Ep. 55: How to Reinforce Replacement Behaviors and Respond to Problem Behavior – Part 11 of the FBA Mini-Series

Continuing on in our FBA-BIP mini-series, we're at Step 11. This week, we’re diving into the consequence side of behavior plans—what to do after students engage in either the challenging behavior or the replacement behavior. It’s not just about preventing problem behavior… it’s about teaching, reinforcing, and responding with consistency and care.

🔑 Key Takeaways
🧠 Reinforce replacement behaviors immediately and consistently—across staff, settings, and time
🎯 Match the function with the reinforcement (e.g., escape behavior = give a break)
💬 Avoid reinforcing the problem behavior, even accidentally (yep, we’ve all done it!)
🧍‍♀️ Use neutral responses when addressing challenging behavior—no power struggles, just calm presence
🛠️ Make the plan simple, visible, and actionable for all team members
📉 Use data to drive decisions, not just feelings or assumptions

📚 Resources and Ideas
📌 Check out Episode 29 on Functions of Behavior!
📌 Consequence Strategies FREE visuals
📌 These Functions of Behaviors social stories might be helpful for your young learners! 

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Transcript

Ep. 55: How to Reinforce Replacement Behaviors and Respond to Problem Behavior – Part 11 of the FBA Mini-Series

Audra: [00:00:00] The first thing I think about is the balance between acknowledging the needs of the student and maintaining those clear expectations. So something like, I see you're frustrated, I feel frustrated too. This is really hard, but we still need to finish the work, so let's try it a different way. 

Intro: Welcome to the Misfit Behaviorist Podcast. Join your hosts, Audra Jensen and Kaitlyn Beltran here to bring you evidence-based strategies with a student-centered focus. Let's get started. 

Audra: Welcome back to the Misfit Behaviorist. We're happy to have you here. We are continuing on our discussion about the FBA and behavior plan process, once you've identified that problem behavior, and chosen a replacement behavior, which is what we talked about last time, wanted to know about what happens next. So today we're gonna dive into the consequence strategies. What to do after either a student uses replacement behavior or engages in the target behavior.

Caitlin: I just wanna say I love that right [00:01:00] away we're talking about consequences and not making it synonymous with punishment, because I feel like a lot of times we think, oh, what's the consequence? And so everybody thinks, oh yeah, when they have behavior, what's the consequence? But just as important, if not more so when they do the right thing, what's the consequence? 

Audra: That's exactly right. The strategies that we put into our behavior plans really need to focus on two different things. So consequences for when they do the behavior that you're kind of teaching them to use and when the problem behavior shows up, what do we do there? And so yeah, I think you're exactly right is that's why I wanted to make sure we talk about both and I think everybody that would listen to us knows that when we talk about consequence as far as, you know, a, b, C consequence really is just kind of what happens afterwards. It's not consequence, it's not punishment. It can be punishment, but it can also be reinforcement. So it's just kind of whatever happens next.

So the first thing I wanna talk about is strategies for reinforcing the replacement behavior. So what happens after the [00:02:00] student does what we want them to do, or whatever target behavior that we've chosen, that we know is within the repertoire, we know it's gonna access the same function. All the stuff that we talked about last time, what are we going to do as a team when the student uses that or gets towards using that specific behavior. I thought of four different things when we're deciding on these strategies. 

First of all, the strategy we're talking about, it needs to be immediate and meaningful reinforcement. That's so important that we're not waiting too long to provide reinforcement, especially early on as we're talking about a new skill that they may be learning that's gonna replace a problem behavior. We wanna make sure that that reinforcement that we've chosen, that we know is strong for them, that it's immediate, as immediate as can be. That we don't talk about like hey, remember that time last week when you dot dot dot, because that's obviously not gonna work very well.

Caitlin: I think we mentioned this on a recent episode, but that example of the student turns over the break card and then what you don't wanna see is like, oh yeah, we should have some [00:03:00] time, after math you can take a break or something. So if it's a learner who's just early on in that sequence of learning how to ask for that break has to be immediate otherwise they're just gonna give up. 

Audra: Exactly. Then the second thing I thought about was making sure that our strategy, the reinforcement is matching the function as much as we can make that so, so if the function is escape, for example, then we're not just giving praise, so we're actually providing the break that the student is looking for, the escape that they're looking for.

Then third thing I thought about is the importance of consistency in reinforcing that replacement behavior across all staff, all settings, all environments. The consistency is really going to be key, especially when they're learning something new. If we have some people reinforcing when they're engaging in a new behavior and somebody's not, then they're not going to be strengthened by that behavior. That's why our plans are really important, that we make sure everybody's on the same page and that we're reinforcing regularly, immediately, and [00:04:00] consistently and I guess that's kind of good parenting techniques too. We need to be consistent 'cause that's how they learn those rules that they need.

Caitlin: So important. 

Audra: So here's an example I have for you. So a student asks for a break instead of running out of the room. So how do we respond to increase the likelihood that they will ask again next time? What do you think? So the students asking for a break instead of running outta the room, what would you do in that case to increase the likelihood. 

Caitlin: So I'm saying yes, let's take your break. Great job asking for your break, and then immediately making sure they get access to that break. Whether the break for them means just the work is removed, or they go to the spot in the back of the room, or they go to, you know, a walk. Maybe that's their break. 

Audra: Yeah, exactly. So you're given an immediate reinforcement. You're matching the function because what they're looking for is an escape from whatever's going on, giving them that break. You're hopefully being consistent over time. 

I did forget, I wanna talk about also being as natural as possible and natural over contrived. Now obviously a lot of our early learners in particular [00:05:00] need those kind of contrived reinforcements early on to get something, but we wanna fade those out as much and as soon as possible. So maybe a student needs a skittle in order to perform a new skill, that's fine, but just always have in mind when are we gonna transfer that into something more typical? What you would see your typically developing students, and that's always kind of the thing I have in mind, is this particular skill, what would their typical peers get from doing the skill and then sort of move your way away from that contrived into as natural as soon as possible.

So here's an example. So you may have chosen a consequence strategy using a variable ratio reinforcement. So you want to fade from a predictable reinforcement schedule to something that's more intermittent and the reason you've chosen this is because you want to build kind of that strength, that long-term use of that. So maybe at first, every time a student raises their hand instead of shouting, they're getting immediate praise because what they're seeking is attention from whoever's [00:06:00] going on there. So every time they start that, in the very beginning, you're gonna be reinforcing that consistently. Then over time they're still getting praised but maybe it's not every single time. Just make it more natural. Maybe you're gonna start doing it more like you would do with everybody else. You're gonna fade that out. So that would be a good example of using a consequence strategy. That would be a variable reinforcement strategy.

In the handout that I'll add into the show notes and in the Facebook group, I will add a whole bunch of possible examples of different consequence strategies, both for responding to that challenge and behavior, but also then the next thing I wanna talk about, which is responding to the target behavior.

So this is kind of the second part of it. What happens when a problem behavior occurs? So I Came up with four different things that I like to keep in mind when a problem behavior occurs and what we might do. 

The first thing I think about is the balance between acknowledging the needs of the student and maintaining those clear expectations. So something like, [00:07:00] I see you're frustrated and I even like to use, I feel frustrated too. This is really hard. So acknowledging that, mirroring that back, but then maybe saying, but we still need to finish the work, so let's try it a different way. Making sure you balance that, acknowledging their needs and the function of their behavior and validating that and maintaining kind of those clear expectations because we need to go a certain way.

Caitlin: I love that and I think it's so important to understand that we can uphold those expectations in many different ways. So sometimes when we think about working through, it doesn't have to be that traditional, stand over, like you're gonna finish this before you get that break. Like we can empathetically guide them through working through, and I think that we've come a long way over the past, you know, however many years in the field of learning that we can really do two things at once. We can validate and acknowledge feelings, but we can also still encourage that expectation. 

Audra: Yeah, I absolutely agree. We've gotten much better about doing that, and I think it's really important that [00:08:00] we use those strategies. We kind of pull from the counseling field, those things like validating and mirroring and acknowledging, because then we get a healthier psyche of the learner, and then they're more apt to trust us, which is really important. Trust us and we can trust them, and then you can move forward with strategies that make meaningful behavior change. 

Then the second thing I think about when responding to challenging behaviors is trying to teach your team to avoid those accidental reinforcements that we know happen. So for example, it's a target behavior of calling out or some attention seeking behavior. We need to make sure that everybody on the team, once we implement this plan, know even though he's calling out, we have to not respond to that. And that can be really tricky for a lot of situations.

Caitlin: This is so easy to do, especially with that example of calling out, because sometimes our kids are calling out and it's disruptive , but sometimes they're calling out and they'll say, oh, and I also learn this. And I'll see the teacher go, not right now. Not right now. And then the third one. Like, oh really? That's so funny. And then I'm like, oh. [00:09:00] Like again in there, I've totally done it. Where in the heat of the moment, I'm just like, maybe they did share something that kind of was contextual, but they still didn't follow the expectation of raising their hand, or it wasn't really contextual. But I chose to engage for some reason, and we just really need to do that consistently so that we're not accidentally increasing the behavior. We want to decrease. 

Audra: Back to being consistent. That fits here too. That's actually a perfect example, and we are all guilty of doing that regularly , and it's partly being a parent too, is you just kind of, you kind of forget, you don't have a plan in mind. You just respond to things. And sometimes we find ourselves giving into behaviors because it's easier and we have to remember that this is a long game for a lot of this. 

And then there's the trick also understanding that you're not gonna be able to control peers behaviors as much. That can be really tricky. If you're implementing a beautifully designed behavior plan, but you have peers around who don't understand or can't implement, then you're kind of shooting yourself in the foot. So that's where you get creative. You know, is this strategy in [00:10:00] this setting really appropriate and is it gonna be effective?

And then, you know, you may have chosen a fantastic strategy that absolutely will work. You may decide, you know, maybe they're a gen ed full-time and there's no way that those peers are gonna not respond to that behavior or something. That's not a strategy that's gonna be useful in that setting, so find something else.

Caitlin: Right? We might have to tweak it.

Audra: Then the third thing is using neutral responses, and this is when somebody is engaging in a problem behavior, making sure that your own feelings are kept in check and that we're not responding with some big behavior that then could either escalate them more or they're getting feedback that they enjoy or something like that. Just making sure that we have those neutral responses when we're delivering strategies on the consequence side. I've always taught staff to use your happy Disney kind of responsive behavior to the behavior you're trying to increase and then that neutral kind of mom, strong behavior, low tone.

Caitlin: Right. And I think just like the way that we can, the example we just talked [00:11:00] about, where we can do both, we can acknowledge feelings and uphold the expectation. Same thing with this. If the learner has given us the problem behavior, in that moment we can still provide that consequence. Like we can say, yep, now you owe me five minutes of recess, or, no, we're gonna redo this worksheet, whatever the consequence may be, in a very firm neutral voice, and we don't have to be the loudest person in the room just because they are. And I talk about that a lot in my crisis trainings where, they may escalate and get louder and louder and all the times I'm really getting quieter and quieter because one, I don't want to model that for them, and I also don't want them to think that is so easy to get me riled up, you know, like even if it is internally I might be screaming. Whether they really enjoy that or not, I'm not sure in that moment, but I wanna take any kind of guesswork out of that. I'm always gonna be neutral when I'm delivering a consequence because I'm never gonna let that be a button that they could push in the future.

Audra: Those are really good points and I think being aware of our own feelings about [00:12:00] that, we're gonna talk about them more in some upcoming ones, where we're talking about crisis cycles and, and when you really do get to that crisis point. But yeah, I think that's really important that, yeah, we need to be aware of our own feelings and what we need to do to maintain that consistent, neutral tone 'cause maybe you need to switch out with somebody. We've all felt it, that when you're going toe to toe with a student, you're pitting out, you're feeling the anxiety inside and stuff and how do we kind of train and practice and be able to deliver those neutral responses in those challenging times. So that is something we're gonna talk about even more 'cause that's really important. 

And then the fourth thing I put here for responding to the problem behavior is make a plan, have the plan, and then use the plan. And what I mean is, you're creating a plan that you're confident in that works well for this student in this environment with these teachers, making sure you've created the plan, but then you also have the plan available in whatever way. We'll also talk about this coming up. It's like, do you have a quick checklist of the different strategies that we're working on using? Do you have some sort of fidelity checklist? Whatever it is. [00:13:00] You have it easy access to it because especially in the moment of crisis, you're not gonna remember everything. And so maybe you have quick reference sheet somewhere in a situation where you know it's happening regularly, that you can have that and then be able to use that. And then with the, use the plan, then you follow up and go, okay, did it work this time? Did it not work? Was this something that we need to look at changing? Or, wow, I could see that this is very much improving the situation. So keeping that in mind. 

So then here's an example. So if a student yells instead of using their break card, how would you respond in a way that doesn't reinforce the yelling, but helps them regulate? So this is for you, Caitlin, student yells instead of using the break card, how would you respond to that?

Caitlin: Okay. So first thing I wanna make sure I do is not, I'm thinking of what not to do first, which was what not to do, which hopefully no one would do this. If a student yells, I need to get out, instead of using their break card, what I don't wanna do is go, Hey, that tone is inappropriate. Like, meet me in the hallway and like talk about it. Because then [00:14:00] we're like, okay, you can have your break. So I'm gonna avoid that. And I might say something like, I can see you're really getting frustrated. I get that, but what I need you to do is use that card that we practiced earlier or something like that. Redirect to that response that I want them to do.

Audra: Yeah. And I would also think, how easy can I make it for them to then complete that, so maybe they, just in this case, need a look at it and that's the only thing I'm like, oh yeah, you looked at the break card, let's go. Anything that's kind of getting you to the point where you're not reinforcing the yelling, but you're reinforcing some semblance of the direction you wanna go.

Caitlin: And that's so important is in the beginning it might be really just that like some semblance, like sometimes I had learners where on the first day they're able to exchange, but the next day maybe they're more heightened. For whatever reason, I can see they're just not gonna budge and like pick up that card. And I'm like, oh, you were looking for this, it's right here. And all they have to do then is like, grab it and put it in the bin or something. Like, how can I make that easier? And I think sometimes I get a little resistance, like, well, I, I don't wanna make anying easier for them, like they have to do the whole thing, [00:15:00] but to really just a stepping stone until they become fluent with that response.

Audra: Then the last thing I wanna talk about is how do we know when something is working or not working? And so my four tips here would be like, the first thing is data collection and reviewing that data. And the reason I think this is really important is because that takes out kind of that the subjective, I think things are feeling better. They're not feeling better. This isn't helping at all. We're still having the behaviors, whatever it takes out of that and then looks at hardcore data. Like, okay, you know, when he started this, he was doing this 10 times an hour, but we're down to seven, which is much better than 10, so we're moving in the right direction. So I think that first thing, making sure we have a good data collection that is being consistently implemented, and then we review it regularly to see if what we're doing is actually working. 

The second thing would be to adjust the reinforcement schedules. So I mean that maybe you are starting out doing fixed ratio every time they're responding to something correctly, they're getting it. Making sure that you're thinning that out as much as [00:16:00] possible, getting that that natural reinforcement more likely to happen. It's gonna build strength within the behavior if you're thinning it out. But if you're constantly offering a skittle for every single time, and this goes off for months and months, you're not gonna get a strong behavior. So think about always considering thinning out that reinforcement so that you can see that the behavior becomes more natural for them.

The third thing, so restorative practices, and this can be anything from official restorative practices, meaning sometime later we're gonna sit down, we're gonna talk about it. That's certainly one kind. But even just picking up something that we made a mess of and it's something you could do collaboratively. Hey, let's see you get 10, I'll get 10, let's get this cleaned up together. For some situations it's totally restorative practice and a very healthy one for them to apologize for the something, whether it's to somebody, especially if it's a social situation. So you're building those relationships. I think that's really important. I've had many students write letters, if they're not comfortable doing it face to face, and I think that's really good for them to see that their behavior is not in a bubble. It's not [00:17:00] in a glass jar. It's something that does affect other people. Whatever some restorative practice is appropriate for you and your learner, just making sure that that's part of your system when you're doing this. 

Caitlin: Yeah, that could totally look very different from learner to learner for sure. 

Audra: And then the fourth thing is just to always check in with your team, making sure that everybody is seeing progress or not progress and they're implementing things, making sure everything is working well on that end. 

Here's my last question for you. So, if we have been implementing a strategy or a student who engages in high rates of calling out during circle time, how would you evaluate if that plan is working? What would you do?

Caitlin: We'd wanna take some kind of data on that calling out behavior. Maybe frequency count won't be ideal. Sometimes with circle time, I might do like a partial interval, so if it's like a 20 minute circle, I'm dividing it up into two minute intervals and then circling how many intervals there was calling out, partial interval, and then how many intervals there was no calling out. And then hopefully I can get a little bit of a baseline maybe before we started our intervention. [00:18:00] And then we're just looking for that percentage over time to decrease. And we can also look for if we've implemented a replacement strategy, we could consider either tracking both or even just tracking the replacement strategy. 

Audra: Yeah, I love that. I love the ones when we are able to, if we can set up a system where we are able to track both of them, I think that's really helpful and I really like to see one's trending upward and one's trending downward. 

 The practical takeaways for this episode, making sure that you're reinforcing that replacement behavior. Make sure that that's as easy as possible for your staff whenever you can. Be mindful of those accidental reinforcement 'cause that is something we fall into a lot. Don't strengthen the problem behavior by giving into it and stay as neutral and predictable as much as possible. And then as always, like you brought up, just using that data and using that to drive our decisions, especially, if those of you're listening are BCBAs, that's really important for us to make sure we're using that for our data-based decisions.

Next week we are talking about, what is it, [00:19:00] Caitlin? 

Caitlin: About preparing for IEPs. 

Audra: Preparing for IEPs. Excellent. All right, so we'll see you then. 

Intro: Thanks for listening to The Misfit Behaviorists, and be sure to tune in next week for more tips and tricks. Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss an episode.