Behaviour Support Plan Builder

Kai is a bright, creative 8-year-old who loves dinosaurs, building things, and making others laugh. He is genuinely curious and shows empathy toward peers who are struggling. Kai is most engaged during hands-on tasks and excels in oral discussion. Current challenges centre on self-regulation during transitions, unstructured time, and tasks with ambiguous success criteria — patterns consistent with a nervous system that needs more sensory input and more predictability than the classroom currently provides.

Bruce Perry's neurosequential model suggests Kai's brain is spending significant energy managing lower-level threat responses, leaving less capacity for higher executive function. This is not a choice — it is neurobiology. Bessel van der Kolk's work on body-based regulation suggests proprioceptive and vestibular input can help down-regulate the stress response before cognitive engagement is possible.

Ross Greene's Collaborative Problem Solving model frames this as a skill deficit, not a will deficit: Kai has not yet developed the flexibility and frustration tolerance needed for certain classroom demands — and those skills are teachable. Stuart Shanker's Self-Reg work points to the importance of identifying stressors (sensory, cognitive, social) and reducing the load before co-regulation strategies are applied.

The behaviour we see is communication: "I need more input / more certainty / more movement to feel safe enough to learn." Responding to the behaviour without addressing the underlying need will not produce lasting change.

1. Movement job before every transition. Assign Kai a role: carry the books, push in chairs, deliver the roll. This provides legitimate proprioceptive input and a clear purpose, reducing the anxiety of "what comes next." It should happen as a matter of routine, not as a reward.
2. Visual schedule on the desk, updated daily. A simple card showing the day's sequence, with a check-box for each session completed. Give a 5-minute verbal warning before any transition: "In 5 minutes we are finishing maths and moving to reading." For unexpected changes, tell Kai privately before the class announcement — he needs longer to process change than most peers.
3. Designated regulation spot — self-initiated, no permission required. A beanbag or floor cushion in a low-stimulation corner, with access to a fidget tool (putty, a weighted lap pad, or a wobble board). Agree a non-verbal signal with Kai (e.g., placing a card on his desk) that he can use to move there independently. This preserves dignity and removes the need for him to escalate to get a break.
4. Always model the task before independent work begins. Before any open-ended task, show a worked or partially completed example on the board. Ambiguity is a significant trigger — removing it removes the antecedent. The instruction "write about anything you want" is far harder for Kai than "write about a time you built something."
5. Sensory input at the desk as a first response. A resistance band on the chair legs for Kai to push against, or a wobble cushion on the seat, gives legitimate proprioceptive input during sedentary work without disrupting the class. This is not a privilege — it is an accommodation that reduces the need for the more visible seeking behaviours.