Preventing Behavior: Proactive Classroom Supports
The best time to support behavior is before it happens. In this module you will learn proactive supports: changes to the environment, the schedule, and the task that make challenging behavior less likely and learning more likely.
The module has two parts. Each part has a short reading followed by practice activities built around real classroom moments. Work through the sections in order; your progress is saved as you go. Plan on about 30 minutes, including the video.
- Explain antecedent-based interventions
- Use visual schedules, first-then boards, and visual timers
- Plan smoother transitions with warnings and priming
- Adjust tasks with chunking, choices, and behavioral momentum
- Plan sensory supports and support for unstructured times
Watch first: Preventing Behavior: Proactive Classroom Supports (7 min)
Watch the overview, then work through the readings and activities below.
Change What Happens Before
Antecedent-based intervention means changing what happens before a behavior so the behavior isn’t needed. It is one of the 28 evidence-based practices identified by the National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice (NCAEP), along with visual supports, which are among the simplest supports you can add to any classroom.
Visual supports make the day predictable. A visual schedule shows what is happening now and next. A first-then board shows that a preferred activity follows a task. A visual timer shows how much time is left. Written or picture directions mean the student doesn’t have to hold spoken directions in memory. Because visual information stays put, the student can check it as often as needed.
Read the NCAEP executive summary. Find antecedent-based interventions and visual supports in the list of evidence-based practices, and notice how many of the 28 practices focus on teaching and prevention rather than consequences.
Open the NCAEP executive summary →- What antecedent-based intervention means
- Common types of visual supports
- Which evidence-based practices focus on prevention
- Why predictability lowers stress
Making the Day Predictable
Four supports you can start this week.
Teach expectations, don’t assume them.
State what to do, not just what not to do, and show it with pictures or a model.
Warn before transitions.
Give a five-minute and a one-minute warning, and use a transition card that shows where the student is going next.
Prime changes ahead of time.
Preview new activities, places, and people, and mark changes like a fire drill or a substitute on the schedule.
Keep routines consistent.
When most of the day is predictable, students have more energy for the parts that aren’t.
Jordan, an autistic first grader, often melts down when lunch ends and it’s time for reading. The meltdowns happen almost every day and last 10 to 15 minutes.
Right now, the class lines up when the lunch monitor blows a whistle.
After a week, transitions are better, but Jordan still struggles on days when lunch runs late.
What could you add?
Which of these is an antecedent-based support?
Reveal the Best Answer
For each statement, choose Accurate or Inaccurate, then check your answers.
1. Visual supports are one of the evidence-based practices identified by NCAEP.
2. A first-then board shows that a preferred activity comes after a task.
3. Spoken directions are usually enough for autistic students, so written directions aren’t needed.
4. Warnings before a transition, like five minutes and then one minute, can reduce behavior.
Adjust the Task and the Setting
If a task is the trigger, adjust the task. Break work into smaller chunks with a checklist. Offer choices that are all acceptable to you, like which problem to start with or where to sit. Use behavioral momentum, another NCAEP evidence-based practice: start with a few quick, easy tasks before a harder one. Where you can, build in the student’s interests.
Look at the sensory environment, too. Reduce noise and visual clutter, offer noise-reducing headphones or a quiet corner, and build movement breaks into the day (exercise and movement is also an evidence-based practice). Ask the student and the family what is hard. Many autistic students can tell you exactly which sounds or lights bother them.
Recess, lunch, hallways, and assemblies are often the hardest parts of the day because they are loud and unpredictable. Read the CAPTAIN overview of evidence-based practices, and look for practices like peer-based instruction and intervention that can help during these times.
Open the CAPTAIN overview →- How to adjust tasks to prevent behavior
- How behavioral momentum works
- Sensory supports in the classroom
- Peer-based supports for unstructured times
Small Changes, Big Differences
Ideas for adjusting tasks and settings.
Offer real choices.
Give two or three options that all work for you, and never offer a choice you can’t honor.
Chunk the work.
A checklist of small steps makes a long task feel possible.
Plan unstructured times.
Give a clear plan or job, offer a quieter option, and consider a trained peer buddy.
Build relationships.
Aim for many more positive interactions than corrections, and use the student’s interests.
Sofia, an autistic eighth grader, puts her head down and refuses to start whenever a long writing assignment is handed out. Once she gets started, she often writes well.
Today’s assignment is a five-paragraph essay.
Sofia starts with the outline. Halfway through class, she stalls again on the second paragraph.
What could help her keep going?
Which is an appropriate choice to offer a student who is resisting a math assignment?
Reveal the Best Answer
For each statement, choose Accurate or Inaccurate, then check your answers.
1. Behavioral momentum means starting with a few quick, easy tasks before a harder one.
2. Recess, lunch, and assemblies are usually the easiest times of day for autistic students.
3. Exercise and movement is one of the NCAEP evidence-based practices.
4. It’s fine to offer a choice you don’t plan to honor, as long as the student complies.
What to carry into Module 3
- Change what happens before behavior.
- Visual supports make the day predictable.
- Warn, prime, and keep routines consistent.
- Chunk tasks, offer real choices, and use behavioral momentum.
- Plan for sensory needs and unstructured times.
References
- California Autism Professional Training and Information Network (CAPTAIN). (2020). What are evidence-based practices for autism? https://www.captain.ca.gov/documents/WHAT%20ARE%20EBPs%20for%20ASD%20CAPTAIN%20APRIL%202020%20FINAL%20FINAL.pdf
- Steinbrenner, J. R., Hume, K., Odom, S. L., Morin, K. L., Nowell, S. W., Tomaszewski, B., Szendrey, S., McIntyre, N. S., Yücesoy-Özkan, S., & Savage, M. N. (2020). Evidence-based practices for children, youth, and young adults with autism. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice Review Team. https://ncaep.fpg.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/EBP-Report-2020.pdf
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. (2025). Evidence-based practices for autistic students (for educators) [Tip sheet]. https://tipsheets.vkcsites.org/evidence-based-practices-for-autistic-students-for-educators/