Ask the Experts

I consider chronic behavior problems as those that have a defining feature of being repeated or reoccurring over a period time. In other words, the behavior has persisted for a while.

The difference I see with intensive behavior is that it is identified along two features- Frequency and/or Severity.  A high frequency problem behavior may certainly be considered intensive when it significantly impacts the individual's quality of life or learning environment. Additionally, a low frequency problem behavior may also be considered intensive when the behavior is severe enough to be illegal, or has the potential to cause significant harm to self or others or produce significant property damage.

When providing programming for students, I believe we need to gather enough information to be confident that we can create effective and appropriate interventions to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students.  Given this consideration, I believe that there are situations where the behavior places a student at risk to self or others that expedite movement to a Tier 3   intervention. Even though we may consider intensive interventions without testing to see if a Tier  2 program might work, we still need to gather specific information on the variables that contribute to the occurrence of problem behavior (e.g., functional assessment). This is done to develop an intervention with higher probability of being successful.