What is the Message?
What is the Behavior Communicating?
The "message" of the behavior drives the plan you make to address that behavior.
To decide HOW to respond to challenging behavior, you must first figure out what he is trying to "say" with the behavior. Some people call this the "function" of the behavior. Discovering the message is key because the strategies you will eventually put in your behavior support plan will be chosen based on that message of the behavior.
Sometimes, determining the message is easy. The message is clear and easily recognized. We have included some examples in this section of the website.
Other times, recognizing the message is not as clear so you'll need a way to help you clarify what the behavior is communicating. We have included some ideas on how you can do this.
When students use behavior to communicate, it is likely they have not yet developed the skills they need to communicate the message in a more appropriate way. We call this "lagging skills." This was initially described by Dr. Ross Greene.
Keep in mind that serious behavior challenges may warrant a carefully devised intensive behavior plan based on a Functional Behavior Assessment.
Examples of Messages
There are various messages that you may recognize in the behavior you are addressing. Keep in mind that it is important to focus on the primary behavior as you determine the message.
Discovering the Message
If you cannot recognize the message, there are some specific steps you can take to get to that message.
Lagging Skills
The student is using interfering behaviors to send a message. He's doing the best he can do. So it's important to identify lagging skills that get in the way of a more appropriate way.
You are ready to start building your plan when you have created a Message Statement.
The student engages in (this behavior) ____________________________________ when __________________.
The message is "_________________________."
He uses his behavior to communicate this message because of these lagging skills: ________________________________________________________________.
Once you have your Message Statement, you are ready to move to "Making the Plan."
Example
Josh lays his head down on his desk when he is given work to complete.
He is communicating “I think this work is too hard and won’t be interesting.”
He says this message by laying his head down because he has difficulty persisting on tedious tasks and his reading skills are delayed.
