Wondering why you’re being asked to write behavior goals for students with no negative behaviors? Grab your IEPs, put your BIP hat on, and get your question answered on this episode of The Nook!
Why Write Behavior Plans
This question comes from Russell… he asks:
School makes me write a behavior plan for kids with Autism even if they don’t have any bad behaviors. It’s stupid and a waste of time. Why do I have to write them, what’s the point?
Why DO I Need a Behavior Plan?
There are a lot of schools that require teachers to write Behavior Plans as part of their Autism supplements, no matter the severity of the student’s Autism.
I actually had a conversation with a teacher about this a few years ago. She had the same concerns. Why write a fake or nonsensical goal for a student with Autism who presents as higher-functioning? I want to talk about a couple of the reasons why you do want to write a behavior goal and why your school is probably asking you to do so.
#1: Social Skills are Just That Important!
One of the reasons that your school might be asking you to complete a behavior plan for a student with Autism, even though they are presenting as social ‘high functioning’, is because social skills are just so important. It has been proven over and over again that social skills deficits tend to be pretty prominent in students with Autism and also that good social skills are one of the biggest indicators of general employability and independent living later. This is not just for students with disabilities or Autism either… general education students also need this set of skills. I know plenty of Gen. Ed. kiddos who could probably benefit from a behavior plan and social skills training!
Social skills really count!
#2 Social Skills Increase Employability
The number two reason why you’re probably being asked to focus on social skills deficits for students with Autism is because it’s one of the top two reasons why our students are deemed ‘unemployable’- a lack of social skills or a lack of proper hygiene. If we can improve on social skills, we can improve a student’s overall employability, which will drastically increase the student’s likelihood of living independently.
#3: Behavior is Likely a Concern
The third reason is that are students, no matter where they are placed- in Gen Ed, inclusion, self-contained, a LIFE skills classroom or in a vocational classroom… They likely have some behavior concerns as compared to a neurotypical peer.
#4: Staff Won’t Overlook It
Number four is that sometimes, without a BIP, behavior issues go overlooked. If we don’t write that behavior plan and really address some social skills deficits or underlying behavior issues for students with Autism who “don’t really need one”, we are doing them a disservice in the long run. So your campus is likely asking you to include a behavior plan just to make sure we are addressing any social skills or behavior issues consistently as well as taking good data.
#5: You May Be Nose-Blind
The number five reason you are probably asked to include a Behavior Plan is that we tend to go nose blind. I don’t know if that makes any sense to any of you, but sometimes you are in a self-contained classroom so long that you start to lose your ability to realistically see if your students are presenting as their neurotypical peers would. In this case, you may not be able to see if they have what would be deemed as “normal” social skills and behavior.
Dart to overestimate our students killed because the overall Norm for our classroom is so much lower than a normal General Ed environments.
I hope you realize that a behavior goal is probably an important piece to add for your students with Autism. Although it might feel like a waste of time, writing a BIP is probably what is in the best interest of the student in the long run.
Russell, thank you so much for asking the question. Stay strong and teach on!
