01
Observe the context
Note the activity, request, transition, people present, and anything else that changed right before the behavior occurred.
Back to family resources
Family resource · Understanding behavior
Look beneath the behavior, not just at the behavior.
Behavior often carries information about needs, skills, expectations, or the environment. A calm, curious approach can help families notice patterns and respond more consistently.
Practical guidance
A simple way to make behavior easier to understand.
You do not need to diagnose a behavior at home. The goal is to gather useful information, reduce guesswork, and make it easier to talk with your child’s care team.
02
Describe what happened
Use plain, observable language instead of labels. Describe what you could see or hear and how long it lasted.
03
Notice what followed
Pay attention to what changed afterward: attention, escape from a task, access to an item, a break, or another outcome.
Put it into practice
Try a short observation routine this week.
A few brief notes can be more useful than trying to remember an entire difficult moment later.
Important
If a behavior creates an immediate safety concern, follow your established safety plan and contact the appropriate clinical or emergency support rather than trying to analyze it in the moment.
01
Choose one situation
Pick one recurring routine, transition, or challenge rather than tracking everything at once.
02
Write down the sequence
Capture what happened before, what your child did, and what happened immediately afterward.
03
Bring patterns to your team
Share repeated patterns with your clinician so they can help interpret them in the context of your child’s goals.
Next step
Want help making sense of a pattern?
Start your LEWU journey and tell us what you have been noticing. We can help you identify the right next step.