About Maya
The person before the behaviour: identity, strengths, relationships and what helps Maya feel safe.
13 years · Regional NSW · Year 8 flexible learning program · lives with grandmother and younger brother
Diagnostic and Functional Profile
This sample profile shows how diagnoses may combine to shape communication, sensory load, emotional regulation and daily functioning.
Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 2
Primary functional impact across social communication, flexibility, sensory processing, transitions, peer relationships and tolerance of uncertainty.
- ADHD combined presentation
- Generalised anxiety features
- Developmental trauma history
- Specific learning disorder in written expression
- Sensory over-responsivity to noise and crowding
- Sleep onset delay
- Interoception difficulties
- Pragmatic language vulnerability under stress
How the profile shows up day to day
Maya can appear articulate when calm, but her access to language reduces quickly when she feels trapped, rushed, embarrassed or overloaded. She may refuse, hide, run to a safe space, yell, throw small items or send repeated distressed messages when her nervous system is overwhelmed.
Functional domains impacted
- Communication: difficulty explaining needs during stress; may use blunt or intense wording.
- Social interaction: misreads peer intent, fears rejection and needs explicit repair scripts.
- Learning: written tasks and open-ended demands can trigger avoidance.
- Self-management: requires adult co-regulation, predictable routines and support to recover from escalation.
- Community participation: busy shops, school transitions and unfamiliar adults increase risk of shutdown or flight.
Diagnostic-to-behaviour formulation
Maya’s behaviours are best understood as nervous-system protection when demand, uncertainty, sensory load or perceived social threat exceeds her coping capacity. Behaviour support should therefore focus on predictable environments, communication access, low-demand entry points, relational safety, sensory regulation and skill-building before crisis.
Communication Profile
Maya does best when adults reduce pressure, make the next step visible, and provide non-verbal ways to communicate.
Communication rules for adults
- Use one instruction at a time with a visible first step.
- Offer written or visual choices instead of repeated verbal prompting.
- Use validating language before problem solving: “This feels too much. I’ll slow it down.”
- Do not demand eye contact or immediate verbal answers.
- Use a neutral repair script after rupture: “We are okay. We can try again differently.”
Helpful scripts
- “You can choose: start with drawing, start with reading, or take two minutes first.”
- “I am not here to force you. I am here to help make the next step smaller.”
- “Show me with thumbs, point, or text if talking is too hard.”
- “Your job is one small step. My job is to keep it safe and calm.”
Functional Formulation
Tap each panel to view the 5P formulation.
Presenting factors
School refusal, shutdown, yelling, hiding, property throwing and repeated distressed messaging occur when Maya feels overwhelmed, cornered or unable to safely express what she needs.
Predisposing factors
Autism, ADHD, anxiety, trauma history, sensory sensitivity and learning difficulties increase vulnerability to overload, rapid threat detection, demand avoidance and reduced communication access during stress.
Precipitating factors
Common triggers include unexpected timetable changes, noisy classrooms, writing tasks, perceived criticism, peer conflict, rushed mornings, sleep disruption, hunger and adults using repeated prompts.
Perpetuating factors
Escalation can be maintained when adults wait until crisis to reduce demands, provide one-to-one reassurance only after refusal, or respond inconsistently across home and school.
Protective factors
Protective factors include a strong relationship with Ruth, creative strengths, love of animals, visual learning style, trusted teacher aide, willingness to repair after calm, and strong response to predictable low-demand routines.
Behaviours of Concern
Behaviour cards include operational definitions, likely function and replacement pathway.
1. Demand-related refusal and shutdown
2. Verbal escalation
3. Property throwing or pushing items away
4. Flight to safe space
Functions of Behaviour
Escape or delay overwhelming demands
Behaviour often reduces the size, speed or intensity of demands when Maya cannot yet ask for adjustment.
Regain control and predictability
Refusal and verbal escalation can create a sense of control when the environment feels unpredictable or unsafe.
Communicate distress
Intense language may be the fastest available way to show that coping capacity has been exceeded.
Access co-regulation and safety
Maya needs calm adult presence, reduced language and a clear path back to safety before learning can occur.
Proactive Strategies
These strategies reduce the need for behaviours of concern by meeting the function early.
Predictable starts
- Morning visual plan
- Same greeting script
- Low-demand first task
- Clear finish point
Demand shaping
- Break tasks into tiny steps
- Offer choice of order
- Use “show me first” examples
- Reduce writing load when overloaded
Sensory safety
- Noise-reducing headphones
- Quiet pass
- Movement breaks
- Predictable safe space
Relational safety
- Connection before correction
- No public shaming
- Repair after rupture
- Trusted adult check-in
Communication access
- Choice cards
- Text option
- Help/break cards
- Body cue check-ins
Home-school consistency
- Shared scripts
- Daily brief handover
- Track sleep/sensory load
- Review what helped
Skill Development
Replacement skills are directly matched to the function of behaviour.
Asking for task adjustment
Teach Maya to use “make it smaller,” “show me first,” “not that way,” “I need two minutes,” and “can I type instead?” Practise when calm and reinforce immediately.
Safe exit and return
Teach a safe-space card, agreed locations, check-in expectations and a calm return routine. Flight is replaced with a planned, supervised regulation pathway.
Body cues and interoception
Use visual body maps to link tight chest, hot face, buzzing hands or stomach pain with early support choices.
Repair after rupture
Teach short repair scripts: “I got overwhelmed,” “I need another try,” “I didn’t mean it like that,” and “Can we restart?” Adults model repair first.
Response Strategies
Use the escalation ladder. The goal is safety, dignity and return to regulation.
Stage 1 · Settled / available for learning
- Use predictable routine and visual first step.
- Start with connection and low demand.
- Reinforce help-seeking and flexible attempts.
Stage 2 · Early overload signs
- Lower voice and reduce words.
- Offer two concrete choices.
- Use “make it smaller?” or “quiet first?”
- Remove audience where possible.
Stage 3 · Escalation
- One calm adult leads.
- Stop teaching and focus on regulation.
- Use short safety statements: “You are safe. I will slow down.”
- Offer planned safe space with line of sight.
Stage 4 · Crisis / immediate risk
- Prioritise physical safety using least restrictive options.
- Move other people away calmly.
- Follow organisational incident and emergency procedures.
- Record incident and trigger a team review.
Stage 5 · Recovery and repair
- Offer quiet, water, sensory item and time.
- Repair before reflection.
- Review later with visuals, not interrogation.
- Identify one adjustment for next time.
Restrictive Practices
- Planned safe-space access, visual supports and sensory tools are proactive safeguards, not restrictive practices.
- Any proposed restriction would require review, authorisation, evidence of last resort, and a clear reduction/elimination pathway.
- Adults should prioritise environmental adjustment and skill teaching before considering any restrictive response.
Implementation, Training and Monitoring
Mobile view uses stacked cards; desktop view uses a table.
| Area | What to do | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Staff training | Train home, school and support staff in shared scripts, early warning signs, demand shaping, safe-space use and repair. | Initial training, then every term or when staff change. |
| Daily check-in | Track sleep, sensory load, attendance, triggers, strategy use and what helped. | Daily during school weeks. |
| Data collection | Record refusal/shutdown, verbal escalation, property incidents, flight to safe space and replacement-skill attempts. | Ongoing; reviewed fortnightly initially. |
| Team review | Review function, fidelity, risk and progress toward school participation and emotional regulation goals. | Monthly or after significant incident. |
Practitioner Declaration
- This plan is a fictional sample for demonstration and training purposes only.
- The diagnostic profile and behaviour support content must be individualised before use with a real participant.
- The plan is designed to support implementation, review, staff training and print/save-as-PDF use.
- No real participant information is included.