How to Choose Replacement Behaviors for the Classroom

When I was a kid, I went to Chuck E. Cheese with my aunt. This was back when you got real paper tickets for winning. And boy, did I love ripping those strips of tickets apart. I ripped every one because I loved to feel the pop of the little perforated dots. My aunt kept telling me, “Stop. Stop that.” But I didn’t know what she was talking about. I just got quieter as I ripped the tickets. She hadn’t given me any replacement behaviors.

Then I got to the counter. And the person running the prize booth had to feed my pile of single, torn tickets into the machine, one at a time. And of course, the machine kept jamming, and that’s when I realized what my aunt had meant.

Looking back, it’s clear that telling me what not to do wasn’t helpful. What would have worked much better was giving me something to do instead. Maybe put my tickets in my pocket, or better yet, use them to buy a toy or fidget I could hold. 

And that’s exactly the idea behind replacement behaviors. Whether you’re working with kids in classrooms, using replacement behaviors in ABA therapy, or just annoyed with how your spouse is doing something, understanding this concept can get you a long way. 

So, let’s look at some ways you can add teaching functional replacement behaviors to your classroom management or behavior support strategies!

What Are Replacement Behaviors?

Replacement behaviors are simple alternative behaviors that help us get our needs met without using the interfering behaviors that have worked in the past. 

This strategy is a core part of any Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP). It’s also one of the most practical tools special education teachers can use to help students build real behavioral skills. Whether or not you’re conducting a full Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) or using a behavior reduction plan, understanding replacement behaviors will help.

Teaching appropriate behaviors is about skill-building. It’s considered a positive behavior intervention because it focuses on teaching strategies, reinforcement techniques, and support. 

Quick examples: If a student throws papers to avoid writing, a replacement behavior might be teaching them to ask for a break.
If a student calls out to get attention, the replacement behavior might be raising their hand or using a signal card.

Why “Stop” Isn’t Enough

Students don’t stop a behavior just because we want them to. They stop it when they learn something better that still gets their needs met.

If they’re doing something, it’s because it’s serving a function. That’s why we can’t just tell a student what not to do, because it won’t meet their needs.  We have to teach them what to do instead, so they can still meet that same function. That means your first step in this process is to first understand why the original behavior is happening and what is reinforcing it. 

If you need to figure out the function of the behavior, the best way to do that is ABC Data collection. Learn more here! Or, for a ready-to-go, save me some serious time, you can check out my ABC Data Collection Forms and Self-Populating Graphs.

How to Choose a Strong Replacement Behavior

Choosing the right replacement behavior isn’t just about finding something polite or quiet. 

Here are some considerations for selecting effective replacement behaviors that will stick: 

• It needs to serve the same function as the original behavior.
  Meaning, if the student is yelling to get your attention, “being quiet” won’t work as a replacement behavior because that won’t get your attention. But calling on them when they raise their hand or use an attention card would get them some nice attention. So it would be a good replacement behavior.
  
• It needs to work at least as well or better than the original behavior.
  If we have been giving a student attention when they call out (even just telling them to raise their hand is still attention), then we need to make raising their hand work better for them to get our attention. That means we need to start ignoring the old behavior and very quickly giving attention when they raise their hand. Otherwise, they will abandon hand raising for calling out very quickly.
  
• Pick replacement behaviors that are incompatible with the problem behavior.
  Students shouldn’t be able to do the replacement behavior at the same time as the behavior we’re trying to replace. For example, when teaching a student to raise their hand, we need to remind them that our mouths are quiet. Otherwise, they can raise their hand and yell at the same time, which is closer, but not where we need to be.
  
• Pick something teachable and efficient so the student can learn it and use it quickly.
  If you already have a standard practice in place, focus on reteaching and reinforcing that behavior. For example, if you have a break system in the classroom, reteach and tweak it to meet the needs of the student. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
  
• Pick something you can reinforce quickly
  At first, you need the replacement behavior to really work well so the student buys into using it. Make sure to pick something you can quickly reinforce, for example, a break card system needs to get the student the break right away, so that they will take the break instead of eloping.

Same Behavior, Different Functions: Why Knowing the Function Matters

Let’s say the behavior is yelling. That sounds straightforward, but the replacement depends entirely on why the student is yelling in the first place.

Here are some functional replacement behaviors for yelling, depending on the function: 

Function	Why the Student Is Yelling	Better Replacement Behavior
Yelling for Attention	Wants the teacher to look/listen	Raise a hand or use an “attention card”
Yelling to Escape	Wants to leave the room or avoid the task	Request a break or walk
Yelling to gain something Tangible	Wants a toy, snack, or object	Use words or a communication board to ask for the item
Yelling for the Sensory Experience	Enjoys the sound/sensation of yelling	Sensory toy or humming

This is why we start with the function of behavior. Without it, we’re guessing at what replacement behavior to teach. With it, we’re solving with data!

More Real Examples of Replacement Behaviors in the Classroom

Let’s look at a few replacement behaviors for some common challenges we see in school. Remember that the replacement behavior is based on the function!

Behavior	Function	Replacement Behavior
Throwing items during writing	Escape	Use the sharing timer, request an item from a peer
Interrupting class	Attention	Use a timer for an extended time to transition
Eloping during transitions	Escape	Use a hand signal or a wait card
Hitting peers for a toy	Tangible	Use a fidget tool, wear headphones playing white noise
Humming loudly during quiet work	Sensory	Use fidget tool, wear headphones playing white noise

The Elephant in the Room: Sometimes, it’s a temporary solution

Let me say this. Sometimes, when things are hard, like when students are screaming in class or running around the room and it’s totally derailing your day, it feels like such a cop out to focus on replacement behaviors. 

I was a behavior specialist for several years. Something I heard a lot was that I was just “letting kids off the hook with a break card.”  And trust me, I get it! I also felt frustrated having kids yell at me and then reinforcing them when they turned around and asked for a break. 

But, we have to remember this is a process! A difficult one! For you and the student. If we want kids to change their behavior, we have to be willing to change ours. 

So, remember this next time a kid asks for a break and you literally just handed out the worksheet: This is a stepping stone. This is a stopgap. Do not stop here! 

We must reinforce the small changes the student is making if I want them to continue to change their behavior. We can shape what the behavior looks like in the end, but we have to start somewhere. 

A note about aggressive behavior and elopement

For behaviors that happen when a student is really dysregulated–I’m talking about screaming, aggression, tantruming, and running out of the room–we can’t just teach replacement behaviors alone. 

We see these kinds of behaviors when kids are in fight, flee, or freeze. Kids in this mode aren’t going to be able to just start using a replacement behavior. We have to first focus on teaching strategies that help them return to psychological safety. 
This means teaching coping skills and self-regulation techniques before we focus just on behavior change and replacement skill acquisition. When kids are dysregulated and in fight, flee, and freeze mode, they literally can’t access the part of their brain that even remembers the replacement behavior.

Checklist for Selecting an Effective Replacement Behavior

If you’ve got a replacement behavior in mind, ask yourself:

• Why is the student using the challenging behavior? Does this replacement behavior meet the same need/function?
• Is it observable and measurable so I can easily reinforce it and collect data if needed?
• Is it incompatible with the challenging behavior?
• Can the student learn it quickly with support?
• Is it something they can use across settings?
  

Common Mistakes to Avoid when Selecting a Replacement Behavior for a Behavior Plan

• Choosing a replacement that doesn’t meet the same function
• Expecting the student to “just know” what to do and not teaching the replacement behavior
• Reinforcing inconsistently or too slowly
• Giving up before the new skill is automatic
  

Teach What To Do, Not Just What to Stop

We all do things for a reason. Whether it’s ripping tickets at Chuck E. Cheese or calling out in class, behavior makes sense when we understand the “why” behind it.

When we teach students what to do instead of just what not to do, we give them a tool, not a warning. And with the right replacement behavior, you’re not just reducing disruptions. You’re building skills that last.

Want tips like this right in your inbox? Sign up for the Little Victories Email list for weekly tips, tricks, and advice for special education teachers!