Trigger&or&
Expecta.on&
Challenging
Behavior&
Sufficient&
Skill&
Adap.ve&
Behavior&
Lagging&
Skill&
Collaborative Problem Solving Assessment and Planning Tool
Child’s Name __________________________________________ Date __________________
Part 1: Identifying Triggers/Expectations, Lagging Skills, and Challenging Behaviors
PLAN%(complete%in%Part%2)%
TRIGGERS/EXPECTATIONS%%
!%These% are%the%demands%that%the%child%is%having% a%
hard% time%meeting.%
!%They% are% the% triggers,% expectations,% precipitants,%
antecedents,%situations,%or
%
contexts%that%can%lead%to%
challenging%behavior.%
!%When% making% your% list,% describe% the% who,% what,%
when%and%where.%Be%specific!%
LAGGING%SKILLS%%
!%Lagging% skills% are% the% reasons% that% a% child% is% having%
difficulty% meeting% these% expectations% or% responding%
adaptively%to%these%triggers.%%%
!%Take% a% guess% at% which% specific% lagging% skills% are%
contributing% by% looking% at% the% list% of%
triggers/expectations,% and% referring% to% the% Thinking%
Skills%Inventory%on%the%following%pages.
%
CHALLENGING%BEHAVIORS%%
!%These%are%the%observable,%challenging%behaviors%that%
often% bring% up% the
%
greatest% concerns% for% adults% and%
parents.%%
!%% Examples% are% yelling,% swearing,% refusing,% hitting,%
cutting,%shutting%down,%running,%etc.%
!%The% challenging% behaviors% are% the % result% of% a% child%
not%having%the%skills%to%handle%the%specific%triggers%or%
expectations.
%%
Responding to life’s demands requires a lot of thinking skills. If a child doesn’t have the skills to handle a
trigger or meet an expectation, that is what we call a “problem to be solved.” Until we solve that problem, the
trigger or expectation is likely to result in some form of challenging behavior.
The most important task during the assessment phase is identifying the specific triggers or expectations that
frequently lead to challenging behavior, as well as the thinking skills that would help the child to handle those
demands more adaptively.