About BOCES 5
BOCES 5 in Wyoming is known for stepping in when traditional school settings just aren’t enough. They run therapeutic day and residential schools and provide services like special education, counseling, speech and occupational therapy, and school psychology. Their goal is simple: to give students the support they need – socially, emotionally, and academically – to thrive.
For over eight years, BOCES 5 has partnered with Behavior Advantage. Together, their work has focused on creating data-driven, evidence-based Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs) with fidelity, using team-based Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs), and robust progress monitoring throughout implementation.
The Challenge
A Wyoming school district partnered with BOCES 5 to support James, a student on the autism spectrum who was struggling in his least restrictive environment. For safety and to better meet his needs, the district placed him in a BOCES 5 day treatment program.
At the time, James was exhibiting significant aggression toward staff and self – sometimes many times per day. Behaviors such as biting, hitting, spitting, and head-banging created serious safety concerns and prevented him from engaging in learning. Transitions to school could take more than an hour, and he often required support in an individual setting before he could join the classroom and peers.
At the same time, James was also a curious, playful, and eager-to-connect student who loved socializing and engaging with others. His biggest challenges arose when told “no” or denied access to a preferred item, activity, or staff member’s attention. These moments triggered dysregulation and unsafe behavior.
This combination of strengths and challenges made it clear: the team needed a focused, evidence-based plan to help James handle disappointment and delayed gratification – while honoring his strengths and potential.
Discovery and Team-Based FBA
The turning point began not with a top-down directive, but with a keen observation from a paraprofessional: the word “no” was consistently a trigger. That insight sparked the team’s collective focus.
This collaborative process was guided by James’ teacher, Matt Sauter, whose leadership helped ensure every staff voice was included and valued. His ability to build buy-in and give ownership across the team created the foundation for success.
Using Behavior Advantage, the team conducted a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA). Every staff member – teachers, paraprofessionals, therapists – was interviewed, ensuring full buy-in and ownership. The family also contributed valuable insights.
The FBA revealed two primary functions of James’ challenging behavior:
- Access to preferred items and activities
- Attention from specific staff members
In nearly all cases, escalation followed when James heard “no.” The collaborative, team-based process – combined with the shared tools and structure in Behavior Advantage – ensured that strategies would be both contextually relevant and feasible for everyone to implement.
Building the Plan
Guided by FBA findings, the team built a comprehensive and evidence-based BIP inside Behavior Advantage. It included:
- Prevention Strategies: A daily visual schedule to provide structure and predictability.
- Teaching Strategies: Social narratives, role-play, and modeling to rehearse responses when told “no” or “not right now.”
- Response Strategies: Reinforcing even small attempts at waiting or coping, while ensuring unsafe behaviors did not result in access.
The plan also leveraged the platform’s implementation checklist and progress monitoring tools, which helped staff stay aligned and track outcomes over time.
If you are wondering what this looks like and how you can go about preparing one, download our Functional Behavior Assessment with BIP template.
Implementing Step by Step
Implementation followed a clear progression:
- Social Story – A story framed James as a capable student who could learn to accept “no.” At first, just hearing about delayed gratification caused frustration. But repeated readings across several days gradually reduced protest.
- Discussion Scenarios – Staff introduced simple “what if” questions:
“If you wanted your toy car but it wasn’t available – what could you do?”
These conversations initially triggered protest, but over time James began rehearsing the coping strategies from the story.
- Role-Play – With safe, structured practice, James rehearsed new communication and coping responses, across settings and staff. What began as uncomfortable eventually became fluent and natural.
Across each step, all staff were trained, gave feedback, and owned their role, creating consistency and momentum.
Documented Progress Over Time
The data showed a dramatic transformation:
- Baseline – Severe, frequent aggression and self-injury; transitions to school took over an hour; and self-regulation would also require hours per day. Aggression peaked at 40–50 incidents per day, lasting up to an hour, before BIP implementation.
- Initial Progress – With targeted interventions, tantrums dropped to an average of 2–3 per day and often fewer, while replacement skills began to emerge.
- Continued Progress – As learning and generalization improved, replacement behaviors soared to 16–24 per day. Major tantrums reduced to once every other week; and aggression dropped to 0–2 times per day, usually with very minimal intensity.
- Today – James attends school regularly, completes work, and when upset can be redirected within minutes. He accepts “no” consistently, waits for access, and uses coping strategies instead of unsafe behavior.
Results
With consistent daily practice, team collaboration, and the structure of Behavior Advantage, James has:
- Learned to accept “no” calmly and consistently
- Developed the ability to wait for preferred items, activities, and staff
- Generalized new coping and communication skills across settings and people
- Eliminated unsafe behaviors that once derailed learning
The progress has been so strong that BOCES 5 is now coordinating with his home district to transition James back to his neighborhood school.
Much of this progress traces back to the commitment and leadership of James’ teacher, Matt Sauter, who championed a truly team-based approach. His example shows how the right leadership, paired with the right tools, can create lasting change for students and teams alike.
Why It Matters
This case highlights the power of:
- One meaningful target behavior: By focusing on “accepting no,” James not only reduced unsafe behavior but gained a lifelong skill for independence.
- Team-based collaboration: Starting with a paraprofessional’s observation and strengthened by full staff buy-in, the team built consistency and trust.
- Data-driven progression: With each step, from social stories to role-play to generalization, Behavior Advantage made it easier to plan, track, and celebrate success.
For James, the impact is life-changing. For the team, it’s proof that when everyone has a voice and a shared toolset, lasting change is not only possible – it’s achievable.
If you’re interested in learning more about this process, check-out our BIP Template with Examples or get in touch today!
