What is Predictable is Preventable

By: Lindsey Bernhardt

I often hear our CEO, Josh MacNeill, share a quote he heard from Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris, where she says, "What's predictable is preventable". This short, but impactful, statement is something I often share when I am coaching teachers, supporting families, or providing professional development to school staff. It sometimes shocks me how adults are perplexed at why they are seeing kids repeat behaviors. Moreover, when meeting with a parent or teacher, they can usually pinpoint the moment when the challenging behaviors occur. “He really struggles in tenth period” or “She is super short with me when I pick her up from school.” It is statements like these that create the space for us to look at the circumstances surrounding the behaviors that they are seeing. 

If something is predictable, it is preventable. If your student is having a tough time in the tenth period, there is a reason. If your child is short with you at pick up, there is a reason. Exploring those reasons and considering what happened or what could be happening for them will help us design supports to prevent challenging behaviors in the future. 

As a consultant and counselor, I often put my CSI cap on in an attempt to figure out what is happening before the behavior occurs. We must consider the antecedents to the behavior to discover how we can set our students or children up for success. Perhaps the reason they struggle in  the car during pickup is because they are hungry. If so, come prepared with a snack for them in the car and provide them the time and space to decompress. Maybe the student in tenth period needs to move their seat to the front of the room so he is less distracted. Whatever the case may be, if we can predict a behavior is going to occur, we can prevent it from happening through an investigative and caring approach. So the next time you are struggling with your child’s behavior or a student in your class, ask yourself if you could have predicted this. If so, pull out the investigative lens and attempt to figure out how to prevent it and help them move forward.