, through the process of CPS, teaches these needed skills to students.

The way we identify these issues is with an assessment of lagging skills and unsolved problems (ALSUP). However, any behaviour screening tool can serve as a basis for the application of CPS as long as it explicitly records the behaviour that is concerning in the associated context it is displayed in.

So, what kind of skills does the CPS model target? Refer to the list below to see the range and examples of skills you may find applicable to your students.

Focus on one student for the time being. Consult with other stakeholders around the student.

Do they see similar or different behaviours?

Does the student have different responses to the same stimulus when interacting with different people?

Is there a consistency between home and school behaviours? Incorporate the family into your ALSUP.

Spend some time really looking at what all the behaviours and contexts are for this student, as it will help you prioritise in the future.

I encourage you to write your reflections in a journal or Word document using these guiding questions:

Did you know enough about the student and the situation to complete the ALSUP effectively?

Whose voice may be missing from the ALSUP?

Was it difficult to remove your theories about what explains the challenging behaviour?

How did the ALSUP change when you presented it to other stakeholders? Did you add or take away from the list? Why do you think this happened?