Contributed By: Melissa Dubie , Educational Consultant Let’s presume that you have already completed a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) and are implementing a behavior support plan because a student on the autism spectrum has continually displayed problematic behavior. Yet as you put the plan into place, the student’s behavior still rises to the crisis level. This article will describe behavior stages that any student in a crisis mode will escalate through when displaying extreme emotions. The stages may include: anxiety, refusal, release, and building rapport toward a resolution. In addition, helpful hints and proactive strategies in each of the phases will be described particularly when working with students on the autism spectrum. When any student is in a crisis mode, his/her emotional state is high while his/her quality of judgment is very low. It is also important to note for some students’, behavior starts with anxiety and escalates through phases while others may com
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