Replacement Behavior Examples: Teaching Kids What to Do Instead

Every Behavior Intervention Plan is supposed to include a replacement behavior. Most of them get it wrong.

The mistake usually looks like this: a student hits when he's asked to do hard math, so the BIP says his replacement behavior is "raise your hand and ask for help." The team pats themselves on the back. The behavior doesn't improve.

Why? Because "raise your hand and ask for help" doesn't produce the same outcome as hitting. Hitting produced immediate escape — removal from the math task. Raising your hand produces an adult who comes over and tells you to try harder. These are not equivalent functions. The student is not going to trade a highly effective strategy for a less effective one.

What a Replacement Behavior Actually Is

A replacement behavior — formally called a Functionally Equivalent Replacement Behavior (FERB) — is a socially acceptable behavior that serves the same function as the problem behavior. The student can use it to get the same outcome, through a more appropriate means.

The replacement behavior must meet two criteria simultaneously:

1. It must be within the student's current skill level (or teachable within a reasonable timeframe)
2. It must produce the same reinforcement as the problem behavior

If the replacement behavior doesn't produce the same outcome with similar efficiency, the student has no reason to use it. Behavior follows reinforcement, not instruction.

Replacement Behavior Examples by Function

Escape-Maintained Behavior

If the problem behavior is removing the student from an aversive situation, the replacement behavior must also provide a pathway to escape or relief.

Problem behavior: Throwing materials, tearing worksheets, running from the classroom during independent work
Function: Escape from academic demands that exceed current skill level

Replacement behavior examples:

• Using a break card (a physical card the student places on the desk to signal they need a timed break)
• Raising a hand to say "This is too hard, can I have help?" in a specifically scripted form
• Moving to a designated calm-down area independently, for a defined time limit
• Requesting to work on a simpler version of the task ("Can I do the easier ones first?")

The break card is one of the most thoroughly researched replacement behaviors in the ABA literature. It works because it produces functional escape from the demand — the student gets the break. Staff immediately honor the card without comment or negotiation, making the replacement behavior at least as efficient as the problem behavior.

Attention-Maintained Behavior

If the problem behavior is gaining social interaction — from adults or peers — the replacement behavior must also produce social connection.

Problem behavior: Calling out, making noises, touching peers, making disruptive comments during instruction
Function: Gaining adult or peer attention

Replacement behavior examples:

• Raising a hand and waiting for the teacher to call on them (only works if the teacher follows through quickly enough to compete with the immediacy of calling out)
• Using an "I need help" card placed on the corner of the desk
• A scripted "excuse me" phrase followed by expected adult response
• Asking a specific peer a social question during an appropriate transition time

An important caveat for attention-maintained behavior: planned ignoring of the problem behavior is only effective when paired with very high rates of non-contingent attention. If the teacher ignores the calling out but doesn't increase positive attention for appropriate behavior, the student will escalate until the ignoring breaks down — because negative attention (a reprimand) is still attention.

Tangible-Maintained Behavior

If the problem behavior is accessing a preferred item or activity, the replacement behavior must provide a legitimate pathway to that item.

Problem behavior: Grabbing a peer's tablet, running to the toy area, refusing to give up a preferred object at the end of free time
Function: Access to a preferred item or activity

Replacement behavior examples:

• Pointing to a "First-Then" visual board showing when access to the preferred item will occur
• Verbally requesting "Can I have a turn with that?" using a scripted form
• Handing over a preferred item in exchange for a token toward a preferred activity later
• Using a communication device to request access

The critical piece for tangible-motivated behavior is that the replacement behavior must actually produce the item, not just produce a promise. If the student asks appropriately but the teacher says "maybe later" without follow-through, the student learns that the replacement behavior doesn't work.

Sensory-Maintained Behavior

If the problem behavior provides internal physical stimulation or relief, the replacement behavior must offer a sensory substitute.

Problem behavior: Rocking, head-banging, biting clothing, skin-picking, hand-flapping during desk work
Function: Automatic/sensory reinforcement (internal stimulation)

Replacement behavior examples:

• Using a fidget tool that provides similar proprioceptive input
• Moving to a sensory corner for scheduled deep-pressure input
• Requesting a "heavy work" break (carrying books, pushing a cart)
• Using noise-canceling headphones if the behavior is auditory self-regulation
• Chewing on a safe chewy necklace instead of clothing or hands

Sensory-maintained behaviors are the most challenging because you can't simply remove the reinforcement — it's internal to the student's nervous system. Complete elimination is often not a realistic goal; instead, the goal is teaching the student to meet the sensory need through a safer, more socially acceptable behavior.

Why "Stop Doing That" Is Not a Replacement Behavior

This seems obvious, but it's one of the most common errors in BIPs produced by schools: listing the absence of behavior as a replacement behavior.

"Student will keep hands to self" — not a replacement behavior
"Student will follow classroom rules" — not a replacement behavior
"Student will comply with adult requests without arguing" — not a replacement behavior

These are behavioral expectations or goals. A replacement behavior is a specific, observable action the student performs instead of the problem behavior. It must be something the student actively does, not something they refrain from doing.

If your child's BIP lists expected behavior, not an alternative behavior, as the "replacement behavior" section, the plan is not meeting the legal standard.

Teaching the Replacement Behavior

Identifying the replacement behavior is step one. Teaching it is step two — and BIPs frequently skip this part.

The replacement behavior must be explicitly taught during calm, non-crisis moments. This means role-playing, rehearsing, and practicing the new behavior in low-stakes situations before expecting the student to produce it under stress. A student who has never practiced using a break card in a calm moment will not spontaneously reach for it at the peak of frustration.

The BIP should specify: who will teach the replacement behavior, when, how often, and how mastery will be measured. If this is absent from your child's BIP, ask the team at the next IEP meeting to add it.

The Behavior Support & FBA/BIP Toolkit includes a guide to evaluating whether your child's BIP includes a functionally equivalent replacement behavior — and the questions to ask when it doesn't.