Behavior Strategies and Tips

Welcome to our monthly behavior tips and strategies page. We hope you find these helpful in your life as a parent and/or professional! Scroll down to see the ones you may have missed!

Feb. 2026

Repair Script

Repair Is a Skill, Not a Consequence

When harm, rupture, or escalation happens, repair is one of the most powerful behavior supports we have. For individuals with ID/DD, repair builds safety, restores trust, and reduces future distress far more effectively than punishment or control.

This month, we’re highlighting a simple Repair Script that guides supporters to:

  • Pause and regulate first

  • Take ownership without excuses

  • Name the impact, not just the intent

  • Validate feelings

  • Offer repair and commit to change

  • Check back in to ensure trust is restored

Repair teaches accountability and connection, showing that relationships can survive mistakes. When people feel safe after things go wrong, challenging behavior decreases and trust grows.

Repair doesn’t undo harm, it transforms it into learning and belonging.

Jan. 2026

The “Regulate → Relate → Reason” Approach

What if challenging moments were invitations to regulate, relate, and then reason? Thus, resulting in building skills instead of power struggles.

Many individuals with IDD experience big emotions and lagging executive-functioning skills that make traditional behavioral correction ineffective. A trauma-responsive, brain-based sequence helps staff respond in ways that build skills rather than escalate situations: 

Regulate → Relate → Reason

  • Regulate: Support the nervous system first. Offer calm tone, space, sensory tools, grounding.

  • Relate: Connect through shared humanity. Validate feelings, match energy calmly, show you’re on their team.

  • Reason: Only after safety and connection, introduce problem-solving, reteaching, or alternative skills.

This sequence reduces defensive responses and strengthens long-term self-regulation, essential for individuals with IDD navigating complex environments.